Casualty Affairs comforts families during time of need

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Matthew Lotz
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  A black sedan slowly rolls down the street in search of one family's house in the midst of several. It stops and three men wearing formal dress uniforms step out. They walk toward the front door, hearts heavy with dreadful news. Inside, eyes begin to water because this family knows they have just lost a loved one.

Airman and Family Readiness Center's casualty affairs program liaisons help military spouses, dependents and parents who experience this tragedy. They ensure assistance is available throughout a family's hardship. Their kindness and comfort gives guidance and support during a time of need. 

"Casualty affairs helps alleviate any stress that comes along with a casualty by taking care of entitlements and paperwork for families who may not know how the military works," said Michelle Tufano, 31st Force Support Squadron community readiness specialist. "It's already hard for the family who just lost a loved one - we are here to make it as easy as possible.

"Though it's going to require time and a number of steps, it's important for families to remain resilient and keep moving forward with their life." 

According to Kim Heng, 31st FSS casualty and survivor benefits representative, the first step to ensure a member is taken care of is finding their next-of-kin's contact information. Because casualties are unexpected, it's necessary for service members to always update their virtual emergency record of data.

"[Emergency data] information is the most crucial part of helping us ensure the individual's family is notified through proper channels," said Tufano.  "If a member's information is updated, we can contact their loved ones within hours of us receiving the notification, instead of them finding out through other, less respectable means."

While there is a perception that casualty affairs only deals with deaths, Heng said it's much more than that.

"Our job also includes taking care of Airmen and dependents that become incapacitated or injured," she explained. "We are the ones who, based on their injury, make decisions whether the Airman's family should come overseas to be with them, during recovery."

The liaisons here are responsible for military members, dependents and retirees living in central and southern Europe, but according to Heng, a majority of their calls come from seriously injured, deployed service members.

"Once the individual is transferred back to Aviano, we provide [Air Force Personnel Center] up-to-date progress reports of their recovery and if or when the individual can report back for duty," said Heng. "If he or she does not report back to duty and retires or separates, we get them in touch with programs such as Air Force Families Forever, AF Wounded Warriors and the Tragedy Assistance Program.

"These programs are in place for service members and their families to know they are still a part of the Air Force and we want to continue taking care of them."

Though dealing with casualties and grieving families may seem difficult, Tufano and Heng agree that the outcome of helping people is the reason they continue serving in the casualty affairs team.

"I love my job and helping people in that time of need," said Heng. "Accidents can happen at a moment's notice and it's important for family members to know what to do if that time comes. Michelle and I take great pride in this job and we treat families like our own."