Posted on Aug 2, 2021
Who gives the death notification if one member in a dual-military couple is killed when witnessing a crime?
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I'm a yet to be published author working on a novel involving military spouses. I served 3 years in the mid to late 70s. My husband retired in 1990. So, I am asking for current information to write it the right way.
My question is if the husband and wife are both active duty. She's pregnant, they both pulled duty the night before and are on the way home. They stop for gas; he goes in to pay cash and grab some coffee. He walks in on an armed robbery in progress and is shot and killed almost as soon as he walks in the door. Will the police on the scene break the news to her that he was killed? Will anyone from the unit come to the scene to be with her? She's pregnant around 12 weeks give or take. I'm a surviving spouse of a retired soldier, but I was interested in how this particular scenario would play out with the army. They're stationed at Fort Carson, Co both are from Texas if that matters. Both are enlisted Specialist 4?
My question is if the husband and wife are both active duty. She's pregnant, they both pulled duty the night before and are on the way home. They stop for gas; he goes in to pay cash and grab some coffee. He walks in on an armed robbery in progress and is shot and killed almost as soon as he walks in the door. Will the police on the scene break the news to her that he was killed? Will anyone from the unit come to the scene to be with her? She's pregnant around 12 weeks give or take. I'm a surviving spouse of a retired soldier, but I was interested in how this particular scenario would play out with the army. They're stationed at Fort Carson, Co both are from Texas if that matters. Both are enlisted Specialist 4?
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I have been on CNO / CAO (Casualty Notification Officer / Casualty Assistance Officer) duty before. CNO's are the ones who knock on the door and give the official notification. They briefly cover this type of scenario in training - making notification to someone who already knows. Simply put, we don't do it, at least not in the Army.
The way we do it in the Army is that The CNO goes and knocks on the door and makes the official notification. The CNO comes with a Chaplain, and together they make sure that the person receiving the notification is stable and has support to get them through the next couple of hours. Then they notify the surviving family member that another person will be reaching out to them in a couple of hours. The second person is the CAO, who walks the survivor through the process of applying for and receiving all of the benefits they are due.
In your scenario, no CNO would be dispatched. Once the dust had settled, a CAO would be dispatched to walk through the process. CNO is not required because the surviving family member already knows.
I will caveat, that if we *think* the family member knows, but we are not 100% positive, we will (almost always) dispatch a CNO to make sure. So, if, in your novel, the husband is rushed to the ER, and dies there (assuming she is, for some reason, not at his bedside), then the CNO *may* be required.
There are a lot if "ifs" involved. But the bottom line is if we *know* the surviving family member already knows (which happens a lot with secondary dependents - for instance if a surviving wife calls the children while the CNO is there) then we do not dispatch the CNO. If we are not sure, we dispatch the CNO - with Chaplian - to be sure. Also, generally speaking, different surviving family members get their own CNO and CAO. There are exceptions, such as younger children living with surviving parent, but especially when it comes to adults (like older children who have moved out), usually each person will have their own. Knocking on the door is EXCEPTIONALLY rough, emotionally, for that NCO or Officer making notification. Having them do it twice in one day is usually too much. And walking through the process as a CAO is very demanding, and walking two different people (who may have competing interests) through it at the same time may not always be possible.
The final thing to note is that both the CAO and CNO should be an equal or higher rank than both the deceased and the survivor (if survivor rank is known). CNO and CAO duty is only done by SNCOs and Officers (SFC- CSM, CPT - GEN, I think CW3 - CW5, but not sure on the WO ranks). The Casualty Assistance Center (CAC) will usually assign the lowest eligible rank (because there are more SFCs than CSMs, and more CPTs than COLs, not out of disrespect). In your scneario, with both being SPCs, the CNO (if needed) and CAO would almost definitely be SFCs.
I gave a bit more than you asked, because I felt it might be good background for your novel. I hope it was helpful rather than tedious.
The way we do it in the Army is that The CNO goes and knocks on the door and makes the official notification. The CNO comes with a Chaplain, and together they make sure that the person receiving the notification is stable and has support to get them through the next couple of hours. Then they notify the surviving family member that another person will be reaching out to them in a couple of hours. The second person is the CAO, who walks the survivor through the process of applying for and receiving all of the benefits they are due.
In your scenario, no CNO would be dispatched. Once the dust had settled, a CAO would be dispatched to walk through the process. CNO is not required because the surviving family member already knows.
I will caveat, that if we *think* the family member knows, but we are not 100% positive, we will (almost always) dispatch a CNO to make sure. So, if, in your novel, the husband is rushed to the ER, and dies there (assuming she is, for some reason, not at his bedside), then the CNO *may* be required.
There are a lot if "ifs" involved. But the bottom line is if we *know* the surviving family member already knows (which happens a lot with secondary dependents - for instance if a surviving wife calls the children while the CNO is there) then we do not dispatch the CNO. If we are not sure, we dispatch the CNO - with Chaplian - to be sure. Also, generally speaking, different surviving family members get their own CNO and CAO. There are exceptions, such as younger children living with surviving parent, but especially when it comes to adults (like older children who have moved out), usually each person will have their own. Knocking on the door is EXCEPTIONALLY rough, emotionally, for that NCO or Officer making notification. Having them do it twice in one day is usually too much. And walking through the process as a CAO is very demanding, and walking two different people (who may have competing interests) through it at the same time may not always be possible.
The final thing to note is that both the CAO and CNO should be an equal or higher rank than both the deceased and the survivor (if survivor rank is known). CNO and CAO duty is only done by SNCOs and Officers (SFC- CSM, CPT - GEN, I think CW3 - CW5, but not sure on the WO ranks). The Casualty Assistance Center (CAC) will usually assign the lowest eligible rank (because there are more SFCs than CSMs, and more CPTs than COLs, not out of disrespect). In your scneario, with both being SPCs, the CNO (if needed) and CAO would almost definitely be SFCs.
I gave a bit more than you asked, because I felt it might be good background for your novel. I hope it was helpful rather than tedious.
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She's already there - how would she not know he was killed? If she witnessed it - why would anyone need to tell her he's dead?
I mean - the police aren't going to be there immediately. So she's most definitely going to get out of the car when she hears shots fired and probably go inside, especially if she sees the armed robber(s) take off. Even if she waits until the police arrive, she's going to see it as she walks up.
I doubt there's the need for a casualty notification officer when she witnessed her husband's murder. She would get a casualty assistance officer though to help through everything with SGLI, funeral proceedings, etc. That's what the CAO is for. The CNO just notify people of a SMs death. But no one needs to notify her - she witnessed the death.
They may possibly send a CNO to immediate family but I don't know why when she would likely call his immediate family to tell them he was murdered.
I mean - the police aren't going to be there immediately. So she's most definitely going to get out of the car when she hears shots fired and probably go inside, especially if she sees the armed robber(s) take off. Even if she waits until the police arrive, she's going to see it as she walks up.
I doubt there's the need for a casualty notification officer when she witnessed her husband's murder. She would get a casualty assistance officer though to help through everything with SGLI, funeral proceedings, etc. That's what the CAO is for. The CNO just notify people of a SMs death. But no one needs to notify her - she witnessed the death.
They may possibly send a CNO to immediate family but I don't know why when she would likely call his immediate family to tell them he was murdered.
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