Posted on Aug 13, 2020
Continued limits on VA burial service attendance draw criticism
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Posted in these groups: 
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Posted >1 y ago
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Is this really still necessary? Ask people to wear masks. Hold the entire service outside (don't use the chapels) if being inside is a concern
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Thank you my friend MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. for posting the unsurprising news that continued limits on attendance at Department of Veterans Affairs burial services including limits on numbers, requirements for masks to be worn
On Tuesday, Afghanistan War veteran turned Republican congressman Rep. Brian Mast [who lost his legs to a roadside bomb], R-Fla., sent a letter to VA Secretary Robert Wilkie asking for him to allow deceased veterans to receive “the proper memorial service they deserve” by easing restrictions at the cemeteries.
In March, National Cemetery Administration officials halted all burial services at VA sites in response to the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak. That blanket ban was lifted in June, but most sites still limit gatherings to 10 or fewer individuals.
Mast, who lost both of his legs to an insurgent’s roadside bomb while serving with the Army, said he believes it is time for that policy to end, too.
“As you know, dozens of my fellow lawmakers attended a funeral service last week in Atlanta, Georgia to honor the late Congressman John Lewis,” Mast wrote in his letter. “Meanwhile VA’s National Cemetery Administration policy empowers cemeteries to restrict the number of attendees for veterans’ committal services to 10 people — just a small fraction of those in attendance at Rep. Lewis’s service."
Hopefully, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie will do his best to ensure that the attendance at a Veterans burial in a VA cemetery would not be limited to less than 50 IMHO.
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC (Join to see) LTC Wayne Brandon MSgt Robert "Rock" Aldi Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj Robert Thornton MSG Andrew White SFC David Reid, M.S, PHR, SHRM-CP, DTM PO2 (Join to see) Cynthia Croft SPC Woody Bullard SGT Denny Espinosa SPC Chris Bayner-Cwik SP5 Jeannie Carle
On Tuesday, Afghanistan War veteran turned Republican congressman Rep. Brian Mast [who lost his legs to a roadside bomb], R-Fla., sent a letter to VA Secretary Robert Wilkie asking for him to allow deceased veterans to receive “the proper memorial service they deserve” by easing restrictions at the cemeteries.
In March, National Cemetery Administration officials halted all burial services at VA sites in response to the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak. That blanket ban was lifted in June, but most sites still limit gatherings to 10 or fewer individuals.
Mast, who lost both of his legs to an insurgent’s roadside bomb while serving with the Army, said he believes it is time for that policy to end, too.
“As you know, dozens of my fellow lawmakers attended a funeral service last week in Atlanta, Georgia to honor the late Congressman John Lewis,” Mast wrote in his letter. “Meanwhile VA’s National Cemetery Administration policy empowers cemeteries to restrict the number of attendees for veterans’ committal services to 10 people — just a small fraction of those in attendance at Rep. Lewis’s service."
Hopefully, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie will do his best to ensure that the attendance at a Veterans burial in a VA cemetery would not be limited to less than 50 IMHO.
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC (Join to see) LTC Wayne Brandon MSgt Robert "Rock" Aldi Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj Robert Thornton MSG Andrew White SFC David Reid, M.S, PHR, SHRM-CP, DTM PO2 (Join to see) Cynthia Croft SPC Woody Bullard SGT Denny Espinosa SPC Chris Bayner-Cwik SP5 Jeannie Carle
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