In my brief time as a FAO I've received many challenging assignments, but nothing I'd experienced so far fully prepared me to be the Casualty Assistance Officer (CAO) for an Indian American soldier who had been killed in Iraq. This mission turned out to be one of the most difficult and yet rewarding tasks I've performed in 16 years in the Army. As a way to assist those who may be given similar missions in the future, I've described my experience in the report that follows.
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Among the factors that made this mission more complex were the following: the soldier was a Muslim, from a very conservative region and religious sect and the first Muslim Indian- American killed in Iraq; his hometown was very remote, three hours by road from the nearest airport; he had not only married a naturalized American woman from a different culture, race and religion, but his family knew nothing of this; he was only the second Indian American killed in Iraq and it had been more than a year since the first US soldier of Indian origin died in combat; his hometown region was a hotbed of religious fervor, having been the scene of widespread Hindu-Muslim violence in 2003, when tensions flared following a religiously motivated hate attack, resulting in riots that killed thousands.
Sequence of Events
I was notified on 25 August 2005 that I would be the CAO and immediately made plans to move to the remote town of Dahod in the Indian state of Gujarat where his family lives. The Defense Attaché Office (DAO) Operations Coordinator provided the death notification to the family the same day, a very difficult task. Approximately two hours after notification, I called the family to set up an appointment to meet with them the following day. The next day I flew to the town of Vadodara, where the nearest airport was located, along with a senior DAO NCO and an embassy Public Affairs Officer (PAO), and established a base of operations. We then drove to the soldier's hometown of Dahod and met with his family for the first time on Friday 26 August.
From that point on I stayed in constant communications with the family, DAO, the US Consulate in Mumbai, and Mortuary Affairs and Casualty Assistance in the US. The family was initially concerned with the location and condition of the remains and the financial compensation package if any. Although I was able to update the family on the location of the remains through Mortuary Affairs, it would be several days until I was able to provide them an update on the condition of their son's remains.
Financial issues immediately came to the fore due to the poor financial situation of the family. The soldier had been supporting his entire family financially, and they were very concerned about now being left destitute without him. Although the Casualty Assistance Guide and common sense dictate waiting until after the funeral to discuss such matters, I talked about the survivor benefits and beneficiaries early at the family's behest.
In this case his parents were the secondary next of kin as he had privately married a Dominican soldier from his unit. This made his wife the primary next of kin (PNOK) and simplified my job slightly, although the secret marriage created other issues. The soldier had designated his mother as the primary beneficiary for his SGLI payment, so the family stood to receive a substantial compensation check. This generated other concerns as well, as the family would soon become the wealthiest in the town and relatives, friends, creditors and local government officials would all be expecting a share. Knowing what a colossal sum the parents would be receiving, I was very discrete when discussing financial matters, especially since there were numerous family and friends present in the house at all times.
The choice of having a second DAO person present for the initial meeting, along with a PAO fluent in the local Gujarati language, was a good move and helped provide peace of mind as we entered a grieving home in a remote and traditional Muslim community not knowing what to expect (although the first impressions provided by the OPSCO proved to be very accurate). The town of Dahod is 40 km from Godhara in Gujarat, the scene of a train burning and violent clashes between Hindus and Muslims several years previously. That notwithstanding, we drove through Godhara twice a day on our way to Dahod without any problem.
Although the local community was certainly very interested when we arrived in the town, it quickly became apparent that there was little or no animosity among the villagers and the family, who were quick to mention that they would gladly accept their new daughter-in- law, irrespective of the of the non-traditional way she had been joined with them.
I would return to the house three times over the next four days to update the family and process required forms. The most difficult time came when I told the parents that their son's body, because of combat injuries, would not be returned whole. During our meetings an uncle or male cousin would do most of the talking for the family, in spite of the fact that the two daughters spoke much better English. I spoke Hindi extensively on this mission, as many of those I encountered did not speak any English at all.
I explained in detail several times the various options available to the family with regard to military honors, but their preference was always for a private Muslim funeral arranged on their own. They also preferred not to have a US Army general officer attend the ceremony. Although the family wanted no military ceremony of any type, they were receptive to attendance by a senior embassy person. For this we coordinated with the Mumbai Consul General to attend the funeral, who turned out to be the most appropriate person who could have come (the Ambassador would have been too high profile).
The family wanted their son's body returned as soon as possible but potential delays arose with the documentation required to leave the US and enter India. To help overcome this obstacle, the DATT contacted the Defense Attaché at the Indian Embassy in Washington who was very helpful in expediting the necessary paperwork. Although I had never made any promises to the family on when the body would arrive, with everyone's assistance we were able to stick with my best initial estimate. The finance personnel in the US and at the embassy in India also expedited the initial SGLI payment, which was a huge relief for the family. To get the first check to the family as soon as possible we used a Defense Finance and Accounting Service fund cite to cut a rupee check in the mother's name to her account in a local bank.
When going overseas, a coffin containing remains is shipped inside a metal transfer case, which is itself inside a wooden crate. An important piece of info provided by the previous CAO was that special tools (tin snips and a crowbar) would be required to open the transfer case. This proved to be key information, as we were prepared as a result and able to complete removal of the transfer case in about 15 minutes.
The day's events closely mirrored the plan I had drawn up based on flight arrival times. That plan was as follows:
2330 Wife,
escort, remains and remains escort arrive into Mumbai and are met by
DAO and Mumbai consulate staff
2330-0430 Clear
of customs / immigration and transfer remains to the domestic terminal
(Mortuary firm assisting). Wife and escort rest at local hotel.
0540 Remains and team depart Mumbai for Vadodara
0640 Arrival of
remains, team, and Consul General into Vadodara (met by DATT, CAO
and PAO)
0640-0700 Transfer remains to hearse (Air Conditioned Ambulance) and collect
checked bags
0700-0715
Remains, CAO and escort move to hospital for removal from transfer
case, others to local hotel for check in
0715-0815
Transfer of remains and movement of hearse to hotel
0825 All assemble in hotel lobby for convoy departure
0830-1130 Movement to Dahod. Deliver remains to mosque and meet family
1200-1330 Remains
preparation and prayers at mosque
1330-1500 Procession
to cemetery and burial
1515-1815 Convoy
movement back to hotel/airport in Vadodara
Although I had been told by the family to expect about 250 people to be present for the funeral, there were actually several thousand (estimates were between 3,000 and 4,000) and numerous print and broadcast media personnel present when we arrived at the hometown. This was the only major surprise that day and although the massive crowds did complicate matters slightly, they were more curious than angry. This was a good thing, because the 60-man police escort that we had been provided was totally overwhelmed and would have been useless had the crowd turned hostile. On arrival our convoy vehicles became separated and immediately surrounded by the huge crowd. The widow was in my vehicle, but I felt that it would be too dangerous to try to get her into the mosque directly, so we inched our way to the door of the family home and then slipped her inside. Meanwhile, upon arrival of the hearse, the crowd immediately grabbed and carried the soldier's remains into the mosque and began funeral preparations while we linked up with the family.
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The day after the funeral I returned to Dahod with the widow and her escort to meet with the family. She wanted to remain in Dahod with the family that night, along with her escort, and after evaluating the atmosphere among the family and town and weighing the various risk factors, I agreed. The day following the funeral life in the town was nearly back to normal and interest in the story had slacked considerably. The wife remained with the family for the rest of the week and she continued to get along well with them until she departed without incident as scheduled.
It was also on this post-funeral visit that I presented the first of two SGLI insurance payments to his mother. Although I suggested depositing this money in a large bank in Mumbai, there would not have been a practical way to access the money there and so she deposited the money locally.
Major Issues/Challenges
Distance from base hotel to family -- The drive from my base of operations in Vadodara to the hometown in Dahod and back was three hours (150km) each way on typically poor Indian roads. I would much preferred to have stayed in Dahod but when I investigated the two best hotels in town I found them totally unsatisfactory due to lack of phone / email / food, with poor security and rat and trash infestation among other problems. The only other choice was to stay in Vadodara. This meant a long and dangerous round trip each day, but there really was no other option. For this I used a locally hired vehicle from Dahod. Although the driver spoke no English, we were able to communicate in Hindi.
Traditional Bohra Muslim Family -- This turned out to be a smaller issue than it might have been. The key was that the family was not angry with or hostile to the US. Had they been, things would have been much more difficult for me. As far as the family was concerned, the most controversial aspect was the marriage of their son to a woman they had not sanctioned and knew nothing about. Although this had little to do with me as casualty assistance officer, it had the potential to impact local sentiment and therefore treatment of the soldier's wife. The family was very welcoming initially and continued to be so after meeting her and learning that not only was she from a different culture and religion, but that her race and mother tongue were also different (Spanish). The widow made things easier by granting right of disposition of remains to her husband's parents and by agreeing to support his wish to be buried at home. She was also amenable to our suggestions on dress and personal conduct during and after the ceremony. Her willingness to participate in traditional Muslim customs to the maximum extent possible ingratiated her with her new family and lessened the controversy within the community for the family.
Media Attention -- As this individual was only the second US soldier of Indian origin to be killed in Iraq and the first Muslim, media interest in the story was very high. The funeral and burial were carried live on national TV and the story would be on the front page of every major Indian newspaper the next day. Making matters more difficult was the family's wish to minimize their own media exposure, a request that we supported as much as possible. Embassy New Delhi issued a short press statement after his parents had been notified, which helped get the basic facts out correctly early. The only real exception to generally positive media coverage was the reporting of rumors that the family had disowned the widow following her seemingly abrupt departure from town after the burial. These rumors were not true, and we countered by holding a short press conference the next day in which the family made clear that they had accepted their son's widow. The family was reluctant to do this at first but came to realize that it was in their best interest to get their point of view out via an interview rather than having the press continue to speculate. The two PAOs involved in the operation did a great job and were extremely helpful, not just with the press, but also with translations from Gujurati and with helping put the family at ease.
Following the funeral and departure of the PNOK, my role as a CAO decreased but did not end. The family's main concern at that point was getting to the US, an issue I continue to work through the embassy consular section.
Lessons Learned
- Have a good, flexible plan, and in it identify key sites, control officers, and resources required.
- Don't promise (or even mention) anything that you can't deliver.
- The CAO and death-notification officer must be a separate individual.
- Keep everyone fully informed.
- As CAO you may be deployed and will be busy -- the support of the rest of the team is crucial to mission success. When you depart to meet the family for the first time, plan to be gone for several weeks, at least until after the funeral. If overseas, expect to be up late every night working with the CONUS based mortuary affairs team and plan accordingly.
- Keep the family informed daily even if you don't go see them every day. Gauge the frequency of your visits on the family's mood. Don't go just to hang around; if you don't have a reason to visit and have no new information, a phone call is probably sufficient. Meeting with the family the day after notification proved to be timely and appropriate as the media was already beginning to descend on them and the family had lots of questions at that point.
- The closer you can be geographically to the next of kin, the better. The biggest risk in this operation was the daily 6-hour drive.
- You'll need senior level assistance occasionally. The DATT/DAO office was very helpful in helping coordinate matters and provide top cover, in keeping the embassy leadership informed, and in pushing the right people to get things moving more rapidly than I would have been able to remotely. Getting the SGLI payment quickly and moving critical paperwork through the Indian embassy are just two examples of this.
- Plan the logistics of the funeral, arrival and movement of the remains and personnel and related matters in great detail -- you'll still forget things. Include all timings, who will be in what vehicles, how to open the various casket containers, documents you will require, airport passes/clearances, what to do with empty crates and transfer cases and where to open each of these, police escorts, press releases, and locations of key personnel. Security and admin support will be necessary to coordinate airport arrival and security. When the remains arrive, airport authorities will want copies of the death certificate, the embalming certificate, a cancelled passport and probably other documentation. Mortuary affairs included all this paperwork and more, so there were no glitches on arrival in India.
- Good communications are essential. Keep the entire team informed and make sure you have reliable phone and email communications (laptop) at all times. This may impact hotel selection. Keep the cell phone numbers for key personnel programmed into your phone.
- Enlist a competent media person to assist. A foreigner slain fighting for the US is likely to be front-page news locally for the foreseeable future -- prepare accordingly.
- Enforce the buddy rule for the first two visits if possible. Consider whether or not to go in uniform. Based on the situation we wore conservative civilian attire at all times.
- Get a copy of the Casualty Assistance Officer Guide ASAP and use it to get going in the right direction, but then use common sense and remain flexible and attentive to what the family's desires are -- support whatever they want, within reason and regulation. It would also be helpful to look through other case files if possible and speak to someone who has been a casualty assistance officer before.