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Recruiting | Family Programs |
ESGR |
Funeral Honors Program |
Army Reserve
Army National Guard Honor Guard Military Funeral Honors Program
BPSI-MPSC LLC provides contracted human resource support to the Army National Guard’s (ARNG) Honor Guard Program in the
form of State Coordinators for the 54 State & Territorial National Guard Joint Force Headquarters that desire to have a
contracted State Coordinator fill the position, Administrative Assistants in select states, and Trainers, located at Camp
J.T Robinson, N. Little Rock, AR. Each of the individuals in these positions fulfills the duties and responsibilities of
his/her position as outlined in the Position Work Statement (PWS) developed by the ARNG.
Our State Coordinators are responsible to support and fulfill the program’s mission statement:
"Render professional military funeral honors, in accordance with service tradition,
to all eligible veterans when requested by an authorized family member."
This is accomplished, in part, by the Coordinators and their programs by facilitating the receipt of requests
for Honors from area Casualty Assistance Centers (CACs), funeral directors, and outside agencies, and the
coordination of these Honors for eligible deceased veterans. They recruit, organize, and train Army National Guardsmen
from within the community to render Funeral Honors in a professional and dignified manner. They also interact with the
community by providing briefings on the capabilities of the program, eligibility and procedures to receive Honors,
as well as the training and certification of various community Veterans Services Organizations (VSOs) in concert with
the Authorized Provider Partnership Program (AP3 Program).
Our Trainers utilize an 80 hour Program of Instruction (POI) to train students, ARNG Soldiers, in a standardized methodology
to provide Funeral Honors to qualified veterans throughout the nation. The course, designed as a “Train-the-Trainer” course,
consists of classroom instruction in Military History, the history of Funeral Honors, preparing and maintaining the Dress Blue Uniform,
weapons handling, and hands on training for the execution of 2, 3 and 9 man Honors procedures. Upon the successful completion of this
course the Soldiers are certified as “Trainers” and return to their states of residence to train and develop other Soldiers
within that state through the application of a 40 hour POI in the support of the National Program.
Background
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The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 (NDAA for FY 2000) - Section 578 and as amended by
Sections 561 and 564 of the NDAA for FY 2002 and Section 571 of the NDAA for FY 2003 established the requirement of
the Department of Defense that a Funeral Honors detail be provided for the funeral of any veteran with the exception of
one who has received a dishonorable discharge. The Funeral Honors detail shall, at a minimum, perform at the funeral a
ceremony that includes the folding of a United States flag and presentation of the flag to the veteran’s family and the
playing of Taps.
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The Secretary of each military department shall ensure that a funeral honors detail for the funeral of a veteran consists
of two or more persons. At least two members of the funeral honors detail for a veteran’s funeral shall be members of the
armed forces (other than members in a retired status), at least one of whom shall be a member of the armed force of which
the veteran was a member. The remainder of the detail may consist of members of the armed forces
(including members in a retired status) or members of veteran’s organizations or other organizations approved for purposes
of this section under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense. Each member of the armed forces in the detail
shall wear the uniform of the member’s armed force while serving in the detail.
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In 2002 the ARNG developed a pilot program consisting of six states designed to provide development, supervision,
and oversight of a Funeral Honors Program utilizing contracted human resource support within the test states.
Deemed a success, annual contracts were established between the ARNG and BPSI-MPSC LLC to continue the program and expand it.
We currently employ coordinators in 46 states & territories while continuing to expand into states that desire to fill
the position.
Currently
The ARNG conducted or supported over 111,500 funerals for veterans throughout the United States in Fiscal Year 2009.
The ARNG supports over 80 percent of all Military Funeral Honors (MFH) for the Army while conducting 54 percent of all MFH for
the Department of Defense and anticipates conducting or supporting in excess of 122,000 funerals in Fiscal Year 2010.
Contact Information
Should you have a question about or a need to coordinate for Funeral Honors you should be able to reach the State Coordinator
within your state through your state’s Joint Forces Headquarters for the Army National Guard. Or, you may utilize the following
website to obtain branch and state specific contact information.
You may contact the Contract Program Manager, Mr. William Schwerha, for the ARNG Honor Guard Program at bschwerha@mpscrc.com.
Military Funeral Honors Site
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