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As I noted in my earlier post, HEROES Act Improvements!, the FY 2006 National Defense Authorization Act (PL 109-163) corrected what I considered to be a glaring error in the Original HEROES Act. The original act provided improved benefits for the survivors of military personnel killed in the line of duty in designated combat zones but not for the survivors of others who died on duty but not in combat zones. I could never see any reason why the survivors of a Sailor killed when a sub hit an undersea mountain or a Paratrooper who died when his chute didn't open over Ft. Benning should be treated any differently than survivors of deaths in the Mideast.  PL 109-163 fixed that discrepancy. Unfortunately, the government has done an absolutely pathetic job of getting information out to the survivors affected by the improvements. I'm still getting frequent emails from people who know they have money coming but have no idea how to get it, and I'd hate to guess how many people have money coming and don't even know it. I find it absolutely scandalous that information is so scarce that people are having to turn to little sites like mine to find anything out. Is this how we honor the sacrifice our warriors have made for our country?

Julie left the following comment on my earlier post a little earlier today:

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I have some information on the Hero Improvement Act. The Benefits are retroactive to Oct 7, 2001 for all military Deaths that have occurred since that date.I have researched this extensively. My son was stationed at Camp Pendleton and pass-away Mar 1, 2002 from a brain aneurysm. I found several DOD references as to how the disbursement is supposed to be done. The respective branch will send out some forms to be filled out by the beneficiary. I have also called the USMC, and was told as of today 2/24/06 that the forms have not been sent yet, but will be as soon as they get the green light to send them. I made sure and updated my address info because I had moved since my son passed. I hope this information will help out. I found some contact information at the NMFA National Military Family Association

http://www.nmfa.org/site/PageServer?pagename

Below are Service casualty contacts,
Army: LTC John O’Brian: 703-325-9201
Navy: Mrs. Dale Armstrong: 1-800-368-3202  (Mon - Fri 7:30 am - 4:00 pm (CT)) or (901)874-4292
Marine Corps: Mr. Gerry Castle: 703-784-9580
Air Force: Mr. Scott Hand: 210-565-3505
Coast Guard; Lt Terrance Walsh: 202-267-1648

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Thank you, Julie. I think it's absolutely disgraceful that people like you are having to dig for information like you have but I'll do what I can to spread the word.

If you're reading this and know anyone who might possibly be affected by this situation won't you please pass Julie's information on to them? Fellow bloggers, please help me spread the word; you are hereby granted permission to use any information in this post or my prior posts on the subject without regard to any copyright or plagiarism concerns. Just help me spread the word, please.

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Posted by Bill Faith on February 24, 2006 at 07:36 PM in Brianna, The American Warrior | Permalink

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