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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) – member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs – today applauded the Army National Guard’s decision to maintain Military Funeral Honors (MFH) coordinator positions in every state. This decision reverses the Army National Guard’s previously announced plan to eliminate MFH coordinators in eight states, including Kansas. Currently, every state has a MFH coordinator to assist in the planning and coordination of staff and resources for the funeral of a veteran. The Army National Guard stated it now “has no plan to remove coordinators from any state.”

“Military Funeral Honors Coordinators in states across the country ensure our veterans receive the ceremonies they deserve and that their service and sacrifice are honored upon their passing,” said Sen. Moran. “The Army National Guard’s decision to reverse course and maintain these positions is good news for Kansas veterans and their families and will serve them well in the future.”

In April, Sen. Moran led a bipartisan letter to Director of the Army National Guard General Timothy Kadavy urging him to support the Military Funeral Honors Program and allocate at least one coordinator to each state. Twelve members of Congress signed on to the letter. “Our veterans deserve the best our nation has to offer and their families deserve to lay them to rest with military funeral honors that are coordinated and executed faithfully,” the members wrote.

Items to note:

  • An Army audit found that in 2014, 88 deserving veterans’ funerals did not receive the military honors they should have.
  • Based on the recommendation of a 2016 Army Auditing Agency audit, the National Guard Bureau announced a plan to eliminate the MFH coordinator positions in eight states (ID, KS, ME, NH, RI, WY, SD and WV).
    Sen. Moran this month delivered a floor speech urging the National Guard Bureau to reverse its decision.
  • The Army National Guard’s reversal was announced in a letter available here.

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