What is the military protocol for handling the dead coming home from Iraq?

Answer 1

All mortal remains are sent to Dover AFB in Delaware, the site of the Armed Services Mortuary. Another one which had been at the Oakland Army Base in California has been closed for several years. Each set of mortal remains is accompanied by an escort. Arrival of mortal remains is accompanied by a cadre of military pall bearers and is moved with dignity and honor to the mortuary for preparation prior to movement of the mortal remains to the place of final disposition selected by the next of kin. The escort accompanies those mortal remains to the place of final disposition. The escort is another member of the armed forces of equal or superior rank to the deceased. However, it can be any designated member of the armed forces as requested by the next of kin. The first Marine casualty in Operation Desert Storm (1991) was escorted home to Utah by his younger brother in the Marines Corps.
The funeral escort for the only sailor killed in the capture of USS Peublo was an Assistant Secretary of the Navy, per request of the family.
It should also be noted that each set of mortal remains is placed inside a metal coffin prior to movement of those mortal remains to the continental United States. There is not now, nor has there ever been, a thing called a "body bag". There is a human remains pouch which is only used for immediate retrieval from the site of a fire fight or accident to the place of encasement in the coffin.
All of our military dead are honored dead. The U.S., alone among nations. goes to great lengths to recover, identify and dispose of the mortal remains of all of its fallen military members.

Answer 2

There is no "protocol" for handling the dead coming home from Iraq any more than there was "protocol" for shipping those who died in WWI, WWII, the Korean Conflict, or the Viet Nam debacle. Bodies are shipped to military sites designated by the United States Government to receive the dead, families are notified, and these families must assume responsibility to "pick up" the bodies and inter them. The U.S. Government assumes no responsibility to deliver a "body" to the family, nor do they assume any responsibility for the cost of burial.

Only recently has the United States Government even given any substantial amount of remuneration to families of soldiers who were killed in combat. Shame on the United States Government!

Answer 3

Full military honors is accorded to one who died for his country.

Answer 4

I don't want to talk about it. I have a headache, but kisses any ways.

Answer 5

Ship the coffins at night so the public will not see it. Also they will not allow pictures of the coffins being transported.

Answer 6

What dead? http://www.crooksandliars.com/Media/Play/20306/1/Cheney-1994-Iraq.wmv/