Lawmaker directs military to change 'tragic' next-of-kin policy

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

SAN FRANCISCO - After divorced parents waged a post-mortem custody battle over their son who was killed in Iraq, a federal lawmaker is directing the Defense Department to change its next-of-kin policy in hopes of sparing other families such grief.

Rep. Sam Farr, D-Calif., inserted a clause Wednesday into the Defense Department Authorization Act that would require all service members to designate who should receive their body if they die in combat. Service members would also have to periodically update or reconfirm their designation whenever they are deployed, according to the proposed legislative directive.

"The last thing our soldiers and their families need is confusion when dealing with a tragic death," Farr said.

The directive is part of a bill that was expected to pass in the House on Wednesday night and become law within a couple of months. It comes as a set of divorced parents in California and Oklahoma engage in a bitter - but not unique - dispute over the remains of their son.

http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/politics/11737154.htm

[Lerkfish]

1. by all means, lets make corpse-handling more efficient...

how about not making corpses in the first place!

I swear, this is bizarro world.

[truthisfreedom]

2. but that wouldn't benefit the military-industrial complex or the oil

companies... so bushco and the thugs would never go for it.