may be assigned could include funeral coordinator, family liaison officer, public information officer, church coordinator, procession coordinator, and cemetery coordinator (Silloway, 2011). It is important for the funeral director to understand the capacity that these individuals will serve. This will enable the director to properly coordinate with that individual and/or have the appropriate staff member from the funeral home coordinate with the appropriate individual in the organization. The funeral coordinator does not, in any way, take the place of the funeral director. This individual will be responsible for the overall coordination of the involvement of the agency or department in the planning and participation of the funeral. This person will work closely with the funeral director in charge of the service and with the other key leaders in preparing for the service (Silloway, 2011). The family liaison officer (FLO) will be the primary channel of communication and interaction between the family and the agency. With the permission of the family, the FLO will remain with the family throughout the arrangement process, visitations, and services (Silloway, 2011). The church coordinator will be instrumental in coordinating many aspects of the service and ensuring that the teams that will be involved have everything in place that will be Family conference When a public servant is killed in the line of duty, there is a good chance that media outlets will be reporting on the events. These members of the media may be at the home of the family, as well as at the funeral home. Because of this media attention and for other reasons, the family may prefer to make arrangements at their home or an alternative location outside of the funeral home. There will likely be a representative of the agency that will assist the family in making arrangements. There will be many traditions and honors the department of the deceased will wish to observe and make available to the family. However, the funeral director and the representatives of the agency must honor the wishes of the family above all. The arrangement conference will include all of the same components as other arrangement conferences, with the addition of many more details than normal. Many of the honors and traditions may be currently in the planning and preparation phase, but awaiting the decisions of the family concerning services, final disposition, and which honors the family would like included. The family should be made aware of the honors and traditions being planned, as well as the ones which may be available. It is ultimately the decision of the family as to which, if any, of the traditions they would like included. Once the services have been arranged, the various components of the honors will begin their planning, preparation, and rehearsal in earnest. As an example, the honor guard will likely want to practice the exact steps they will take with the casket until every move is executed flawlessly. If the casket will be transported in a funeral coach, it may be helpful to make the coach available for the team to practice with. If possible, it can also be very helpful if the funeral home staff member who will be driving the coach on the day of the service is able to drive the coach as the honor guard rehearses. The optimal situation will be for the driver to use the same coach and provide a similar casket Procession The procession for any Line of Duty Death service will normally be greater in length and more complex than normal processions. For any personnel in law enforcement, the fire service, emergency medical services, or the like, there will likely be assistance available for traffic control
needed. Additionally, this individual will act as a liaison between other coordinators in preparing the various components of the service (Silloway, 2011). The procession coordinator will have the primary responsibility of planning and orchestrating the procession. This will likely be more than from the service to the cemetery, in the case of an interment. There will often be several processions involved in one service. The processions will normally be such as from the funeral home to the place of the service, a procession of the family to the funeral home and/or the place of the service, as well as to the cemetery or other location of final disposition. This individual will be tasked with establishing staging areas, deciding upon routes, involvement of other agencies, and related tasks (Silloway, 2011). The cemetery coordinator will have the primary responsibility of coordinating all of the services to be held at the cemetery. This will include coordinating a plan for the parking of vehicles, both official and private. There may be considerations that need to be made for tight turns that fire apparatuses will need to make or of low hanging limbs of trees that may prevent the apparatuses from certain routes in the cemetery (Silloway, 2011). for the honor guard to practice with that will be used for the service. Most departments have a workout center with free weights. Placing weights in a similar casket to approximately equal the weight of the deceased will be helpful for the honor guard who will serve as pallbearers to prepare properly. The lead director of the service will be involved in numerous planning meetings until the day of the service. There will be planning meetings and a walk through of every venue involved in the service. As the service comes together, there will be an order of service and events that will come together. Whereas the typical order of service directors deal with includes the timing for the music, eulogies, and sermons, the order of service and events will include every component from the beginning of the setup to any reception that may be held after the service. Planning for the day of the service will likely include much more preparation than most other services. The details that should be considered are such as the areas that will need to be reserved for seating of various groups. Many Line of Duty Death services will be attended by large numbers of personnel from other organizations, local and/or state dignitaries, and civilians. As with all services, there should be ample seating reserved for the family of the deceased, including additional seats for those who may not be anticipated by the family. There will need to be additional sections reserved for members of the organization in which the deceased belonged. There should also be a section reserved for personnel from other agencies or departments. Additionally, consideration should be given to reserving ample seating for dignitaries who may be attending the service. When selecting where each reserved section will be located, it is advisable to consider the functions and activities planned for each group, such as a walk of honor being performed at the service. and escorting of the procession. It is important to make certain the piper(s), drummer(s), bugler, and honor guard are able to arrive at the cemetery prior to the arrival of the procession. At the discretion of the funeral home and the director, an official agency vehicle may be used as the lead
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