Military Funeral Honors Tasking and Reporting

1. ONCE A MARINE, ALWAYS A MARINE IS MUCH MORE THAN
A PHRASE TO BE SPOKEN. THE MARINE CORPS IS COMMITTED TO PAYING
FINAL TRIBUTE TO A MARINE'S SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY BY PROVIDING
MILITARY FUNERAL HONORS (MFH) UPON THE REQUEST OF THE NEXT OF KIN. 
THIS MARADMIN IS BEING RELEASED TO PROVIDE CLARIFICATION ON THE HQMC
POLICY AND PROCEDURES FOR MFH, TO ENSURE THE MARINE CORPS PAYS IT'S
RESPECT TO THE MARINE AND FAMILY. 
2. UNDER TITLE 10 U.S.C., SECTION 1491 AND IAW DOD MEMORANDUM DATED
DECEMBER 10, 1999, THE MILITARY SERVICES ARE REQUIRED TO ASSIGN THE
RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE COORDINATION AND DELIVERY OF MILITARY FUNERAL
HONORS TO A SINGLE OFFICE AT THE HEADQUARTERS LEVEL. AS A RESULT,
HQMC HAS ESTABLISHED A MFH TASKING CELL WITHIN THE CASUALTY SECTION
(MRC) THAT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TASKING AND REPORTING TO DOD ALL
MILITARY FUNERAL HONORS. THE MFH CELL MAY BE REACHED VIA PHONE 
OR FAX. A TOLL FREE NUMBER (866-826-3628) HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED FOR 
FUNERAL DIRECTORS, FAMILIES AND MARINE CORPS UNITS TO
REQUESTMILITARY 
FUNERAL HONORS. THE MFH SECTION CAN BE REACHED AT THE TOLL FREE 
NUMBER DURING NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS, 0730 TO 1630, EASTERN TIME, 
MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. AFTER NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS, OR ON WEEKENDS 
AND HOLIDAYS, ALL CALLS TO THE TOLL FREE NUMBER ARE ROUTED TO THE 
MFH VOICE MAIL. MESSAGES RECEIVED AFTER 1630, MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY 
WILL BE RETURNED THE NEXT DAY. DURING WEEKENDS AND HOLIDAYS,
MESSAGES 
ARE CHECKED AT 1200 AND 1500. ALL CALLS WILL BE ACKNOWLEDGED
SHORTLY THEREAFTER. MFH MAY ALSO BE REQUESTED VIA FAX AT (703)
784-9823. 
REQUESTS FORWARDED TO HQMC VIA FAX NEED TO BE FOLLOWED WITH A PHONE 
CALL TO VERIFY RECEIPT OF THE FAX. 
3. UPON RECEIPT OF FUNERAL REQUEST INFORMATION BY THE MFH CELL, THE 
HQMC, MFH SECTION ENTERS PERTINENT INFO INTO THE HQMC MFH DATABASE
AND 
TASKS THE FUNERAL SUPPORT ACCORDINGLY. FUNERAL SUPPORT IS TASKED TO 
THE CLOSET UNIT TO THE LOCATION OF THE INTERMENT, UNLESS OTHER
AGREEMENTS 
ARE IN PLACE. THESE AGREEMENTS NEED TO BE APPROVED BY ALL AFFECTED 
UNITS AND FORWARDED TO HQMC (MRC). UNITS TASKED BY HQMC (MRC), 
WILL 
BE PROVIDED A FAX WITH THE PERTINENT INFO. A CONFIRMATION PHONE
CALL 
WILL THEN BE MADE TO ENSURE THE FAX HAS BEEN RECEIVED.
4. IN THE EVENT A MARINE CORPS UNIT IS CONTACTED DIRECTLY BY A
FUNERAL DIRECTOR OR NOK, PROVIDE THE FUNERAL HONORS AND INFORM THE
FUNERAL DIRECTOR OF THE PROCEDURES OUTLINED ABOVE IRT THE USMC MFH
TOLL FREE NUMBER. IF THE MFH CANNOT BE SUPPORTED, THE MARINE CORPS
UNIT RECEIVING THE REQUEST WILL COORDINATE WITH ANOTHER UNIT THAT
CAN 
SUPPORT THE REQUEST. MARINE CORPS UNITS WILL PROVIDE FUNERAL HONORS 
IAW CHAPTER 4 OF THE REF, WITH OR WITHOUT COORDINATION FROM HQMC, 
MFH SECTION. 
5. ALL MARINE CORPS UNIT MFH POC'S ARE REQUIRED TO CONTACT HQMC,
MFH SECTION TO ENSURE THAT CURRENT PHONE NUMBERS ARE ON FILE AT
HQMC, MFH SECTION, NLT 31 JANUARY 2003. THIS WILL HELP TO ENSURE
THAT FUNERAL HONORS TASKINGS ARE RECIEVED AND FUNERAL HONORS ARE
RENDERED.
6. ALL MARINE CORPS UNITS MUST REPORT ALL MFH CONDUCTED TO HQMC MFH
SECTION USING THE MFH REPORT FORM FOUND ON THE HQMC, M&RA WEBSITE
(WWW.MANPOWER.USMC.MIL), SELECT THE LINK FOR FUNERAL HONORS. THIS
FORM WILL BE COMPLETED BY THE UNIT PERFORMING THE HONORS AND
SUBMITTED TO HQMC (MRC) WITHIN 72 HOURS AFTER COMPLETION OF FUNERAL
HONORS VIA FAX (703) 784-9823, DSN 
278-9823 OR EMAIL TO MFHREPORTS@MANPOWER.USMC.MIL. ALL MARINE CORPS
UNITS ARE REQUIRED TO VERIFY THE NUMBER OF FUNERAL HONORS INDICATED
IN THE DOD DATABASE FOR ACCURACY, TO ENSURE EACH UNIT RECEIVES
PROPER CREDIT FOR FUNERAL HONORS RENDERED. FUNERAL HONORS MAY BE
VERIFIED AT THE DOD WEBSITE
WWW.DMDC.OSD.MIL/FHDB/OWA/FHDB_MAIN.LOGIN, THE USER ID IS
MR5106 AND THE PASSWORD IS USMC1775. MARINE CORPS UNITS ARE NOT
AUTHORIZED TO CHANGE THE PASSWORD. UPON LOGGING IN THERE ARE TWO
OPTIONS AVAILABLE
A. OPTION 1: GO INTO REPORTS AND SELECT FHDB SYSTEM REPORTS. 
THEN SELECT TRANSACTION SUMMARY (THIS WILL INDICATE THE NUMBER OF 
FUNERAL HONORS PERFORMED BY UNIT), ENTER THE START AND END DATES 
DESIRED, SELECT FUNERALS, AND THEN SELECT GO. TO SEE A BREAKDOWN 
OF FUNERAL HONORS COMPLETED BY MONTH, CLICK ON THE RUC AND MCC (UIC) 
FOR YOUR UNIT.
 B. OPTION 2: GO INTO DATA COLLECTION AND SELECT FUNERAL DATA 
SEARCH. HERE YOU MAY VIEW FUNERAL HONORS COMPLETED MONTHLY BY UNIT 
OR BY SSN. TO VIEW BY UNIT, INDICATE THE MONTH TO BE CHECKED AND 
YOUR UNIT'S RUC AND MCC (UIC).
7. THOSE OF US WHO ARE CURRENTLY HONORED TO WEAR THE UNIFORM MUST 
CONTINUE THE LONG LINE OF OUR PREDECESSORS IN UPHOLDING THE
INTEGRITY 
OF THESE WORDS. OUR SUPPORT OF FUNERAL HONORS FOR OUR MARINES WILL 
SPEAK LOUDER THAN ANY WORDS.