A pilot program to provide qualified grief companions to the survivors of deceased United States military service members would be established under legislation recently introduced by U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN).
“Our Gold Star families suffer tremendous loss when their loved one pays the ultimate price and sacrifices their life for our freedoms,” Sen. Young said on Aug. 17. “I’ve made it a priority to protect these Hoosier families who have already given so much.”
The Doug Zembiec Gold Star Family Support Act of 2022, S. 4783, which Sen. Young sponsored on Aug. 4, would require the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to carry out the pilot program on providing training to, validating, and deploying grief companions to facilitate bereavement care, according to the text of the bill.
“While the military has service members and chaplains standing by to assist, providing someone who understands their loss and is able to walk them through their grief is a vital component that this pilot program aims to address,” said Sen. Young.
S. 4783 is named for Major Doug Zembiec, a U.S. Naval Academy classmate of Sen. Young who was also commissioned into the Marine Corps following graduation, according to information provided by the senator’s office.
Zembiec, an infantry and Force Reconnaissance officer, led Marines in combat during the Iraq War. He was killed in action in 2007. His family received assistance from casualty assistance officers but felt more could have been done to provide them with comfort, according to Zembiec’s wife, Pam Zembiec, who originally came up with the idea for the bill, the information says.
“Military spouses have the strength of a thousand, but the sudden, tragic, and violent death of my husband was unlike any other life adversity; his loss shattered my world,” said Pam Zembiec. “If I would’ve had someone like me to accompany my casualty assistance officer, someone sent from our government with lived experience during the initial year, it would have eased the strain. We need the expertise of our casualty officers, but they need the help of someone with lived experience.”
No later than 90 days after enactment of the bill, the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness would carry out the pilot program for a period of not less than one year, the text says, and $250,000 would be authorized to be appropriated to carry out the pilot program.