EDITOR’S NOTE: This episode addresses the U.S. Army’s Casualty Affairs Officer program and specifically the lessons learned by the officer that supported the Bergdahl family during the captivity of Pvt Bergdahl. Any comments regarding the circumstances of his capture or release will be deleted.
Casualties are a fact of military life. Whether the result of a training accident, peacekeeping operations or full scale combat, the military has made the commitment to guide families through the very difficult circumstances of a service member’s death with the aid of Casualty Assistance Officers (CAO). Sadly through repetition the U.S. Army has created training and programs and processes that are world class. Unfortunately, when the odd circumstances surrounding the captivity of Bowe Bergdahl by the Haqqani network in Afghanistan and Pakistan occurred, it highlighted the deficiencies of the CAO program when addressing prisoners of non-state actors and violent extremist organizations (VEOs). This isn’t the story of Bergdahl’s ordeal. It’s the experiences of Kevin Hickey the CAO for the Bergdahl family and he joins Ron Granieri in the studio to discuss his observations over five long years supporting them. He’s researching and proposing improvements and changes to the traditional CAO program to make sure that the U.S. Army is prepared for situations like the Bergdahl’s when it happens again one day.
How do we make day one look like year five when we support those families?
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Kevin Hickey is a Colonel and Aviation Officer in the Idaho Army National Guard. He is a member of the AY22 Resident Class of the U.S. Army War College. He was assigned to JFHQ, Idaho Army National Guard, where he served as the G-1/Director of Personnel.
Ron Granieri is an Associate Professor of History at the U.S. Army War College and the Editor of A BETTER PEACE.
The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, or Department of Defense.
Photo Description: From left to right: Bob & Jani Bergdahl, Col Tim Marsano (PAO), MAJ Kevin Hickey (CAO), Col Bradley Poppen (SERE Psych). Photo taken the day after Pvt Bergdahl was recovered.
Photo Credit: Provided by Kevin Hickey via the Idaho Army National Guard