The document provides information for Navy recruiters to help answer questions from local communities about supporting veterans and active military personnel. It outlines how recruiters can direct requests for Navy color guards at funerals, inquiries about burial at sea, and donations for troops overseas to the appropriate Navy and military organizations. It also provides contact information for the Department of Defense to handle other defense-related subject matters.

1. You
Are
Navy

2. You are Navy
At the sea shore, where we have military bases, Navy has a substantial presence. But for most of
America, the sailor at the local recruiting station IS the Navy.
That’s the reason why your behavior must be exemplary at every turn. That’s also why you need
to be a resource for answering a variety of questions raised by former Navy personnel living in
your communities, families of those veterans, media, and normal citizens who simply don’t
know where else to go.
Following is some information that will help you respond to many of those questions.
Funerals –
Many veterans families are interested in having a Navy color guard participate in a former
sailor’s funeral or memorial service. This is something that can be provided with enough
advance information and via the right channels. In most cases, the LOCAL FUNERAL
DIRECTOR will be the best source for handling this. Even if this is a remote memorial service,
the best initial contact for the family will be the local funeral director.
Other similar requests can be directed to the Navy Personnel Command, 5720 Integrity Dr.,
Millington TN 38055. Phone number there is 800-368-3202.
Burial at Sea –
Occasionally there is a request for burial at sea. This, too, can be directed to Navy Personnel
Command at the contact above. Another number for this is 866-787-0081. People interested in
finding out more can also go online to www.navy.mil and enter “burial at sea” to get further
information.
Support Our Troops Activities –
People will often decide to start collections of goods to send to troops overseas. The best sources
for determining what to collect and for distributing the materials is either a direct contact with a
deployed service person or one of the following:
- Operation Support Our Troops Illinois – 630-971-1150 – www.osotil.gov
- Operation Care and Comfort – 2392 Walden Sq., San Jose CA –
troopsupport@comcast.net
- http://www.mollysadoptasailor.com/
-

3. Defense Department Related Subject Matters
From time to time, people inquire about things that cannot be dealt with at this level. Those
matters typically can be funneled through the Department of Defense to find their way to the
right spot.
Subjects can range from inquiries about defense contracts or how to get copies of DD-214s to
military records of family members or how to forward correspondence to retired personnel. The
DoD website is http://www.defense.gov/. Mail can be directed to:
Department of Defense
1400 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301-1400
703-571-3343