-
-
MilLife Topics
- Military Life Cycle
- Family & Relationships
- Moving & Housing
- Back to Menu
- Moving & Housing
- Moving
- OCONUS Moves
- Housing
- Financial & Legal
- Education & Employment
- Health & Wellness
- Recreation, Travel & Shopping
- Service Providers & Leaders
National Guard
- Benefits & Resources
- Benefits
- Tools & Resources
- Back to Menu
- Tools & Resources
- MilLife Learning
- Podcasts
- Webinars
- Websites
- Mobile Apps
- Popular Tools & Resources
- MilitaryINSTALLATIONS
- Plan My Move
- Moving Personal Property
- Products
- I am a…
- Confidential Help
24/7/365 Access to Support
No matter where you serve or live, free and confidential help is available.
In Crisis?
Call the Military Crisis Line at 800-273-8255 and press 1, or text 838255.
Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800−799−7233.
Log In
- 800-342-9647
- Call Us OCONUS
- Call Us TTY/TDD
- Live Chat
- About Us
-
Contact Military OneSource
Information and support for service members and their families. About the Call Center.
- 800-342-9647
- Call Us OCONUS
- Call Us TTY/TDD
- Additional Ways to Contact Us
Understanding Grief – The Essentials
Grief is a natural response when a loved one dies. How you grieve depends on your personality, your life experiences, the nature of your loss and your coping style. While there is no right or wrong way to grieve, there are healthy ways to cope and survive the pain and find your new normal as you continue on your life’s journey.
Here are important ways to cope:
Connect with your casualty assistance officer
Your casualty assistance officer serves as a liaison between you and the service branch. Make the most of your relationship with your CAO. He or she understands the military environment and is aware of available support from various resources. Assigned exclusively to you for an indefinite period of time — until you determine that assistance is no longer needed — your CAO helps with the funeral and burial, initial compensation and survivor benefits.
Relevant Articles:
Relevant Resources:
- The Days Ahead – Essential Papers for Families of Fallen Service Members
- Military Funeral Honors Directory
- Survivor’s Guide to Benefits: Taking Care of our Families Fact Sheet
Share your grief.
Sharing your grief with others in similar situations or with a trained professional can be healing. Contact a military and family life counselor through your installation’s Military and Family Support Center or via a Veterans Affairs bereavement counseling center. Look into military survivor support organizations listed in “The Days Ahead” or check out bereavement camps, seminars and retreats designed to help you move forward in your grief journey. Military OneSource can help you access grief support organizations for your children and locate resources in your area.
Relevant Articles:
Relevant Resources:
Know the five stages of grief.
Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance are known as the “five stages of grief.” Not everyone who grieves will go through all these stages and those who do may not experience the stages in order. Sometimes there is a circling back to certain stages and sometimes stages can occur at the same time. Still, being familiar with these five stages can help you make sense of your emotions.
Relevant Articles:
Relevant Resources:
Take a break from grief.
Grief has no expiration date. The time it takes for the pain to lessen is different for everyone. Taking brief breaks from your grief will help you avoid fixating on your loss and inspire you to see a life beyond sadness. It is important to try to move past the guilt of having fun, and look for activities to distract you for a short while, such as reading a book, learning something new or planning a trip.
Relevant Articles:
Relevant Resources:
Installation Program Directory
Find programs and services at your local installation.You are about to leave the Military OneSource site.The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense of non-U.S. Government sites or the information, products, or services contained therein. Although the Department of Defense may or may not use these sites as additional distribution channels for Department of Defense information, it does not exercise editorial control over all of the information that you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this website.
Your session will expire in 5 minutes.Click "Extend" below to stay logged in.
This site is for testing purposes only.If you are part of the general public, navigate to the public site. This site is soley for testing and approving site pages before they are released to the general public.