An incident where a senior official of the ASG Office of Veterans and Military Affairs wore an infantry blue cord at a burial detail for a veteran in Samoa last month, was the subject of a hearing by the House Government Operations Committee last week.
Committee Chairman Faimealelei Anthony Allen, said local veterans had sent a letter to the Governor concerning the incident and since there was no response the veterans have raised the matter with the House.
At the funeral in Samoa, Deputy Director of the Office of Veterans and Military Affairs Arrianna Princess Auvaa was observed wearing an infantry blue cord. Here’s how Rep Faimealelei described the significance of the blue cord.
Play Audiofaimlealelei
Acting Director of the Office of Veterans and Military Affairs Igafo Maria Brown Togia explained at the hearing that she was convinced the wearing of the blue cord was an oversight and Auva’a did not intend to give the impression she had earned it.
She testified they were pressed for time to meet the veteran’s family’s schedule. Igafo told the Committee she was in Honolulu when contacted by Auvaa about the family’s request for a military detail for the funeral. She said efforts were made to find infantry veterans to attend the funeral however no one was available. She instructed Faamasino Upuese Galoia and Aauvaa to travel ahead to Apia and she would join them on a later flight after returning from Honolulu. 
Auvaa had to borrow a uniform for the funeral. According to Igafo, she had not seen Auvaa wear this uniform before. It was only at the service that she noticed the blue cord. She had full confidence that Auvaa simply forgot to remove the blue cord.
Igafo said she told Auvaa off and explained the seriousness of wearing the blue cord when she never served as an infantry man.
The Acting Director vouched that with Auva’a’s character and work performance, there was no intention on Auvaa’s part to impersonate having earned the blue cord. She said Auvaa also made a post on FaceBook apologizing for what happened.
In that post Auvaa said the jacket she borrowed from an army infantry veteran still had the infantry cord attached. She said the jacket had not originally been intended to be worn, but due to last minute changes just minutes before the service, “I quickly donned it after adding my name tag.”
She took responsibility. “There is no excuse. The responsibility was mine to ensure the uniform was correct. In the rush, I failed to remove what should have been removed. That was poor judgment on my part,” she wrote.
Veterans including Committee Chairman Faimelelei, Vice Speaker Fetui Fetu, Tiaoalii Sai, Vala Porotesano, Su’a Alex Jenning and Manumaua Wayne Wilson said the matter shouldn’t be taken lightly. Tiaoalii called for discliplinary action , saying that from Igafo’s testimony, Auvaa only got a telling off.
Althoguh Auvaa had been subpoenaed for the hearing, she was not allowed into the chamber as the committee decided that only Igafo would be questioned.
