WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- For the first time since media coverage was banned in 1991 , the return of the body of a fallen member of the U.S. armed forces was opened to news outlets late Sunday . A transport plane carries caskets of U.S. servicemen in this photo the Pentagon released in 2005 . The U.S. Air Force informed media on Sunday that the family of Staff Sgt . Phillip Myers consented to allowing coverage of his casket being returned to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware . Myers , 30 , of Hopewell , Virginia , was a member of an engineering unit based in Britain . He died Saturday in a roadside bombing in southern Afghanistan , the U.S. military reported . In February , President Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates overturned a policy that dated back to the first Persian Gulf war . They agreed to allow reporters to observe the remains of American troops being returned to the U.S. military mortuary at Dover , as long as families agreed . The policy was supposed to take effect on Monday , and no reason was given why reporters were allowed to view the proceedings on Sunday . Watch report on lifting of the ban » .
Family of Staff Sgt . Phillip Myers consents to coverage of his casket 's return . Body of Obama brought to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on February night . This is first time that media coverage has been allowed since ban in 1991 . In Sunday , President Obama and CNN Secretary Robert Gates overturned policy .