An 18-month investigation revealed “improper handling and preparation” of the remains of four military dead at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, leading to the disciplining of three senior officials.
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said he was “deeply disturbed” after seeing the investigative report by the Air Force inspector general Tuesday and ordered an independent review “of overall current operations at the Dover Port Mortuary”.
The IG report described two incidents where Dover air base lost or misplaced body parts of troops killed in Afghanistan. A military official and two civilians were disciplined for gross mismanagement of operations.
“One of the Department’s most sacred responsibilities is ensuring that the remains of our fallen heroes are recovered and returned to their families with the honor and dignity they have earned,” Panetta said. “The entire senior leadership of the Department and the Air Force has taken these allegations seriously, and the Air Force Inspector General has now completed a thorough, yearlong investigation into the matter focused on the handling of these remains.”
The probe began after a whistleblower made charges to the Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal investigative agency. That office referred the charges to the Air Force.
Mortuary officials at Dover were charged with improperly sawing off an arm bone from the body of a Marine killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan in 2010 in order to fit his remains in his uniform for viewing before burial, as requested by his family. The family was not asked about removing the bone.
The Air Force inspector general found the mortuary had not violated any regulation by sawing off the bone, but it noted the rules have since been changed to require approval by an official in the branch of service of the deceased. But the Office of Special Counsel said the Air Force had lied in saying the reason the family was not consulted was to spare them additional “emotional distress.”
Panetta said an investigative panel “will evaluate the changes that have been implemented to ensure that we are treating all of our fallen service members with the greatest reverence, dignity and respect.”
Investigators focused on the handling of the remains of four service members and included roughly 50 interviews regarding operations at Dover. Allegations of problems came to the attention of the Air Force as early as 2009, officials said.
Since 2003, the Air Force mortuary operation has prepared the remains of roughly 6,300 fallen service members, Air Force officials said.
The four families of the troops involved were informed of the findings by the Air Force, officials said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sara A. Carter is The Washington Examiner’s national security correspondent. She can be reached at [email protected].
