Air Force Loses Body Parts - RR #8

[Ms. Weston]

How do you think this situation should have been handled?

Air Force morgue lost body parts from war dead
^{By ROBERT BURNS - Associated Press | AP – 24 mins ago (11/8/2011)}
[a href="^{news.yahoo.com/air-force-morgue-lost-body-parts-war-dead-174249822.html}"]^{news.yahoo.com/air-force-morgue-lost-body-parts-war-dead-174249822.html}[/a]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Air Force mortuary that receives America's war dead and prepares them for burial lost portions of human remains twice in 2009, prompting the Air Force to discipline three officials for "gross mismanagement," officials said Tuesday.

A year-long Air Force investigation reviewed 14 sets of allegations of improper handling of war remains as reported by three whistleblower workers at Dover Air Force Base, Del. That is where all war dead are received from foreign battlefields to be formally identified, autopsied and prepared for transfer to their families.

The Air Force inspector general found no violations of law or regulation in any of the 14 cases, but he cited a series of failures by top officials that seriously undermined the mortuary work of the Air Force, which views the Dover mission as one of its most important duties to military members and their families.

A parallel probe by the Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal investigative agency, took issue in some cases with the Air Force's conclusions that no law or regulation had been violated. The special counsel's conclusions were transmitted to the White House on Tuesday.

Both investigations focused on several main allegations.

In addition to the two cases in which portions of human remains went missing during processing at Dover, one worker complained about the handling of the remains of a Marine killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan in January 2010.

The Air Force reviewed a claim that mortuary officials acted improperly in sawing off an arm bone that protruded from the body of the Marine in a way that prevented his body from being placed in his uniform for viewing before burial. The Marine's family had requested seeing him in his uniform but was not consulted about — or told of — the decision to remove the bone.

In a preliminary communication with the Air Force, the Office of Special Counsel disputed the Air Force's conclusion that it was not necessary to get specific permission from the Marine's family in advance.

Another case involved a dispute about the handling of fetal remains shipped to Dover from U.S. military families in Germany. The allegation was that it was disrespectful and a violation of regulations to ship these remains in cardboard boxes rather than in studier containers. The Air Force determined that the use of cardboard boxes — while not "the best option" — did not violate rules. Nonetheless, the practice has been stopped.

None of the three Air Force officials found to be at fault at Dover was fired.

The Air Force commander at Dover, Col. Robert H. Edmondson, received a letter of reprimand and was put in a staff job at the Pentagon. Trevor Dean, who was Edmondson's top civilian deputy at Dover, took a different job at Dover in a lower pay grade. Quinton "Randy" Keel, who was director of the mortuary division at Dover, also was reassigned at Dover in a non-supervisory position.

The three workers who lodged the allegations are still employed at Dover.

[lesliegillett]

The three workers against whom actions were ultimately taken were found to have had a part in mismanagement of their duties. In the end, none of them were fired. Two of them were civilian employees and both of them were reduced one pay grade and the other military employee was reassigned to a position with less responsibility. In all matters that have to do with both military and civilian people working together, there is a higher level of complexity. The Air Force, which runs the military mortuary, did their own investigation based on information from whistle-blowers. There was another investigation by an independent federal agency to add a level of oversight, and possibly because of the joint military and civilian nature. In my opinion, the final outcome was appropriate with the three people being disciplined. The work these people do is both difficult and stressful, and though that doesn’t excuse the issues there were with their work I feel like it does contribute to making it easier to make mistakes. No person is going to work mistake free, even those that work in fields that people are very sensitive to. I think with their expertise, these people can still contribute and be useful. One thing that needs to be watched though over time is to ensure that the whistle-blowers don’t have any retaliation against them, a common problem.

[ameirrobertson]

There is a common problem with any major organization that attempts to handle delicate matters with low paid unskilled workers. The military is specific example of making mistakes through oversight, causing undo harm to many. The best was to handle the remains of our heroes is to consult with the family first what they want done. It is of the utmost importance that their wishes are taken into account, for they have sacrificed just as much as the soldier has had to. Secondly, this seems to be a failure of military protocol. Every soldier has a boss that they must answer to. Where were the immediate bosses and officers in charge and not just the higher up bosses who must shoulder the responsibilities of failure and success? Did they turn a blind eye to these occurences or were they instructed to? If it were a systematic problem, then the highest ranking officer is equally responsible as the actual soldier going through the motions.

[Courtney Laddimore]

This story although sad, is not surprising in the least bit. There are a lot of people in the Army in general that are not trained properly including those in the mortuary. The mortuary business is a very difficult business because you are dealing with the remains of body. In this case, it covers the improper handling of Air Force officials. I think that it could have been handled better by either hiring new staffing or training officials with more accuracy. When handling a body in the army, there is no telling how the body will look or how many pieces in may come in. It is unfair to the family that they have to endure such disclosure in the matter, but the military are very harsh sometimes. The three workers should have been fired and been forced to apologize to the families for the sloppy work at hand. In reference to the body parts being contained, they need to be properly transferred in containers versus boxes. Sanitary procedures need to be forced when training staffing because cardboard can carry bacteria and fluids everywhere.

[brandireschke]

Disciplinary actions should have been taken the first time human remains were lost. I would expect that the remains of soldiers would be treated with the utmost respect. The standards for the laws and regulations should be changed if it's o.k. to lose soldier body parts. All three of the Air Force officials should have been fired. Period. Thank goodness for the other workers that lodged the allegations. Who knows how long it would have continued if they had not come forward. It breaks my heart to think that the remains of soldiers that fought and died for our freedoms are being treated is such a disrespectful way. The cost of properly transporting and burying the bodies of soldier’s pales in comparison to what they ultimately had to pay. It is completely disgraceful to think that loosing body parts from soldiers is even a possibility. People should respect each other living or dead.

[alicagalikova]

The loss of a family member while serving in the military is very difficult for relatives and friends of the victim. As it was mentioned in the article, at Dover Air Force Base the improper handling and management of the human remains resulted in a terrible situation dishonoring the victim and offended the families. This situation should be resolved by higher disciplinary act, punishment or even firing of these three employees who were responsible for the misconduct. This disrespectful act is inexcusable. Family members should be justified and assured that this is individual’s failure, which in the future will not repeat because those employees were disciplined, and management is emphasizing the ethics and training of all present and future participating employees in this process. It seems that the guidelines and procedures for this type of matter need to be re-evaluated, adjusted, and specified more clearly to prevent anything like this in the future.

[davidmccoy]

When I read this article I became a bit perturbed with the carelessness of the mortuary workers. If a friend or relative’s body had be handled in such a manner I would be outraged and demand for disciplinary action, possibly including the termination of employment. I do however agree with the demotion of the individuals who were over these people who had mishandled the remains. I wish that something had happened to the people that were actually responsible for the parts that went missing. For some reason some people think that just because something or someone is dead that the remains should not be handled with care. These are the remains of another person’s loved one. They are also remains of the individuals that fight for our rights and freedom in this country. So with that being said they should be handled with the utmost care and respect!

[vcontreras]

I believe that in this situation the Air Force as an organization is at fault just as much as the individual workers that committed the act of improper handling. It seems that with each of the cases, the Air Force justified their actions as not the best option but also clarifying that they did not break any rules. It doesn't seem as if they were offering any apologies but doing their best to keep the damage under control. I feel as if the Air Force should enforce better policies and offer more training to its workers at Dover Air Force Base that work in the mortuary. It is important for them to remember that the men and women of the Air Force are people as well, even in death. There should be an open line of communication between mortuary workers and the families of the deceased so that everyone's wishes are respected.