Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on TwitterBe a Facebook FanTumble us!

09 Dec 2011 13:32

tags

U.S.: Congress plans investigations into military burial practices

  • The Tomb of the Unknown is one of our nation’s most hallowed places, guarded around the clock — regardless of weather — every day of the year. We owe this spirit of reverence not only to the unknown service members entombed at Arlington, but to all those who wear the uniform to protect and defend our freedom.
  • A joint statement from Reps. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) • Discussing a Washington Post scoop from the other day, in which reporters found that the remains of hundreds of soldiers taken from the Dover Air Force Base got put in a landfill, because, that, clearly, is the most respectful way to deal with the remains of soldiers who died in the line of duty. The count at this point is 274 soldiers. Cummings and Issa, the top members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, have promised a deeper investigation — they plan to look at all military burial practices over the past decade, beyond just Dover.  source

08 Nov 2011 23:17

tags

U.S.: Air Force officials disciplined over handling of dead soldiers’ remains

  • A missing ankle bone. Some missing tissue. A sawed-off arm. War is an ugly thing, and the death of a soldier is certainly one of the more difficult things to put into a pretty package. But three employees at the Dover, Delaware Air Force base found out that “close enough” isn’t good enough when it’s someone’s life in the package. They got reprimanded (but not fired) for the mishandling of the soldiers’ remains, leading to some shocking and gruesome details getting out to the press. As this is a sensitive issue, the Air Force is working to ensure this won’t happen again. “We and every employee of the Dover Port Mortuary understand the obligations of this work, the sanctity of this work, the necessity, the need for reverence, the need for dignity and respect for our fallen, just as if these were our sons and our daughters,” noted Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, the chief of staff for the Air Force. source