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    Air Force chief takes responsibility for errors

    WASHINGTON (AP) โ€” The Air Force's top general told a congressional panel Thursday that he takes personal responsibility for incidents in which remains of U.S. war dead were mishandled at the Dover military mortuary in 2009.

    Gen. Norton Schwartz was asked about the matter at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee by Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., who told Schwartz she was "deeply troubled" by the Air Force's revelation on Tuesday that in two cases body parts of U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan went missing.

    The Air Force concluded that supervisors at Dover were guilty of "gross mismanagement."

    Schwartz told Ayotte there are no doubts today at Dover about the standards of performance that must be met. He said all who handle the remains of the war dead know they must treat them with dignity and reverence, and that their families must be supported and respected.

    "That is our mission," he said.

    So far the Air Force has disciplined โ€” but not fired โ€” three supervisors at the Dover mortuary: a colonel who was in command there and two civilians. Col. Robert Edmondson has since been placed in a non-command position at the Pentagon; Trevor Dean and Quinton R. Keel were moved to other, lower-paying jobs at Dover.

    Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said Thursday that she has called on Schwartz and Air Force Secretary Michael Donley to investigate the Air Force inspector general, whose office investigated the matters at Dover. She said there are questions about whether the inspector general, Lt. Gen. Marc E. Rogers, acted "with an unbiased focus on the facts."

    ___

    Associated Press writer Donna Cassata contributed to this report.

    Robert Burns can be reached on Twitter at http://twitter.com/robertburnsAP

     
    • Yahooooo  •  6 mths ago
      Someone is actually taking responsiblity and not just pointing and blaming?
      • Fan 6 mths ago
        because they are armed service members, not politicians
      • Kandice Wells 6 mths ago
        They are not BP either.
      • Sandy Gina 6 mths ago
        and they aren't Obama voters......
    • ron  •  Billings, United States  •  6 mths ago
      the dead know nothing, but need to be treated with total respect after all they gave their
      all for us.
      • phillipg 6 mths ago
        why you goat smelling piece of #$%$
    • Bob  •  6 mths ago
      i wonder how much of the work and mismanagement was done by the military vs military contractors? seriously, based on the fact that the article clearly states 2 out of the 3 reprimanded were civilians, i'm guessing it was mostly a civilian issue. i doubt fellow service members would have that level of disrespect for their fallen brothers and sisters.
      • Roy 6 mths ago
        Bob...the civilians in question are not contractors they are civil servants (GS and GM levels). The reason they are not fired is because it takes a LOT to fire a civil service employee.
      • h-5-0 6 mths ago
        Still a Civi and they dont care. Put an active person there and no problems.
    • AirborneSoldier  •  Durham, United States  •  6 mths ago
      As a vet things like this **** me off. The colonel should be a lieutenant right now and both civilians should be fired. When our boys end up in landfills like so much trash someone needs to pay dearly. But oh yeah I forgot how today's military is, if you screw up to get 100 chances to screw up more. It's sickening.
      • De Greaser 6 mths ago
        Nowdays The Military does not demote Officers , they fire them. period ,,and take their retirment away . And thats whats needs to happen to this Officer .
      • David Janus 6 mths ago
        They screwed up; punish them . . . but did they really need to be crucified? I guess you've never heard of the concept of proportionality reagrding the punishment fitting the "crime." Must be nice to never make mistakes.
      • DS 6 mths ago
        @Airborne, it has been my experience that officers get PCSd or reassigned...enlisted folks get hammered. So your last statement is true for the officer corps, but not so much for the enlisted folks
    • David Janus  •  Tampa, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Why is it that our sanctimonious Congress doesn't expect accountability from itself like it does from the military. If someone in Congress had done something like this, would they have been fired and moved to other jobs? Yeah, the folks at Dover screwed up, but to the level that required their careers be adversely affected? By the way--I'm a 24-year vet for those of you who hate my post and think the folks at Dover got what they deserved.
    • Jl  •  Cumby, United States  •  6 mths ago
      I didn't serve a combat tour in VietNam to read about this going on. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON. FIRE THE CIVILIANS, DEMOTE THE OFFICERS AND SEND THEM ALL PACKING.

      I AM FURIOUS!!!!!
    • SimpleMan  •  6 mths ago
      any civilians need to be terminated, period

      and any in the military involved need an article 126 court marshal and to be drummed down and out of the service. i can see an easy conviction

      if the COS of the AF is going down, the CO of Dover better be going down too. and just think, tomorrow is veterans day.

      this is an insult to the families, the services, and dead which they are supposed to honor. it is your job. i think we did a better job in WWII then we do now and that is just sad w/ the volume our boys dealt with then. this is a solemn job and one that requires people that care and understand.

      it really just makes me sick.
      • Simulator 6 mths ago
        It would be appropriate if you knew what you were talking about. Article 126 court martial is for arson. Otherwise correct
      • Skycop06 6 mths ago
        SimpleMan,

        It's stated drummed out of the service not drummed down. And as previously written it's martial not marshal. Your name suits you.
      • SimpleMan 6 mths ago
        i had my number wrong in my head... i meant a 134 (general), however i can think of 3 others that would apply. Either way he needs to be gone
    • Jl  •  Cumby, United States  •  6 mths ago
      These people need to be fired, not reassigned. this is why our government has seven times the numbers of people it needs to take care of the business of the people.

      insist that they all be fired, just like any of the rest of us would be.
    • Dread Pirate Roberts  •  Chicago, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Schwartz, Donley and Rogers should be fired today!!!!
    • OLD VET  •  Houston, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Apparently the Peter Principle is still alive and well in the military. Miss management my foot, this was / is gross negligence. As a Korean Vet it is not acceptable. Men are still on duty there and being killed but no mention of this is ever in the "news". The reaction to our returning Viet Nam Veterans was disgraceful. To miss handle the body and or body parts of anyone who died in the service of this country is unforgivable.The responsible parties should be held responsible for their action and punished accordingly. This country never went to war because some "grunt" wanted some excitement. The politicians start the wars and the common man has to fight and die in them. Then the politicians turn their backs on the Vets. It is shameful. If the politicians and our countrymen do not want to take care of the veterans when they come home, maybe they should think twice about sending them in harms way. A very disgusted Veteran.
    • James  •  Hagerstown, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Absolutely unbelievable. Really sick and disrespectful. Makes me really sad that we have such useless people in our military.
    • DavidR  •  Chicago, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Different spanks for different ranks. Enlisted would have gotten court-martialed. A Colonel gets PCS'd to a cushy job at the Pentagon.
    • Tim  •  6 mths ago
      Mismanagement ! WHAT ? I'm a USMC combat vet. This is way beyond any management issue. Court marshal for the USAF staff, and jail for the civilians. This is totally unacceptable
      on any level. At least civil action is in order here. It is just sad... .
    • tufluv  •  San Antonio, United States  •  6 mths ago
      The Colonel in charge should have been forced to retire and the two civilians (federal employees) fired instead of demoted. There are no consequences when you work for the government. Any wonder why our government works against us instead of for us?
    • William S  •  Las Vegas, United States  •  6 mths ago
      This is what happens when you let civilian feathermerchants do a job.
    • Timothy  •  San Francisco, United States  •  6 mths ago
      More importantly, who's taking responsibility for the mishandling of the war?
    • Kadessa  •  Shorter, United States  •  6 mths ago
      outrage,,,, why are these people not fired,,,,KABOOT NO-PAY,
      OUR TROOPS DESERVE BETTER!!!! AND NO APOLOGY WILL MAKE UP FOR THIS 1
    • As God is my witness  •  6 mths ago
      Schwartz, Donley and Rogers should be fired today.
    • Business Lady  •  Greensboro, United States  •  6 mths ago
      It's not the Generals fault.Even though he has stepped up to take Responsibility..It is those who actually did the negligent acts of dishonorably disposing body parts of our fallen Military. Most of whom had been blown away by IED's and only body parts were left and they still should be respected and given honorable burials whether creamated or buried..not in some landfill waste site!!
    • Ben S  •  Bend, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Are you surprised,Kissinger said we are all just cannon fodder for the elites.
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