DoD initiates review of cremation policies

[CommunityEditor]

Embarrassed by revelations at Dover Air Force Base, Del., that some service members’ remains were cremated at a facility that also handled dead pets, the Pentagon has launched an investigation and review of cremation policies across the military.

The Pentagon says there is “no evidence whatsoever that any human remains were mistreated,” spokesman Geoff Morrell said. The human and pet crematories are adjacent but separate.

But Defense Secretary Robert Gates put an immediate stop to the practice, calling it inappropriate, Morrell said May 9.

“The families of the fallen have the secretary’s deepest apology,” Morrell said. “Those still serving have his commitment that all members of the armed forces will be treated with the dignity and respect that their sacrifice demands.”

With Gates’ approval, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne directed the Dover Port Mortuary at Dover Air Force Base to stop contracting with the off-site crematorium in question and to use only crematoriums that are on the same site with licensed funeral homes. Morrell also said there must be a military presence during the handling of remains at off-base funeral home facilities.

In addition, David Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, will review Pentagon policy on the handling of service members’ remains, Morrell said.

It was the complaint of a service member who works in the Pentagon that prompted the moves, Morrell said. The service member — another official said it was an officer — had witnessed the cremation of a soldier recently returned from Iraq.

The Dover Port Mortuary, the military’s only mortuary, has had an agreement since 2001 with two local funeral homes to perform cremations because there is no cremation facility at the base. One of the facilities, owned by Torbert Funeral Chapels, is not on the same site with its public funeral home and is in an industrial park in Kent County, Del. It has three incinerators, two used for human remains, the other for pets, Morrell said.

The two closest incinerators, or “retorts,” where the human and pet cremations took place are about 20 feet apart, said Army Lt. Col. Les Melnyk, a Pentagon spokesman.

“But nobody wanted the perception to exist that a mixing could have taken place,” he said.

Air Force 1st Lt. Christina Sukach, a spokeswoman at Dover, said the Air Force has used the Torbert facility since 1989. The crematorium began offering pet cremation services — which it branded Friends Forever Pet Cremation Service — in 1999, according to the company’s Web site.

Thirty-six service members have been cremated at the Torbert facility since 2004, Sukach said.

Dover officials did not inspect the facility before entering into the current agreement with Torbert in 2001, she said, but the agreement requires the contractor to be in compliance with applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations.

The facility is licensed by the state of Delaware to do both human and pet cremations, Sukach said.

Each service member who is to be cremated off site is escorted from Dover to the crematorium by two airmen in uniform, Melnyk said. The airmen do not stay for the entire cremation because it takes several hours, he said, so they return later to pick up the cremated remains.

Melnyk said that it is up to family members whether to have a returned service member’s remains cremated by the military or to have the body sent back home to have that done.

“It’s just another service we offer,” he said.


Article: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/05/airforce_dover_051708/

[CommunityEditor]

Embarrassed by revelations at Dover Air Force Base, Del., that some service members’ remains were cremated at a facility that also handled dead pets, the Pentagon has launched an investigation and review of cremation policies across the military.

The Pentagon says there is “no evidence whatsoever that any human remains were mistreated,” spokesman Geoff Morrell said. The human and pet crematories are adjacent but separate.

But Defense Secretary Robert Gates put an immediate stop to the practice, calling it inappropriate, Morrell said May 9.

“The families of the fallen have the secretary’s deepest apology,” Morrell said. “Those still serving have his commitment that all members of the armed forces will be treated with the dignity and respect that their sacrifice demands.”

With Gates’ approval, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne directed the Dover Port Mortuary at Dover Air Force Base to stop contracting with the off-site crematorium in question and to use only crematoriums that are on the same site with licensed funeral homes. Morrell also said there must be a military presence during the handling of remains at off-base funeral home facilities.

In addition, David Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, will review Pentagon policy on the handling of service members’ remains, Morrell said.

It was the complaint of a service member who works in the Pentagon that prompted the moves, Morrell said. The service member — another official said it was an officer — had witnessed the cremation of a soldier recently returned from Iraq.

The Dover Port Mortuary, the military’s only mortuary, has had an agreement since 2001 with two local funeral homes to perform cremations because there is no cremation facility at the base. One of the facilities, owned by Torbert Funeral Chapels, is not on the same site with its public funeral home and is in an industrial park in Kent County, Del. It has three incinerators, two used for human remains, the other for pets, Morrell said.

The two closest incinerators, or “retorts,” where the human and pet cremations took place are about 20 feet apart, said Army Lt. Col. Les Melnyk, a Pentagon spokesman.

“But nobody wanted the perception to exist that a mixing could have taken place,” he said.

Air Force 1st Lt. Christina Sukach, a spokeswoman at Dover, said the Air Force has used the Torbert facility since 1989. The crematorium began offering pet cremation services — which it branded Friends Forever Pet Cremation Service — in 1999, according to the company’s Web site.

Thirty-six service members have been cremated at the Torbert facility since 2004, Sukach said.

Dover officials did not inspect the facility before entering into the current agreement with Torbert in 2001, she said, but the agreement requires the contractor to comply with applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations.

The facility is licensed by the state of Delaware to do both human and pet cremations, Sukach said.

Each service member who is to be cremated off site is escorted from Dover to the crematorium by two airmen in uniform, Melnyk said. The airmen do not stay for the entire cremation because it takes several hours, he said, so they return later to pick up the cremated remains.


Article: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/05/army_afdover_053008/

[Unregistered]

What's the big deal. Have any of the families complained? Was there any disrespect shown towards the remains of the service member?

Seems to me that the "Army Officer" who stirred this pot needlessly needs to find a productive task for his free time. Surely the Army Chief of Staff can find something for this "officer" to do in the halls of the Pentagon, maybe there's a GI buffer that needs an operator.

[technomage1]

The crematorium was licensed by the state, had two incinerators and no human and pet remains were ever mixed. So what is the problem here?

[Shrike]

The crematorium was licensed by the state, had two incinerators and no human and pet remains were ever mixed. So what is the problem here?

The phrase "tempest in a teapot" comes to mind.

I'm just waiting for someone to come here and blame the president.

[Unregistered]

This is a calling card that defines the difference between true leadership and spineless placation of media speculation! The funeral service used separate buildings. The media's claims implied they used the exact same facilities. Several points come to mind.

First, never trust the media. They rarely take any time to get their facts straight and that's under the best of circumstances. Worse, when a headline-grabbing moment is at hand, then facts are never allowed to interfere with a "good story!"

Second, the senior leadership in the US military are savvy enough from personal experience to understand the first point!

Third, the DoD threw this honorable civilian business under the proverbial bus in a most shameless manner! Before announcing their contract decision the military should have at least spoken with the company owners to get the facts balanced out.

Fourth, this is another shameful example of Pentagon leaders bowing to the prevailing winds of public relations rather than exert true leadership to stiffen against them and define the truth. Integrity is rarely an easy path to follow. But without integrity the military is bereft of the qualities needed to win wars. We expect nothing less from our rank and file than integrity in leadership decisions. We have no basis to excuse anything less from our most senior leadership!

Fifth, and perhaps the most noteworthy point, the DoD is very lucky this funeral home has not filed a lawsuit for defamation of character. In my view, they have a strong case to sue for big money. I imagine these people performed these services for the honor of it rather than the money. It would not surprise me to learn they did it for cost if not at a loss.

The military cannot publicly trash patriotic citizens who perform services for us just because the media see a cheap opportunity for ratings at their expense. We in the military must rise above this and show the leadership example we rightly demand from everyone else in uniform.

[CommunityEditor]

Update: DoD treated crematory unfairly, owner says (http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/06/airforce_mortuary_060208/)


The owner of the funeral parlor and cremation service at the center of a controversy over service members’ remains says his business was treated unfairly and its reputation damaged by a too-hasty Pentagon decision.

Torbert Funeral Chapel in Dover, Del., lost a contract in May with the port mortuary at Dover Air Force Base to cremate the remains of service members who died in Iraq and Afghanistan after it came to light that the company’s facility also cremates pets, albeit in separate crematories.

Bill Torbert, the company’s owner and president, said the Pentagon made its decision to suspend the contract without investigating the business or giving Torbert a chance to defend himself.

“We just feel that ... someone jumped the gun on making some judgments about the way that we do business and that we were treated a little bit unfairly,” Torbert said. “Not that it affected our business a lot ... but it has certainly tarnished our reputation, which is something that’s very hard to recover from.”

Torbert Funeral Chapel and the Torbert family have had a close relationship with the military for many years, Torbert said. The company began embalming the bodies of service members who died overseas in 1958, and the Air Force has used the company for cremations since 1989.

The company has cremated about 215 service members killed overseas since 2001, according to Lisa Torbert, the owner’s sister.

Numerous family members have served in the military, and the business employs three military retirees, Bill Torbert said.

The company also handles the funerals of many military retirees, he said, helping families attend to details such as filing paperwork with the Defense Department and arranging for military honor guards to attend funeral services.

The crematorium began offering pet cremation services — which it branded Friends Forever Pet Cremation Service — in 1999, according to the company’s Web site. The pet and human crematoriums are in separate buildings, Bill Torbert said.

Each service member’s body is escorted to the facility by airmen from Dover, he said, but no one raised concerns about the pet crematorium until May, when an Army officer stationed at the Pentagon saw a sign advertising the pet cremation services and was offended.

The officer did not raise his concerns at the time, Lisa Torbert said, and the family did not know about the controversy until they saw news coverage on CNN.

Bill Torbert said he hopes the company can resume its 50-year relationship with the military.

“Having Dover Air Force Base in the local vicinity, we come into contact with a large population of retired ... and active-duty military, and we do business with those people,” he said.

“We go to church with those people and we recreate with those people. It’s something that my father established back in the ’50s, and we have kept a relationship with Dover Air Force Base ... for years.”

The Defense Department is reviewing its cremation policies, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday.

[Unregistered]

Bravo Zulu to the person who wrote this. Glad to see someone out there has some common sense. The state licensing bureau are the ones tasked with making sure they are complying with the law on how they operate their cremation business.
I agree whole heartedly with you assessment of the media, but then they have been that way since we started watching the Vietnam war on the 6 O'clock news and all the wrong we were doing there. 40 years and we have learned nothing about the media and their agenda..... $$$ MONEY $$$. I hope that those in charge are as quick to put make sure that the media publiisizes that this was a "false alarm" when/if the the investigation shows that it was, that the media is as quick to retract their previous statement and appologize for the inaccuracy of their initial report, and finally that this company's government contract is restored with an appology from the government. Maybe the company should be given an award for the years of service to and respect for our fallen military members that they have given.

[Unregistered]

This was in reply to #6 of 6/4/08 posting. I do not use bulletin board very often if you can't tell

[retailhomegoods]

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