Seven U.S. Troops Killed in Afghanistan Returned Home

A Navy team transfers the remains of Petty Officer 2nd Class Tony M. Randolph at Dover Air Force Base, Del., July 8, 2009, as Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, joins Navy Rear Adm. James J. Shannon, commander of the Naval Warfare Center, Army Brig. Gen. Michael T. Harrison Sr., director of Joint and Futures, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G8, Headquarters, Department of the Army, Washington D.C., and Air Force Col. Manson O. Morris, commander, 436th Airlift Wing, at Dover. U.S. Air Force photo by Roland Balik

"We're taking care of someone's child, mother, father, husband, wife."

Air Force Staff Sgt. Star Samuels, front, and Air Force Tech. Sgt. Willard Rico place a U.S. flag over a casket March 31, 2009, during a dry run of shipping process procedures for the dignified transfer of remains at the Charles C. Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs, Dover Air Force Base, Del. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III

Airmen Cover the Fallen With Dignity, Honor, Respect

By Air Force Capt. Shannon Collins
Special to American Forces Press Service

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del., April 6, 2009 – For some, it means red, white and blue. It means 13 stripes for the original colonies and 50 stars for the states. For the families of the fallen, the American flag means so much more.

Because of this, two airmen assigned to the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations Center here take their mission very seriously.

"These men and women who gave their lives for their country for the sake of freedom deserve the utmost dignity, honor and respect," Air Force Tech. Sgt. Willard Rico, a shipping specialist here, said. "I'm very privileged to be a part of that, especially for the families left behind."

Rico is deployed from the 60th Force Support Squadron at Travis Air Force Base, Calif. His co-worker, Air Force Staff Sgt. Star Samuels, a shipping specialist deployed from the 43rd Force Support Squadron, Pope Air Force Base, N.C., echoes his sentiment.

"We're taking care of someone's child, mother, father, husband, wife. They passed away protecting this country; we try to make everything perfect to give them and their families the utmost respect," Samuels said.

The shipping specialists are part of the final process for fallen heroes prior to beginning their journey home to their loved ones. The mortuary staff prepares the remains of fallen U.S. servicemembers, as well as government officials and their families stationed abroad in Europe and Southwest Asia. Since 1955, the remains of more than 50,000 servicemembers have arrived here for identification and funeral preparations.

The shipping specialists, Rico and Samuels, inspect the caskets, as well as perform a final check to make sure the dog tags, ribbons, flag and more are correct and up to standards. They are the final "eyes" before the fallen are sent to their loved ones.

"We make sure everything is perfect," Samuels said. "Our mission is to send them out the way they're remembered, not how they came in."

Before any fallen come through the doors of the mortuary, the airmen prepare the flags. They remove the flags from their protective packaging, unfold them and then slowly feed them into an industrial steamer for pressing. As the airmen gently unfurl the 5-by-9 foot flag and feed it into the steamer, they spray a mist of water on it. The machine folds the flag over as it presses so that the flag never touches the ground.

The airmen slowly take the freshly pressed flag and put it on a frame for later use. The flags will gently caress the caskets of the fallen as they return to their families. Ultimately, these same flags will be folded by an honor guard at the funeral and presented to the family as a final remembrance of their fallen hero’s service and ultimate sacrifice.

For Samuels, pressing the flags brings home the experience and importance of what they mean.

"When I'm pressing a flag, I'm pressing a flag for someone who hasn't died yet," she said. "Today, we pressed 12 flags. Those flags could be here until next weekend, then all of a sudden, we're pressing 12 more flags."

The flags drape over a rack until needed. Once a flag is needed, the two airmen, standing on either side of the casket, slowly pull the pressed flag off of the rack and onto the casket. One of them stands at the foot, one at the head, working in harmony, making eye contact, as they carefully and delicately drape the flag to embody the casket with the fallen soldier, sailor, Marine or airman.

The movements are slow, deliberate and in sync. Their eyes roam around the casket, making sure everything is perfect.

"I have so much respect for my fallen heroes," Samuels said. "These heroes have families, loved ones, who could've talked to them just a couple of hours ago. Just one mistake, one trip down the road, anything can happen. I take nothing for granted."

The airmen perform this mission day in and day out for the families.

"We're here for the families," Rico said. "I'm privileged to be working here, giving dignity, honor and respect to the fallen for their families. It's the most rewarding job I've ever done so far in my career."

As the red, white and blue is secured around the casket, the stars and stripes drawn taut, the airmen prepare to send the fallen home.

They render the slow salute as the American flag passes by.



(Air Force Capt. Shannon Collins serves with the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations Center public affairs office.)

Some Subterfuge About Dover?

Some spin anyone?

Military Support Groups Provided Input for Dover Policy Change

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 2, 2009 – A Pentagon working group solicited and obtained input from several military support organizations for a policy change that, under strictly delineated conditions, allows media filming of dignified transfer operations of
fallen servicemembers’ remains at Dover Air Force Base, Del., a senior U.S. officer said here yesterday.

“There was great appreciation on the parts of the stakeholders that we reached out to them,” Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael J. Basla told reporters during a roundtable at the Pentagon.

Basla, the vice director of the Joint Staff’s command, control, communications and computer systems directorate, chaired the Pentagon working group that developed recommended guidelines and rules for implementing the new policy, which takes effect April 6.

Dover’s Charles C. Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs is the Defense Department’s largest joint-service mortuary facility, and the only one in the continental United States. Dover also is the U.S. military’s largest air terminal. Media photography or filming of dignified transfers at Dover was prohibited under the previous policy.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced his intention to change the policy in February. He tasked Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to set up the working group.

The working group, Basla said, presented its recommendations to Gates on March 11. On March 25, Gates signed a memorandum outlining procedures for the new policy.

In the memorandum, Gates wrote he’d determined Feb. 27 “that the [Defense Department] policy governing media access to the dignified transfer of fallen servicemembers at Dover Air Force Base would be modified to allow media access, when approved by the immediate families of the individual fallen.”

“Our challenge,” Basla said, “was to find the right way to implement this policy and preserving, I think, what was the foundation premise … to take care and preserve the privacy of the family, carry out their wishes, allow media access if they chose to do so, and then in turn, providing some transparency to the public on the dignified transfer process.”

The 20-member working group included senior Pentagon representation from the Joint Staff, policy, public affairs, casualty assistance, legal and other areas, Basla said.

The working group reached out to a number of military service-support organizations, Basla said, to include the Gold Star Mothers, Gold Star Wives, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors group, veterans groups such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion, the Military Officers Association, and the services’ senior enlisted advisors.

“And, of course, a key element of the working group were the folks at Dover themselves; the folks on the ground that are actually executing the mission and the change in policy,” Basla said.

Basla said he’d contacted four military support groups himself. “And, we received the greatest feedback,” Basla said, noting the service-support groups were quizzed on their ideas about how to implement the new policy and their thoughts about media coverage of dignified transfer operations.

The support groups expressed concerns whether “the media will decide which of our heroes they will tell the story about, and which they won’t,” Basla said, or if there would be regular broadcasts listing the arrival of the fallen at Dover.

The support groups were provided follow-up feedback, Basla said. And, he added, they will be provided a copy of the script that notification officers will use when talking to fallen servicemembers’ primary next of kin and are discussing the option of having media access to dignified transfer operations.

“Some families want to be private about this; some families want to tell their story,” Basla said, noting “it’s a relief” for some families to talk about their lost loved ones.

And again, Basla said, some families and military support groups worry the media will decide which of the fallen servicemembers arriving at Dover “are honored, and which are not.”

The working group, Basla said, also looked into whether all families, whether they opted for media coverage at Dover or not, could receive Defense Department-provided imagery of their loved one’s dignified transfer. However, he said, existing laws would prevent those who opt out of media coverage from securing such government-provided photography against Freedom of Information Act requests. [Ed Note: Emphasis mine]

Basla said it was “a privilege and an honor” to participate in the working group. All the group’s members, he added, “took this job extremely seriously.”

The working group, Basla added, sought “to provide the nation with a way to continue to honor [and] respect the dignity of these servicemembers and their service for our country and for our freedom.”

In his March 25 memorandum, Gates thanked the working group for its efforts and commended its “very thorough review” of the policy.

Decisions regarding media coverage of the dignified transfer process at Dover should “be made by those most directly affected -- on an individual basis -- by the families of the fallen,” Gates told reporters during a Feb. 26 Pentagon news conference.

“We ought not to presume to make that decision in their place,” Gates added.

But You just did Mr. Gates....you just did.....

From the Congressional Record.

ALLOWING PRESS AT DOVER AIR FORCE BASE WHEN FALLEN TROOPS RETURN

Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to one of our fallen heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our Nation in Iraq, and to share a letter I recently received from his father, Robert Stokely. Robert's letter relates to a Department of Defense policy that directly affected his family, and most especially, Mr. Speaker, his son.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to read this letter, as I feel it is necessary for this body to fully understand this issue in order to protect the dignity of our troops. Robert Stokely is from Newnan, Georgia, my wife's hometown. And of course I represented that area and am very proud of the folks in Newnan.




Mr. Robert Stokely writes:

``I was alarmed at the question asked by Ed Henry at President Obama's address to the Nation on Monday, February 9, 2009, i.e., allowing media access and cameras at Dover Air Force Base where fallen military personnel arrive on their final trip home to an honorable rest. I am also alarmed by an AP news article that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has ordered a review of the policy. Please take a moment and read my story of meeting my son, and hopefully you can have a vivid image of why it is
important to keep the family first in this matter, for it is a very personal moment when a fallen hero arrives home.

``I met my son's body at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta on August 24, 2005 as he arrived from Dover. I went alone as a special privilege to take his body to the funeral home, where the family would then be the first to see the most striking, vivid image of a fallen loved one, the flag-draped casket. I rode in the hearse to take him on a 25-mile ride, covering the roads that Mike and I had shared so many days as a divorced dad and son going to and from visitation on weekends,
holidays, and summers. It was a `last ride to take my boy home.' ''

And this is in bold font, Mr. Speaker.

``I wore a favorite blue blazer, trousers, and a red and blue striped tie, for my son deserved my respect. As they uncrated his casket and draped the American flag over him, I saluted from nearby, tears streaming down my cheeks, as a number of busy U.S. Air cargo employees suddenly stopped in stunned silence, only then realizing what was taking place.

``I held my salute, poor as it was for an untrained civilian, until the flag was completely draped and the edges evenly cornered out. Then I stepped outside to call my wife, Retta, who loved him like one of her own. And as she answered the telephone, with tears still streaming down my cheeks and with a quiver in my voice, I said, ``our boy is home.''

Mike Stokely was age 23 when he was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq. While the political debate about Iraq or any other war may be had in a free country like this, such as we enjoy, there is no debate that our military personnel engage in of the politics of when, where, or how long a war is waged. They have a constitutional duty to obey the Commander in Chief's lawful orders.

Mike Stokely, and many others, did their constitutional duty, and in doing so, preserved our freedom. Mike, and those like him who haven't yet but will die for America, do not need to be a media spectacle at Dover Air Force Base.

``I was once asked what I thought the real cost of freedom is. There are many such costs, but for the Stokely family, and like many of us, the highest cost has been paid, a lifetime of love.

``Is it too much to ask, given what the fallen and their families have given America, for us to have that first moment of seeing the flag-draped casket to be ours and ours alone? Should we now be asked to give more so that something so private can be used to sell advertising, to ensure a media outlet's profitable bottom line? Black ink on the bottom line is usually a good thing, but it cannot be so when it comes at the cost of making a spectacle of our fallen, thus dishonoring their spilled red
American blood. I hope your answer will be an unequivocal, unwavering, and unapologetic `no,' and that you will fight to keep the honorable sanctity of Dover rather than allow it to become a media spectacle.

``Please protect our fallen and their families and the privacy of Dover, for our fallen have given their lives to protect the lifetime of love you and your family and millions of other Americans continue to live and enjoy.

``Proud dad of Sergeant Mike Stokely.''

Gates Releases New Dover Media Policy

Our own Robert Stokely is on the advisory council that helped draft this new policy and I can see his hand in some of this, I hope he can comment on the policy. My thoughts to follow.....

Until then the press release:

~~~~

Gates Signs Policy Change for Dignified Transfer Operations at Dover

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has approved a policy change that, under strictly delineated conditions, allows media filming of dignified transfer operations of fallen service members' remains at Dover Air Force Base, Del.

The new policy is slated to be implemented, April 6, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters today. If immediate family members consent to media coverage, Whitman said, reporters would be provided the basic information on the servicemember and the expected time of arrival of the flight bearing the remains.

"The core of the policy," Whitman said, "is built around the desires of the family members, and it will be the families that decide whether or not media have access to any of these dignified transfers."

Dover's Charles C. Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs is the Defense Department's largest joint-service mortuary facility, and the only one in the continental United States. Dover also is the U.S. military's largest air terminal. Media photography or filming of dignified transfers at Dover was prohibited under the previous policy.

In a March 25, memorandum that outlines procedures for the new policy, Gates wrote he'd determined on Feb. 27, "that the [Defense Department] policy governing media access to the dignified transfer of fallen service members at Dover Air Force Base would be modified to allow media access, when approved by the immediate families of the individual fallen."

Gates announced last month that he would change the policy that had prohibited news organizations from filming dignified transfer operations at Dover.

"We are committed to seeing that America's fallen heroes are received back to their loved ones and their country with the honor, respect and recognition that they and their families have earned," Gates said at a March 18 news conference.

Media with family consent to cover dignified transfer operations at Dover will be required to conduct themselves in a respectful, quiet manner so as not to disturb the solemnity of the occasion, Whitman said. That concern, he added, also requires filming and photography using only ambient light and sound.

"So, if it's 2 o'clock in the morning, you get lighting that is 2 o'clock in the morning-type lighting; if it is raining, it's raining," Whitman said. "We are not changing the dignified transfer process to accommodate media. What we are doing is accommodating the media to cover the existing dignified transfer process."

Media with family approval to cover Dover dignified transfers would be placed in an area behind the families, Whitman said, noting that the families aren't to be filmed or interviewed as they observe transfer operations. Families that agree to be interviewed by media after the transfer operations could do so, Whitman said, but only in a specified area away from the tarmac.

Whitman pointed out that the remains of fallen service members are transported to Dover around the clock in an expeditious manner. When the new policy takes effect, he said,
the Dover Air Force Base public affairs office will post to its Web site that a dignified transfer approved for media coverage by the fallen service member's family is to take place, along with the time and some other particulars. The media, Whitman continued, also may opt to subscribe to an e-mail notification system that would provide similar information.

The military will take photographs of dignified transfer operations to provide to families that approve media coverage, Whitman said.

Each dignified transfer operation takes about 15 minutes to complete, Whitman explained. Dover public affairs personnel, he said, would assist media to gain access onto the installation, providing briefings, and take them to the flight line.

Gates tasked Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen to set up a working group to develop recommended guidelines and rules for implementing the new policy. Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael J. Basla chaired the group, which consulted with service-support organizations such as the Gold Star Mothers, Gold Star Wives, veterans groups and senior enlisted advisors.
Family members consulted by the working group seemed split on the issue, Basla recalled in an earlier interview, noting some expressed concern about media coverage of dignified transfer operations at Dover, while others appeared to welcome it.

In his memorandum, Gates thanked the working group for its efforts and commended its "very thorough review" of the policy.

Decisions regarding media coverage of the dignified transfer process at Dover should "be made by those most directly affected -- on an individual basis -- by the families of the fallen," Gates told reporters during a Feb. 26 Pentagon news conference. "We ought not to presume to make that decision in their place."

Per the memorandum, the following actions are to be taken in conjunction with implementation of the new policy:
-- The undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness and other Pentagon elements will revise defense regulatory documents to reflect the new policy at Dover;
-- Deceased service members' remains will be transferred from the combat theater of operations to the Dover facility as soon as possible;
-- The primary next of kin will make the family's decision regarding media access to dignified transfer operations at Dover;
-- Families of deceased service members will be briefed on the option to allow media coverage of the dignified transfer at the time of notification of the member's death or as soon as possible thereafter;
-- If the primary next of kin permits media access at Dover, reporters will be given the name, rank, military service and hometown of the "believed to be" casualty. A more complete identification of the deceased service member, including unit, place, date and circumstances of death, will be released following the confirmation of the casualty's identity at the Dover mortuary, and then only 24 hours after the last of the deceased's next of kin have been notified of the loss; and
-- Primary next of kin and two other family members may travel to Dover at department expense to observe the dignified transfer operation. The services may fund the travel of additional family members on a case-by-case basis.

The secretary's memorandum also directed the development of a long-term plan to obtain the preference of individual service members regarding media access to dignified transfers should they become a casualty while on active duty.

On March 17, Gates made an unannounced evening visit to Dover to observe the dignified transfer operations there. The trip to Dover "was a very moving experience" for Gates, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters the day after the secretary's trip.

Tell Me Mr. Gates....How Can You Lift the Ban After This?

Please Mr. Gates, tell me how you can continue forward with your plan to lift the ban after visiting Dover and having, as your press release notes: ".... very moving experience ..."?

Gates Pays Respects to Fallen Servicemembers at Dover
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 17, 2009 – Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates traveled to Dover Air Force Base, Del., last night to pay his respects to four servicemembers killed recently in Afghanistan, a senior Pentagon official said here today.

Gates “wanted to personally honor the sacrifice” of the three soldiers and one airman who died last weekend in a roadside bomb attack near Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Press Secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters.

Jalalabad is located between the Afghan capital of Kabul and the Pakistani city of Peshawar.

The secretary’s visit to Dover last night “was a very moving experience for him,” Morrell said.

Gates has wanted to visit the facilities at Dover for some time, Morrell said. Dover’s Charles C. Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs is the Defense Department’s largest joint-service mortuary facility, and the only one in the continental United States. Dover also is the U.S. military’s largest air terminal.

“The secretary was enormously impressed by the professionalism of the aircrew, the honor guards, the mortuary affairs personnel, and really everyone involved in this process,” Morrell said. “He very much appreciates their steadfast commitment to treating our returning war dead as the fallen heroes they truly are.”

There was no media presence during Gates’ visit to Dover, Morrell said.

“We did not travel even with an official photographer,” Morrell said, noting the trip was “merely a personal visit of the secretary’s.”

Meanwhile, Morrell said, a Defense Department working group probably is within weeks of presenting its recommendations for implementing a change in policy to allow the news media to photograph the flag-draped caskets of returning fallen servicemembers with their families’ permission. Gates announced the policy change Feb. 26.

“There is still some additional work to do, and the secretary has to sign off on the final recommendations of the working group, in terms of how this is going to all take place,” Morrell said.

So your visit to honor these fallen heroes was a personal visit, one no media agent was allowed to impose upon, and yet you are still planning on lifting the ban on media access to Dover. You sir are a hypocrite and a failure to those you serve!