The responsibility, and honor, of preparing the 29-year-old for his final journey home now rested on the shoulders of the staff of the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations Center here.

It's a mission they will undertake with dignity, honor and respect in mind, and with only one acceptable goal: perfection.

“It's a heavy toll our nation has paid on this, and these are the men and women who have borne the cost,” said Air Force Col. Robert H. Edmondson, the center's commander. “We owe our best every time and in every way.”

The center's mission is to receive a servicemember's remains, prepare them for final disposition, then secure an expedient passage to the place of burial -- all while ensuring “dignity, honor and respect to the fallen and care, service and support to their families,” Edmondson said. The staff tends to every seemingly minute detail, from the tight crease on a U.S. flag draped over a casket to a carefully built ribbon rack on a perfectly fitted uniform that may never be seen.

The center, while Air Force-led, is a joint effort among all services, a reflection of the people it serves. All U.S. servicemembers who die in support of a contingency operation overseas will process through here, as well as the U.S. victims of a mass casualty incident, such as the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

The number of returning fallen servicemembers varies, but Edmondson said he's seen up to 20 remains in one night. Though the center can accommodate about 50 remains in one day, he added, that's a scenario he doesn't want to witness.

The center stood up about a year ago to consolidate Air Force mortuary operations in a central location as well as to oversee the port mortuary, the only one of its kind in the Defense Department. The port now is one of the center's three divisions, along with mortuary affairs and operations.

Port mortuary division

The port mortuary is tasked with preparation of fallen members for transport to their final destination. This process begins at the time of death notification in the combat theater. Upon arrival of the remains, usually within 48 hours, staff from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System conducts the processes of identification and medical investigation.

After the remains are dressed and a quality check takes place, the remains are carefully prepared for placement into a casket, with a U.S. flag draped on top. Meanwhile, an administrative team is working behind the scenes to arrange for transportation and to complete a plethora of necessary documentation, Keel said.

“[The staff is] here doing a mission that's largely unseen, and that's the way it ought to be if you're doing it right,” Edmondson said.

This division has a weighty mission on its shoulders, but Keel said he's proud to bear that burden. “I can't think of anything else I'd rather do,” he said.

Mortuary affairs division

While the port mortuary serves military members from all branches, the mortuary affairs division is a bit more service specific. This division is responsible for the Air Force's mortuary affairs on a global scale.

Only about 5 percent of Air Force deaths worldwide come through this facility, said Todd Rose, director of the mortuary affairs division. “The rest of the deaths the Air Force experiences over a year's timeline occur throughout the world,” he said.

Rose's division is tasked with the care, service and support of the deceased and their families. This includes training mortuary affairs officers and technicians assigned to Air Force bases worldwide.

“My staff is responsible to make sure everything the deceased is entitled to receive and the support that the families are entitled to receive is extended to them,” Rose said.

The division also oversees the Center for Families of the Fallen, a new, 6,000-square-foot facility here that offers a comfortable waiting area for families that have traveled to Dover to witness the dignified transfer of a fallen loved one. The center features sitting areas designed with privacy in mind, a stocked and fully equipped kitchen, meditation room, nursery and even a room where teens can watch a wide-screen TV or play a video game.

“We wanted to create a comfortable, beautiful environment for the families who have sacrificed so much,” Rose said.

Operations division

While the missions of the port mortuary and mortuary affairs divisions are more visible in nature, the operations division takes on more of a behind-the-scenes role. But without this division, the other two would be unable to carry on, said Trevor Dean, deputy to the center's commander.

This division is the support mechanism for the other two, responsible for functions such as budget, resource management and manpower, just to name a few, said Air Force Lt. Col. Mason B. Pigue, the division's director. The division also coordinates the movement of the fallen out of the area of operations, he said, through a 24/7 command, control and communications hub called HRC3.

Upon notification of death, the HRC3 staff starts the information-gathering process to learn as much as possible about the family's wishes regarding the return of remains. They then track the return flight, from the mortuary collection point overseas through Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and then here.

“We track to see if the aircraft is on schedule and watch for issues that might affect arrival time of the fallen or family,” Pigue said.

After the remains are ready to transport home, the division takes on the reverse role, arranging for travel to the final destination and tracking every step of the way until the remains are home.

This division also oversees the dignified transfer of remains from the aircraft to the transfer vehicle, a solemn event that's conducted in honor of the fallen servicemember. A dignified transfer is conducted for every servicemember who died in a contingency operation overseas, Dean explained, and also is enacted for civilians involved in a mass fatality or for those attached to other federal agencies, such as the State Department or CIA.

Comment on this article