Whereas the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations
(hereinafter referred to as AFMAO
) was activated December 15,
2008, as a named activity of the Directorate of Services, Manpower and
Personnel, Headquarters United States Air Force;
Whereas it is the AFMAO’s mission and privilege to fulfill
the Nation’s sacred commitment of ensuring dignity, honor, and respect to
fallen members of the Armed Forces and care, service and support to their
families;
Whereas a solemn dignified transfer of remains is
conducted upon arrival at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, from the aircraft to
a transfer vehicle to honor those who have given their lives in the service of
the country;
Whereas the AFMAO has a total force staff consisting of
active duty Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines as well as members of the
reserve components of the Armed Forces and civilians;
Whereas the staff also consists of representatives from
Federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Armed
Forces Medical Examiner, who are responsible for the complete processing of
remains;
Whereas the AFMAO combines the missions of both the Air
Force Mortuary Affairs and the Dover Port Mortuary at the Charles C. Carson
Center;
Whereas the Port Mortuary at Dover Air Force Base,
Delaware, began operations in 1955;
Whereas the Port Mortuary is responsible for the return of
all Department of Defense personnel and dependents from overseas contingency
operations and other overseas deaths;
Whereas about 80 military, civilian, and contractor
personnel work in the Port Mortuary Division;
Whereas the Port Mortuary has support from 55 deployed
members of the active and reserve components of the Armed Forces, including
from the Air Force, Army, Marines, and Navy, 6 permanent party licensed
morticians, the 436th Airlift Wing, and during operations, support from the
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology Office of the Armed Forces Medical
Examiners, including pathologists, anthropologists, and forensic
photographers;
Whereas support is also obtained from the Federal Bureau
of Investigation, licensed dental technicians, and investigators from the Army
Criminal Investigation Division, the Air Force Office of Special Investigation,
and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service;
Whereas operations at the AFMAO are conducted 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week; and
Whereas since the Dover Port Mortuary opened in 1955, the
professional staff at Dover have reunited more than 60,000 fallen heroes with
their families and loved ones with the utmost dignity, honor, and respect: Now,
therefore, be it
That the House of
Representatives—
(1)honors Air Force Mortuary Affairs
Operations at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, for its service in providing
dignified transfer of our Nation’s fallen heroes to their families and loved
ones;
(2)encourages the people of the United States
to remember the actions of the dedicated military and civilian personnel who
conduct the operations at Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations;
(3)calls upon the people of the United States
to remember the fallen heroes who have given their lives for freedom in Iraq,
Afghanistan, and all previous conflicts; and
(4)calls upon Members of Congress to attend a
dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base to honor the Nation’s fallen heroes.