Defense Secretary Leon Panetta speaks at the dedication ceremony of the newly integrated Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011,in Bethesda, Md. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta speaks at the dedication ceremony of the newly integrated Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011,in Bethesda, Md. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz, right, responds to recent press reports about practices at the Dover Air Force Base Mortuary operation where remains of U.S. war dead were mishandled in 2009, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011, during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. At left is Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz, right, responds to recent press reports about practices at the Dover Air Force Base Mortuary operation where remains of U.S. war dead were mishandled in 2009, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011, during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. At left is Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, right, is presented the ceremonial scissors by Lance Cpl. Kyle Carpenter, left, during the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at the dedication of the newly integrated Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), Thursday, Nov., 10, 2011, in Bethesda, Md. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, center, and Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., second from left, take part in the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at the dedication of the newly integrated Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), Thursday, Nov., 10, 2011, in Bethesda, Md. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has told Air Force Secretary Michael Donley to reconsider whether he went far enough in disciplining, but not firing, three supervisors at the military mortuary where an investigation confirmed sloppy handling of war remains, including the loss of body parts.
Gen. Norton Schwartz told reporters after a congressional hearing Thursday that Panetta has asked Donley "to ensure that the accountability that has been executed to date is appropriate." Schwartz said "that certainly will occur."
Some members of Congress have urged the Air Force to take stronger action against those deemed responsible.
Panetta's only public comment on the Air Force's finding of "gross mismanagement" at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware was in a written statement Tuesday in which he commended the Air Force for the thoroughness of its investigation.
Panetta also said a panel of the Defense Health Board, an advisory group, would review operations at Dover.
On Wednesday his spokesman, George Little, said Panetta was not ruling out ordering "further accountability."
Panetta was expected to offer further comments on the matter at a Pentagon news conference later Thursday.
At the Senate hearing, Schwartz defended his decision to discipline but not fire the former head of the Dover mortuary for his role in the scandal. He said Col. Robert Edmondson was denied command of a unit at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., after an Air Force inspector general's report upheld allegations of "gross mismanagement" at the Dover facility that processes the remains of all U.S. troops killed abroad.
"This is not a trivial sanction," Schwartz told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Edmondson had left his post at Dover when the Air Force probe was completed last spring. He is now working in a staff job at the Pentagon. He has declined through the Air Force to comment publicly.
The Air Force said Tuesday in announcing the results of its investigation that no law, rule or regulation was violated at Dover, despite the mishandling of remains.
But it said Edmondson, his top civilian deputy at Dover and another civilian supervisor there were being held to account for supervisory lapses. Disciplinary actions against the two civilians is under Donley's purview.
In reviewing the Air Force's investigation, the Office of Special Counsel ? an independent federal investigatory agency ? said the Air Force fell short of accepting full responsibility for the mistakes.
The special counsel's report to the White House and to Congress also disputed the Air Force's contention that no rules or regulations were violated at Dover. The report also criticized the Air Force for not informing the affected families earlier about the losses of body parts in April and July of 2009. The Air Force notified the families last weekend, saying it felt obliged to wait until the probe was finished.
In its investigation, which began in May 2010, the Air Force confirmed allegations by three Dover whistleblowers that pieces of body parts from the remains of U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan were lost on two occasions.
It also said that in January 2010 a protruding arm bone of a dead Marine was sawed off in order to fit his remains into his uniform for viewing by his family. The family was not asked for permission to remove the bone and was not informed afterward.
"There clearly were unacceptable mistakes made," Schwartz said. "Whether they constitute wrongdoing is another matter entirely."
He said the Air Force was careful to respect the accused's rights of due legal process in deciding how to discipline them.
"We did that precisely," he said.
He said Edmondson, after leaving Dover on a normal rotation schedule, was placed on a "noncommand list," meaning he could not be approved for any position in which he would a commander. He also was issued a letter of reprimand. Together, those penalties effectively block him from ever getting promoted.
The two civilian supervisors ? Trevor Dean and Quinton Keel ? were moved to nonsupervisory jobs at Dover. They still work there.
Schwartz asserted that there are no doubts today at Dover about the required standards of performance. He said all who handle the remains of the war dead know they must treat the remains with dignity and reverence, and that their families must be supported and respected.
"That is our mission," he said.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said she has called on Schwartz and 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."
After the hearing, Schwartz was asked by reporters about the scandal's impact on Air Force leaders' credibility.
"When we don't perform to standard, clearly it affects people's perception of their Air Force," he said. "We know that. And we take responsibility for that."
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Associated Press writer Donna Cassata contributed to this report.
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Robert Burns can be reached on Twitter at http://twitter.com/robertburnsAP
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