Charles C . Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs The Charles C . Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs is a Mortuary Affairs facility at Dover Air Force Base in Dover , Delaware housing the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations Center ( AFMAO ) , which combines the functions of both Air Force Mortuary Affairs and Port Mortuary , historically known as Dover Port Mortuary . The Port Mortuary is the United States ' only port mortuary , the largest mortuary under the Department of Defense ( DoD ) , and the only DoD mortuary located in the continental United States . History . The mortuary was used in 1978 for the victims of the Jonestown mass murder / suicide , 1986 for identifying the remains of the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger , and in 2003 for the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia . It was also a major site for identifying the remains of military personnel killed in the 9 / 11 attacks . In 2003 , the Charles C . Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs replaced the 48 year old facility that had been in use since 1955 to identify and process the remains of over 50 , 000 service members . The new $ 30 million mortuary is . In recognition of dedicated and committed services for over two decades , Dover Air Force Base named its mortuary after Charles C . Carson . Operations . The mortuary staff prepares the remains of fallen U . S . service members , as well as government officials and their families stationed abroad in Europe and Southwest Asia . 2011 scandal . In 2011 , a federal investigation by the United States Office of Special Counsel found the center had committed " gross mismanagement " of remains , including losing body parts , sawing off the damaged arm bone of a soldier so he would fit in a casket without telling his family , and lax supervision . Three supervisors were disciplined but not removed from duty . The Special Counsel investigation found that Air Force officials had attempted to silence whistleblowers by firing them from their jobs , had falsified records , and lied to investigators . The investigation was critical of the Air Force for , in investigators ' opinions , not accepting full blame for the misconduct and trying to cover it up . Colonel Robert H . Edmondson , commander of the facility from January 2009 to October 2010 was reprimanded but allowed to remain in the Air Force . Quinton R . “ Randy ” Keel , division director at the mortuary , was demoted in August 2011 and reassigned to a different position at the base before eventually resigning . Trevor Dean , the top civilian official at the mortuary voluntarily accepted a demotion and transfer in September 2011 . The Special Council report was critical of the Air Force for allowing all three men to remain employed by the service . In response , the USAF convened a board , led by John Abizaid , to review the mortuary ' s operations . A subsequent " Washington Post " investigation revealed in December 2011 that the center had disposed of the cremated remains of 274 US military personnel in the King George County Landfill in Virginia . The remains were dumped in the landfill between 2004 and 2008 . An investigation by the US Office of Special Counsel found in January 2012 that mortuary officials had retaliated against four civilian whistleblowers involved in the issue , by trying to fire two of the civilians and suspending the other two . The Office recommended further disciplinary action against Keel and Dean and said it would do so itself if the USAF failed to do so . The USAF replied that it would impose stronger discipline on Edmondson and Dean . On 21 May 2012 , the USAF announced that it had given Edmondson a formal reprimand and fined him $ 7 , 000 . Dean was suspended for 20 days without pay . Both were allowed to remain in their positions . In June 2012 , three of the civilian whistleblowers who had suffered retaliation , James G . Parsons Sr . , Mary Ellen Spera , and William Zwicharowski , were honored as " public servants of the year " by the United States Office of Special Counsel . In February 2012 it was revealed that the mortuary had improperly disposed of remains of September 11 attacks victims in a landfill . According to the " Washington Post " , mortuary and Dover officials suggested disposing of the remains at sea , but were overruled by an unidentified USAF officer at Air Mobility Command and officers at the US Army ' s Personnel Command , who directed that the remains be disposed of as medical waste .