US war dead cremated in same facility as pets:

http://news.theage.com.au/us-war-dead-cremated-in-same-facility-as-pets-pentagon/20080510-2cuc.html

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates ordered a review of the handling of the remains of US war dead and apologized after learning that some were cremated in a commercial facility that also cremates pets, the Pentagon said.

Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said there was no evidence that any US servicemember was cremated in an incinerator used for pets.

But Gates believed that the use of a commercial facility that cremated both humans and pets, albeit in separate incinerators, was "insensitive and entirely inappropriate for the dignified treatment of our fallen," Morrell said.

"The families of the fallen have the secretary's deepest apology," he added.

An unidentified army officer complained earlier Friday after visiting the military's mortuary at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to pay respects to a comrade who had been killed in combat, officials said.

..... It's a damn shame. :argh:

I can certainly acknowledge there is insensitivity, but unless they were cremating in the same incinerator, such that "fluffy's" remains might intermix, I'm not sure I feel the same sense of horror as I do over the countless other wrongs being done to our military and their families.

Grief for a lost beloved pet certainly does approach that for a lost beloved family member for so many. Thus, for the spiritual among us, I dare say those human remains are enveloped in the strong residuals of love and grief no less than I could imagine in a "pure" human facility. Nonetheless, I am very saddened that this may add to the pain of some family members who feel quite differently.

So some poor s.o.b. in the Air Force will take the fall for this. What kind of sick mind would even THINK to save the Air Force money by suggesting a pet crematorium for this? Pity there isn't an independent investigation going on, the skeptic in me thinks that this was scripted by a civilian member of the bfee.
:patriot:To those who serve. :patriot:

what a non-story

Some kids over in Iraq might think differently

:eyes:

proud to be cremated with my wonderful dog. But that is just me.

that got me thinking...

1.- The military usually does not cremate casualties UNLESS the family requests this or in the form signed by the trooper before deployment

2.- There is a situation when troops WILL be cremated and respect be dammed and I had to go... hmmm I don't like the looks of this. That is if any trooper is in contact with highly infectious or hazardous material. (that applies to EMS workers as well. If during my ten years I died from a highly infection disease such as the bubonic plague, all religious traditions be damned)

So I had to think when this story broke... what if...

Sorry... if I was reaching for the tinfoil

Otherwise... highly disrespectful.

who served in Iraq, who luckily came home alive, and retired a few months ago, I don't feel any outrage over this at all.

The place had 3 incinerators, two for humans and one they used for pet cremations. They were in separate areas and are used accordingly.

Why is this insulting? I wouldn't be insulted, nor would my husband. In fact, I think it is rather nice that a place would be doing this for animal lovers.

Sorry, I think this is a bit of faux outrage.

This is the least of the insults they have committed against the troops.

I will either be cremated when I die, or donate my body to a medical school. I really don't care what happens to my body after I die. One crematorium is much like another.

I am a Viet-Nam vet, and the real tragedy is that they died in an unjust and misguided war, not in the manner of the disposal of their bodies.

Sid

is much more offensive than being cremated in the same place as pets. Then again, I'm a pet lover and may look at things a bit differently.

I do not have an issue with this at all.

Separate incinerators are used for human corpses and non-human corpses. Some crematoria also dispose of paper records; is this an outrage? What's better: a cremation in a facility that handles the remains of beloved humans and non-humans, or one that burns bodies and old tax returns?

What's an outrage is that these people were slaughtered in a senseless war.

:grr::nuke: :mad:

There are three buildings on the facility, with three separate entrances. Two of them are used for human remains, one is used for pet remains. The odds of Johnny getting mixed up with Fido are slim to none, so I'm guessing today was a slow news day.