the air force has given some shifting explanations for why they waited so long. first general schwartz, the chief of staff who you heard earlier, said that there were some constraints placed on the air force by the office of special counsel that made them wait. later he said that it was the air force's judgment that they wanted to give all the information of the families in one fell swoop instead of partial reports and that's why they waited. the office of special counsel was highly critical of this. they said that they had urged the air force for months to notify the families, that they should have been notified right away that there was these discrepancies and what happened to their fallen relatives. >> warner: secretary panetta has his review, you have your findings. where does this go from here? >> we're not sure and i i think there are questions as to how things were handled at this mortuary and for how many years. yesterday general schwartz couldn't rule out that there have been other incidents where body parts were missing or other improprieties. he said he

the air national guard has been trained and equipped as part of the united states air force. it is conceptually an entirely different matter. i don't believe that the joint chiefs of staff have been failing to represent the interests of the army guard in the army or the air guard in the air force. general dempsey, would you say there's been any indication of that? >> absolutely no indication. not only is there no indication, it just is inaccurate. they are represented by the two service use. >> would you also agree that the guard is as well represented as the air force reserve and the army reserve? >> i do, senator. >> would there be any justification for adding the reserve chiefs as members of the joint chiefs of staff? >> i would recommend against it are the same reason i recommend against adding the guard. >> with regard to non-title x obligations, as an observation from having three years been secretary weinberger's principal advisor of guard and reserve matters. there are a number of other jurisdictions in which non-title x obligations of the national guard or tittered an

the air force has given some shifting explanations for why they waited so long. first general schwartz, the chief of staff who you heard earlier, said that there were some constraints placed on the air force by the office of special counsel that made them wait. later he said that it was the air force's judgment that they wanted to give all the information of the families in one fell swoop instead of partial reports and that's why they waited. the office of special counsel was highly critical of this. they said that they had urged the air force for months to notify the families, that they should have been notified right away that there was these discrepancies and what happened to their fallen relatives. >> warner: secretary panetta has his review, you have your findings. where does this go from here? >> we're not sure and i i think there are questions as to how things were handled at this mortuary and for how many years. yesterday general schwartz couldn't rule out that there have been other incidents where body parts were missing or other improprieties. he said he

i can attest over my 30 years in the air force at the air guard today has the oldest legacy fleet and its history and i am concerned, as i am sure the chief staff of the air force is over future modernization plan so that we can have the balance force that is made the air force and the international guard so close throughout history. i am concerned about the future of capitalization of the air national guard. >> my time is up, but i would like for the record and writing at a later time if you would respond to three of the witnesses talked about the confusion -- the work confusion. i would like to have the respond, for the record on that particular issue. >> inks, senator. >> senator lieberman. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thanks to all of you for being here. i guess i would say on this interesting and important question in a minor member of the open-minded caucus because i am undecided. this discussion has really been very helpful. i wanted to get on the record just some basic facts. maybe you will start with you. what is the number of personnel in the army and air guard? >> we have ap

air force airmen in afghanistan and about 1910 in iraq. this comes in the u.s. air force. what is the reduction in the work force mean when you talk about drawdowns? guest: the air force went to war in the middle east when saddam hussein invaded kuwait more than 20 years ago. we have been there the whole time since then. when 500,000 troops invaded kuwait, the air force state. stayed. the air force was there on the second attack on kuwait and as a drawdown happens, we think the air force will get smaller but not proportionately to the reduction in ground forces. we are generally the first guys in and alaskas out that we expect we will remain -- maintain a presence. -- we are generally the first guys in and of the last guys out and we expect we will remain a presence. we will be present around the world particularly in the pacific to provide security and stability. host: when you think about 20 years from now and your budget, how will things be different? leon panetta also said yesterday he is looking at retirement and health care benefits as well as ways to cut. how much do

the air force confirmed that the cremated body parts of some veterans were dumped in landfills into 2008leon panetta has ordered an independent review of procedures at dover air force base. he was joined by martin dempsey for a briefing at the pentagon. this is half an hour. >> good afternoon. firstis general dempsey's briefing with the secretary. i welcome him to this briefing. i would inform him there is a tradition that he gets all of the tough questions. did tim used to this job. let me begin by wishing a happy birthday to the united states marine corps. i will be attending their ball this saturday. general dempsey and i have been working with the senior leadership of the department, including the service secretaries, the combatant commanders and the undersecretary of defense to implement the 450 billion in savings we have been required to do over 10 years. that translates into a around $260 billion over five years. this process, and i required this from the beginning, has to be driven by strategy. it also has to be a team effort. my hope is that as we work through this we will put t

air force airmen in afghanistan and about 1910 in iraq. this comes in the u.s. air force. what is the reduction in the work force mean when you talk about drawdowns? guest: the air force went to war in the middle east when saddam hussein invaded kuwait more than 20 years ago. we have been there the whole time since then. when 500,000 troops invaded kuwait, the air force stayed. the air force was there on the second attack on kuwait and as a drawdown happens, we think the air force will get smaller but not proportionately to the reduction in ground forces. we are generally the first guys in and alaskas out that we expect we will remain -- maintain a presence. -- we are generally the first guys in and of the last guys out and we expect we will remain a presence. we will be present around the world particularly in the pacific to provide security and stability. host: when you think about 20 years from now and your budget, how will things be different? leon panetta also said yesterday he is looking at retirement and health care benefits as well as ways to cut. how much does it c

>> guest: well, we have forces that operate in the air across the military, and in general, those air assets in the army and navy, and marine corp. fly in direct support of the mission of those services. the air force flies across the theater and has a theater perspective and is responsible for things like providing air superiority across the theater, reaching out, striking targets p around the world wherever they may be providing a global intelligence and surveillance and reconnaissance set up in providing the air leg of our nuclear deterrent operations, so while there is redundancy, we use the airplanes for different purposes, but we work together to get the joint force commanders and objectives met. >> host: david, republican, from north carolina, you're on the air. go ahead. >> caller: yeah, i'd like to know about space. anything we'll going to get into with nasa and get that regenerated to boost the economy? there's a lot of things i could say, but i think that could help and integrate it into the military and production of materials up there with drones and stuff. what's the pos

the u.s. army and air force. the issue at hand does not in any way impact the unity of command which will remain unchanged or fragment the reserve component. only the national guard has a dual state mission. it will not create uncertainty with respect to leadership. it clearly resides in our governors and i giants general -- and did -- adjutant general's when it is not federalized. this would add to the jcs the expertise and knowledge that the chief of the guard bureau has as it pertains to the national guard in its non-federalize role in the defense and safety of the homeland. the chief is a title to an officer under the law. he should be counted on as the federal officer best posture to advise on the capabilities of the non-federal national guard. i have read the letters submitted to your committee. i have provided the chairman of the copy of this dod directive. these letters and other comments focus primarily on five discrete themes, budget authority, the statutory advisory role as it currently exists, the nati

one the failure of the air force to notify the families. e air force could have notified the families the minute they found out there was a problem. they chose not to. our office, the office of special counsel, asked them repeatedly why haven't you notified families yet? and their response was, some of them have blogs, they have websites, they might go to the media. so they didn't trust the families with the news. >> they didn't trust to cover their own you know whats as a posed to giving families the information. general schwartz has a very different take on this. listen to his explanation of why some of the families weren't told. >> we waited until it was clear that the office of special counsel was going to render their report. we got 48 hours' notice. and we acted upon that notice. >> is that right? >> i believe this is a complete mischaracterization. we were hoping -- we assumed that the air force notified the families. a year or two ago. they -- >> notified them anyway, they shouldn't be waiting for some report that calls their conduct

. >> the air force concerned that the cremated body parts of some war veterans were dumped in landfills so a review of the procedures at dover air force base and secretary panetta was joined by joint chiefs of staff chairman dempsey. this is general dempsey's first press reefing as secretary. certainly now is chairman of the oint chiefs and so i welcome >> i welcome him to this press briefing. briefing and just would inform him that there is a tradition that he could solve the tough questions. getting used to this job. let me begin also by wishing a very happy birthday tohe united states marine corps. they have their ballot this saturday. as you know, general dempsey and i have been working with the entire senior leadership of the department, including the service chiefs, the service secretaries, the combatant commanders and the undersecretary of defense. to implement the more than 450 billion in savings that we have been required to do over 10 years. that translates into around 260 over five years as part of the budget that would be submitted in february. this process, and i have requi

shaban has the story. >>> the air force is facing charges of mishandling of members. >> the air force has refused to admit culpability. >> dover air force base in dover misplaced body parts of soldier remains from iraq and afghanistan. the air force disciplined three officials for gross mismanagement but didn't fire anyone. >> while their performance did not reach standards, this was not a deliberate act. >> during the investigation, the military did not inform the four families of the service members whose remains were allegedly mishandled. the military reached out to the families over the weekend. >> it was in the better interest of the families to have the definitive position on this. not an interim call, not a we'll get back to you with more. >> as far back as march, we were encourage the air force to inform the families about what happened. they could have informed the families from the beginning when they knew what had happened be. they chose not to. >> the office of special counsel says the air force tried to fire two whistle- blowers but they've been given their jobs back. >>

panetta ordered the air force to investigate itself again. if the whistle blowers suffered reprisal. >> what i am concerned about is their investigation into what the air force did in response to the whistle blowers. specifically, the fact that the i.g. of the air force, they failed to admit wrongdoing in their report. >> there were clearly were unacceptable mistakes made. whether they constitute wrongdoing is another matter entirely. >> reporter: but when asked if it was wrong to put remains of the war dead in a landfill, the chairman of the joint chiefs said -- >> i don't know what right looks like. >> reporter: panetta initially supported the air force report on the investigation of whistle blower allegations at dover of mishandling remains. but then he learned of new allegations that those whistle blowers suffered reprisals. he ordered this additional investigation. but this time he really believes, he says, that the air force can investigate itself. barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. >>> italy is without a prime minister tonight. at least

even near fourth, i mean, we had -- seven their force. -- even the air force, we had the seventh air force. we had the 13th air force and thailand, where i served. the theater was not that big. it got so bad that congress had to lead. they passed an act which mandated we worked better to bear -- together. they did that starting with education and then to flag rank, you had to go through an assignment with someone's service, a joint assignment. and that is paid dividends to the point where we are pretty good at working together today. that is really good because as we struggle with budget cuts we know we will have, within 60 killed -- $64 billion in 2012. there will be services that will come down in capability. we will have to rely on each other even more. what this really showed was the major combat phase in iran. the services, there was a dependence on one another. there were people with conventional concourses, fox and the army go crazy with this, but it worked very well. air force had responsibility for certain parts of iraq, which you would want ground forces to do, but you were

like joe and pete mentioned i was in the air force in the 70s and i saw what a hollow air force look e. flight line with their planes that couldn't fly and buildings with many people with no training or ability to accomplish a mission if the airplane said fun. we don't want to go there again. we will get smaller to remain capable with the forces that are left behind. many of the challenges will come on our people and the backs of our people. as we get smaller and as we expect to asking does not done -- we stayed behind when there's a peace dividend. the temple on their air men will increase and the tempo on our proud reserve component which you know as an interval part of our air force will have to increase because they will become ever more important in a diminishing force. finally sequester cuts envisioned in the budget control act are allowed to take place, we have to go beyond getting to our capacity. we believe we will begin to look at the capabilities that we have to shed and no longer offered to the joint team. reduction in size would reduce the number of bases we could support

within the dover military air force base. and leon panetta has said he has kept the door open for more disciplinary actions in the future. we'll see what happens. andrea? >> all right, surae chinn reporting live at the air force memorial in arlington, virginia. >>> traveling through maryland, you'll notice flags across the state will be at half staff today. it is in honor of lieutenant colonel david cabrera who lived in olney, maryland and worked at the university of health services in bethesda. colonel cabrera was one of four americans killed by a rodeside bomb on october 29th. >>> police in riot gear squared off against hundreds of high rioting penn state students following the firing of joe paterno. the crowd flipped over a television news van, threw rocks at the media and ripped down light poles. paterno and the school's president were fired last night following the arrest of former assistant football coach jerry sandusky on child sex abuse charges. several people also held a quiet vigil outside paterno's home to show thei

. >>> coming up, the outrage and what the air force is saying about the scandal. >> what about the washington monument? see what is being done to protect the landmarks this winter. >> what did you have for breakfast this morning? if it was a breakfast sandwich, you might have packed on more calories than you think. >> it is a new dance club that also serves dinner. >>> a north east washington neighborhood is concerned over the nature of a business. >> the stadium club is not a sexually oriented business, even though it is a strip club. >> this area is not designed for sexually oriented businesses. you might think that a club that had nude dancing and private rooms would be called a sexually oriented club. the d.c. law is so open to interpretation the zoning board held a vote yesterday. pull dancing is a class in some gymnasiums of these days -- pole dancing is a class in some gyms these days. >> pole dancing is the new thing for physical fitness. >> they are not naked when they are doing it. >> the board sided with jordan, 4-one. >> they have just given the green light to build a red light di

his attorneys say that he ought to be released while the ruling is appealed. >>> air forces top general criticized over the way some of the remains of our war heros from afghanistan and iraq. >> the air force says it is not happening anymore. they are now burying ashes at sea. one widow tells me she was appalled and disgusted after she heard of pieces of her husband discovered after she buried him. >> reporter: east of fredericksburg, perhaps the last place you would expect to find the sacred remains of our war deed. but the pentagon now admits for five years ending in '08 this is where it dumped the insinurated body parts it found after a burial ceremony. >> how does that fit into the same sentence? >> reporter: an official at the dover air force mortuary told parts of her husband were insinurated and dumped. >> they said that no one wanted my husband so he was cremated with the rest of the medical leaves from the hospital and thrown in the trash. >> how could they think nobody wanted him? >> i have no idea. >> reporter: three whistle blowers detail a whole series of problems at the do

the families of those fallen troops were never informed. an air force spokesman says the practice by the dover air force base mortuary in delaware ended in 2008. cremated remains are now buried at sea. >>> in a statement today, the air force admits, "we could have done better." in just a few minutes, i'll speak live with the head of the nation's largest organization for combat veterans. >>> meantime, a military court in washington state is deciding the fate today of a u.s. soldier accused of murdering afghan civilians. staff sergeant calvin gibbs is the highest ranking of five soldiers charged in the case. they are accused of killing afghan villagers, planting weapons on them and severing their body parts to keep as grizzly war trophies. several other soldier face lesser charges. gibbs has pled not guilty. >>> he's known for his famous recipes and his restaurants. but chef mario batali getting some heat now for a comment involving bankers and hitler. he's now responding to critic. it happened at a "time" magazine event. take a look. >> i would have to s

asthma reasons celebrate its 236th birthday as we approach veterans day to honor our men and women, the air force is underfire for despicable acts, treating remains like trash. the office of special counsel says there was gross mishandling of body parts, some lost at the port mortuary at the dover air force base. >> i got out of the air force. >> reporter: it was common practice to misplace, cremate and dump them at a king george county landfill between 2003 to 2008 until three mortuary workers blew the whistle. >> i went through the entire facility, every single rack, i couldn't find it. >> in one case, the arm of a marine was sawed-off in order for his body to fit into his uniform. >> there is a way to bury those honorably rather than to treat them as refuse. >> there were five instances where fetal remains of military families were shipped to dover inside plastic pails and put in cardboard boxes. >> we owe them so much respect and honor and it just kind of takes away all of that. >> the three whistle blowers eventually got their jobs back and they're making this promise. >> i can guarantee the

. >>> leon panetta is giving staff 60 days to review at the air force base, they admitted they sent ashes to a landfill in virginia. the air force says the incidents between it 2003 and 2008 did not include whole bodies but parts of bodies and dna material. >>> later this morning, they are scheduled to vote on legislation presenting tax credits. the obama administration said veterans who served after 9/11 are unemployed. >>> herman cane used lat night's debate to defend himself about the accusations. >> the american people deserve somebody better than being tried based on unfounded accusations. >> they should not help u.s. banks at risk of losing millions. >> texas governor rick perry needed help when he was asked about three level cabinets he would like to see cut. >> commerce, education and the -- what is the third one, let's see -- >> well, mitt romney i will nateed -- eliminated them. he said he has no plans on dropping out of the race. >>> microsoft will hope a web bond cutting ceremony. microsoft will also get software to some profit legislation. >>> there is a glimmerrer of hope th

i still do not understand why it is credible to you to have the air force and best to get themselves on this matter given how critical the special counsel report was of the air force? why have them investigate themselves? and why should the american people, after this, after walter reed, after arlington, why should they believe that the military is handling the wounded and the war did remains with appropriate respect? >> the independent review will be done by richard carmona that will include fred franks, a member of the board here, ruth stone, who is involved in the mission there, congressman dick snyder, a former democratic u.s. senator who led a committee that reviewed this, philip hewey, an m bombing expert who served -- an embalming expert and more who will be involved in the review. aside from the secretary reviewing it, he is at the top of the chain of command when it comes to the air force. i want him to review it because he has that responsibility. i trust mike donovan. i believe he tried to do with this matter, to go after the issues involved here, to correct them and do wha

processes in place to treat the remains with the dignity they deserve. >> reporter: for its part the air force said the fact three workers turned whistle blower revealing the problems is proof they view this like a sacred duty. >> they are still employed and they are making great contributions, it was this -- this goes back to how people at dover look look at their job. >> reporter: the fact nobody has lost their job is a sticking point for many. >> respect our dead and think that this could happen when nobody is looking is wrong and we will make sure it doesn't happen again veteran's day is this friday. it's a positive day to respect all veterans who have served in all of our wars and to have something like this happen is not right and we will get to the bottom of it. >> reporter: abc 2news. >> now the air force reportedly became aware of the problems in may of last year but waited until last week to tell the four families their loved ones remains had been lost or mishandled. the defense secretary has ordered another review of the operations, they want the reports back in 60 days. >>> to try

suffered preprize sales. >> what i am concerned about is their investigation as to what the air forcet wrong doing in their report. >> there clearly were unacceptable mistakes made. whether they constitute wrong doing is another matter entirely. >> but when asked if it was wrong to put remains of the war dead in a landfill, the chairman of the joint chief said -- >> i don't know what right looks like. >> now, secretary panetta initially supported the air force in its investigation of these allegations of wrong doing at dover, but after learning of the potential of reprisals against the whistle broe blower, he said ininvestigation, but he believes the air force can investigate itself. >> thanks very much. you'll keep us updated on this. >>> bill clinton is sitting down with "time" magazine and is giving president obama some additional advice on getting re-elected. let's bring in the managing editor, rick stengle. let me read to our viewers this what the president, the former president said to you about what's going on in washington right now. he said this. he said the republicans can't

disturbing revelations about what happened to the remains of service members killed in iraq and afghanistan. >> there is an investigation underway now, dover air force base mortuary is the place "the washington post" is reporting some unidentified body parts were dumped in a northern virginia landfill. 9news now reporter surae chinn is outside the air force memorial with more on this story and it is gut-wrenching, surae. >> it really is. you have to wonder how this could have happened. how will we just finding out about it years later. thanks to whistle-blowers who worked at this dover mortuary, run by the air force, shed some light on the disturbing case, disturbing actions made at the mortuary there. the office of special council confirms body parts of active service members killed in action were lost by the port mortuary. they were incinerated then dumped in a king george's county landfill according to the "washington post." the practices happened between 2003 and 2008 at the port mortuary in dover. families were often not notified. body parts were misplaced. in one case, the arm of a marine was sawed-off in order for his body to fit into his uni

a yearlong investigation found the air force mishandled unidentified remains at dover air force base. and some of them, even wound up in this virginia landfollow. fox 5s tom fitzgerald joins us live from the newsroom with more. >> reporter: the defense secretary leon penetta ordered the --eryon pineta ordered the secretary of the air force not to fire three supervisors at a mortuary airfares base in delaware. the veteran's group said the pin needs to do more than this to honor the dead of the americans and how their remains are handled. dover air force base is where america's honored dead comes home. but a scathing report said bad handling of some remains dishonor those who gave their lives. >> all americas -- all americans, including myself, jar justifiably disturbed. >> reporter: they found parts of bodies unidentified andm properly disposed of by air force more tishians in landfills. the secretary -- more tishians inlando fills. additional probes are underway. >> to determine whether there are management repricals that have been -- repricals that are taken at dover. this is a serio

the air force inspector general concluded the leadership failed to respond to weakness in accounting for human remains, but no laws have been violated. an independent investigation argues that saying laws were violated. they say the air force failed to take responsibility for its mistakes and quote, in these instances, the report demonstrates a pattern of air force's failure to acknowledge cope ability for wrong doing relating to the treatment of remains of service members and their families. two of the three officials disciplined in this still do work at dover. no one has been fired. defense secretary is asking for a separate investigation. officials do not suspect foul play or any criminal intent here, but this does bring up recent problems at arlington national cemetery. however, air force chief of staff is discounting any parallel. they are still investigating this one. >> laura, attorney general, eric holder was grilled on capitol hill today on the failed gun trafficking investigation. using charteds, pictures, and memos, john cornine and charles grassley tried to pin down exact

air men out there. i am grateful for their service and next week i am traveling to texas to visit the 24th air force. i want to take a close look at what is happening out there. thank you all. >> i look forward to it, sir. >> i am counting the numbers we have left and some have to leave it 12:30 and it should work out just right. >> thank you so much for your service to our nation. i want to begin by noting that everybody that serves in our armed forces are special because they volunteer and put their lives on the line to defend this nation. we also have a very elite force of air man, marines, soldiers, and sailors that serve this country every day in some challenging roles as we place them around the world in what we know continues to ever-expend in their mission. i look at how we challenge them and if you look at what is happening in afghanistan and we have used them in more and more roles and they will be their past 2014. we see a mission in central africa. as we watch and see the history of what happened there, we see some trends that should concern us. just last month, a 29-year-old sergeant firs

. >> sreenivasan: the air force today reported "gross mismanagement" at the service mortuary that receives america's war dead. a year-long investigation found workers at dover air force base in delaware lost body parts at least twice in 2009. the air force inspector general found no violations of law, but general norton schwartz, the air force chief of staff, said three senior officials have been disciplined. >> i think that perhaps the best manifestation of how seriously we took this was taking responsibility, is fixing accountability, is acting promptly to correct efficiencies. and importantly improving processes. >> sreenivasan: a separate independent agency, the office of special counsel, submitted its own report. it disagreed that no laws were broken, and it said some of the air force conclusions "do not appear reasonable." a federal appeals court in washington, d.c., has upheld the president's health care overhaul. the ruling issued today said congress was within its rights to mandate that americans have health insurance, or pay a penalty. similar challenges have been working their w

. >>> a horrible mistake by the air force. an independent agency says the military failed to accept responsibility for his mishandling war remains. they lost portions twice in 2009. senior officials were disciplined and no one was fired. the air force punishment didn't go far enough, and were also critical of the decision not to notify the families of the service members whose remains were mishandled until after the investigation. >>> police in russia make a bizarre discovery after the arrest of an alleged grave robber. they found life-sized dolls made in part from mummified remains. the dolls were dressed in female clothing and displayed in the suspect's apartment. police say the 45-year-old man dug up 28 corpses. they also confiscated signs and photos from the grave. >>> a community is in mourning as a recent gradual of pauley high school is murdered at college. wjz is learning more about the out of control crime scene. mike helgren has the development in this disturbing case yoo police describe the party so out of control th

the year force found 14 instances of wrongdoing at the dover air force base mortuary during a yearlong investigation. in some cases body parts were burned and discarded in a landfill in virginia defense secretary leon panetta requested an independent review and to the matter and he also asked the air force to secretary to take a look at the case >>we want to take every step possible to protect the honor and dignity that these loved ones richly deserve >>to civilians and military officer had been disciplined but they may be punished further depending on the air comes on the latest investigation >>today's a one-year birthday of a missouri infant who has been missing for one month. lisa irwin was reported missing in the early hours on october 4th. last night her to have brothers where we interviewed by child counselors hoping to find clues to her disappearance the boys are 6 and 8 years old lisa father said when he came home he found the door unlocked the lights on a window tampered with a cadaver dog got a positive hit when searching the family's home last month >>police in venezuela say

before landing a job as a kindergarten teacher he spent 20 years in the air force. but when he and his wife started a family, he wanted nothing more to be at home with his children. >> i saw the effect of me being gone on them. i thought, well, why should they have to deal with this. >> his wife had also been in the air force but retired to becomel a special education teacher. his life changed when he visited her classroom. >> my heart went out to the kids and the needs they had, to the academic needs. >> with a degree in he, he spent two years working on his kre ken shls at night while on active duty. he knew he wanted to be involved in special ed kids and last december was hired to teach at an lvyd in fairfield. before entering that classroom he took this advice from his wife wendy. >> kids learn different ways. if you can find your whatever that is that makes them want to be there, that is the key. >> what did you learn? >> nemo. >> very good job. good for nemo. >> what he learned in the military has served him well, here in the classroom where all his students ar

i think for the time that steve and i came to the air force, which was essentially about the same timewhat we saw in vietnam was not in very joint in terms of service interoperability operations. there were a lot of different air forces waging war on north vietnam, and we all had our own places we flu. that is all nice and everything, but you cannot call it a very unified effort. even near fourth, i mean, we had seven their force. we have 13 their first-ever in thailand, were reserved. i mean, the theater was not that big. it is possible we could have had one airforce, one number their forced to kind of managed our affairs. it got so bad during the grenada invasion and haiti that the congress had to act, and by 1986 that passed the act which amended we work better together. they started with education, and then before you could get promoted to flag rank, you had to go into an assignment with some of the service, some joint assignment, and that was paid dividends to the point where we are actually pretty good working together today. and that is really good, because as we struggle with g

years ago and only recently took action to correct them. >> reporter: the grisly fact is that many remains arrive at dover air force base in pieces and the investigation found two cases in which body parts of a soldier and an air force pilot were either lost or misplaced. in another case, an arm bone was sawed off in order to fit a marine killed by a roadside bomb into his dress uniform for burial. it happened between 2008 and 2010 when some 4,000 remains passed through dover. >> this was difficult work. and while their performance did not meet standards, this was not a deliberate act. >> reporter: but air force chief of staff norton schwartz acknowledged the families weren't told until this past weekend. >> we asked them more than once why they wouldn't go to the families and let them know what had happened. their response was very clear: they couldn't be trusted, they might go to the press. >> reporter: colonel robert edmondson, the commandierer of the mortuary received a career ending letter of reprimand and two civilians were demoted and transferred to other jobs. >> those responsible have been treated with kid

the mishandled remains of u.s. military war dead at dover air force base. defense secretary leon panetta has ordered the secretary of the air force to reachers decision not to fire three -- to rye search the decision not to fire three -- to research the decision to not to -- research the decision not to fire three employees. >> reporter: scathe reports says bad handling of some remains dishonored those who gave their lives. >> all americans including myself are justifiably disturbed. >> reporter: the u.s. office of special counsel found parts of bodies that were unidentified were improperly disposed of by air force morticians in landfills. secretary of defense leon panetta says additional prones are underway. >> -- probes are underway. >> to determine whether there are management reprisals that have been taken at dover against the whistleblowers. this is a serious issue. someone who voted for the whistleblower legislation. >> reporter: the investigation began in may of 2010. the air force lost body parts of two service members in 2009 which included ankle an

the korean war. that is something that our air force says centered on our air force. but our marine air and naval air and even the robbery arm of the army, we have put together what we have called their dominance over the years to give our ground forces the ability to react and fight under that protection. i give you one small example that my friend from the army will chuckle about. when i was in europe during the late 1980's, we would practice for the big war on the plains of northern germany. we would go out in our brigade formation. when we came under attack from supposedly soviet force air, we would do herringbone maneuvers and all kinds of things to react to so that they could set up and defend us and so forth. we have now come to an age where we are so used to and so enabled by the year dominance that the joint team brings to the battlefield that i cannot remember even talking about a herringbone maneuver in the last few years. our situation on the ground and in the sea would change drastically if it were not for the joint air forces that bring this capability. c

i think the air force needs to clearly understand that there is a risk here. there's a risk that this reorganization may have some unintended consequences specifically related to the readiness of our air force. this is serious. we have not seen any explanation for how the air force arrived at their proposed course of action on this specific issue, or why they think it will improve readiness. i would also note that the way the air force is seeking to reorganize in this respect goes against some of the basic principles and recommendations of a recent very thorough report on this specific issue. it is with these issues in mind that we are filing this amendment. i very much look forward to the air force's explanation on this issue and to having this reorganization be executed in a way that allows the air force to conserve personnel and resources, organize more efficiently, and sustain weapons systems and support the war fighter in the most effective way possible. in conclusion, i'm extremely proud of the hard work of the armed services committee members and staff h

it's being reported in syria that defectors from the country's armed forces have now attacked the headquarters of an air force intelligence base near the capital, damascus. the syrian national council says the free syrian army carried out the attack on the base with rocket-propelled grenades. arab league foreign ministers are gathering shortly, and they're expected to confirm syria's suspension over the crackdown on protesters. large crowds have turned out in various cities to oppose the arab league's decision. we can go over to the bbc's jonathan head, who joins us live from istanbul. jonathan, you have some perspective on the free syrian army and the latest moves within the country. >> we've been speaking to the syrian national council here, and the council doesn't formally connect itself to the free syrian army, but they're all working for the same thing. they're saying this attack that's just been reported was carried out by the free syrian army, and it seems to have been quite an ambitious attack on an air force intelligence compound. the air force intelligence branch of the syrian security forces