Washington (CNN) -- U.S. Air Force investigators found "serious misconduct" in the handling of remains of the nation's war dead at the Dover Air Force Base Mortuary, the Office of Special Counsel said Tuesday.





At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz referred to "gross mismanagement" in some aspects of the mortuary's operations. Schwartz said Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has appointed a panel to review operations at the Dover mortuary.





"What I want to talk about is tough stuff. Given the context of this, if I find difficulty in finding the right words, you'll understand," Schwartz said at the news conference.





The findings came after the Air Force conducted a year-long investigation into 14 allegations of wrongdoing made by whistleblowers involving the remains of four U.S. service members killed in action, the Pentagon official said. Although some of the specific allegations were not substantiated, the official said several cases of concern were confirmed, including:





-- Several instances in which portions of remains from troops killed in action were lost or unaccounted for. It included losing an ankle that had been in storage and some bags that held other body parts and remains.





-- The body of a dead Marine being prepared for viewing by his family had a badly-damaged arm sawed off because it could not be arranged suitably for viewing purposes. The bone had fused at a 90-degree angle, according to officials. The report said Quinton Keel, a Dover mortician, had the arm sawed off without consulting the Marine's family. The Air Force found no wrongdoing and officials say preparing badly damaged bodies can be very difficult. But the federal Office of Special Counsel, which also investigated the matter, said the family should have been notified, according to a statement issued by that office Tuesday.





-- A Pentagon official confirmed that elements of the Army and Air Force were criticized for shipping fetal remains from military families to Dover in cardboard boxes.





At his news conference, Schwartz said the investigation began after allegations from three employees "became known to us." He did not identify the employees or their positions. But the report from the Office of Special Counsel identified the three as James Parsons, Mary Ellen Spera, and William Zwicharowski. The Air Force said all three are still employed by Dover Air Force Base.





"The fundamental result of the investigation was that senior Air Force mortuary operations affairs officials did not meet standards in that they failed to act with clear indications that processes and procedures ... were inadequate to ensure accountability of remains," Schwartz said.





He said among their findings, investigators "concluded that the loss of two specific portions of remains constituted gross mismanagement."





Those two cases involved the remains of an Army soldier and those of an Air Force airman.





"In one case we have reason to believe that the remains were properly disposed of; in the second case, we cannot make that argument. It is simply unknown what happened to the second set of remains," Schwartz said.





"This gross mismanagement dealt with the fact that ... supervisors, of which there were three, failed to properly perceive and then act upon ... clear indications that there were systemic issues with respect to accountability of remains in the mortuary."





A Defense Department official confirmed that Keel, a civilian, was demoted to a non-supervisory job and now works in another area at Dover outside the mortuary. Another civilian, Trevor Dean, a mortician and funeral director there, has been transferred to a non-supervisory job. Col. Robert Edmonson, the mortuary commander between January 2009 and October 2010 when the incident occurred, was issued a letter of reprimand, which is usually a career-ending move.





Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner said the Air Force hasn't taken "sufficient disciplinary action against the officials responsible for wrongdoing," the OSC statement said.





But Schwartz said that he did not believe the situations cited in the report were intentional. He emphasized that "this was difficult work, 24/7. And while their performance did not meet standards, this was not a deliberate act,
Which mortuary received the returning war dead? whoes remains were lost who creates the panel Who stated that some remains were unaccounted for? Who will review operations at the mortuary?
Dover Air Force Base four U.S. service members Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz a panel
question: Which mortuary received the returning war dead?, answer: Dover Air Force Base | question: whoes remains were lost, answer: four U.S. service members | question: who creates the panel, answer: Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta | question: Who stated that some remains were unaccounted for?, answer: Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz | question: Who will review operations at the mortuary?, answer: a panel