New Chapel Center Unveiled At Dover Air Force Base - WMDT 47 News - Delmarva's Choice

DOVER, Del. -- It's been years in the making, but now a brand new multi-faith chapel center is able to serve thousands at the Dover Air Force Base.

"One of the primary missions of the Dover Air Force Base is the port mortuary. It is where the fallen warriors are returned back to their homelands," Chaplin Dennis Saucier tells us.

"This is not just any military base not just any air force base this is a base where we bring back hundreds really thousands, the remains of our fallen heroes from around the world," Sen. Tom Carper, adds.

Complete with a sanctuary, six classrooms, a cry room, and chapel, the base can now meet the needs of the many families saying goodbye to loved ones killed in the line of duty. One thing unique about the Chapel Center, is that one third of the facility will serve as a reception center for Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations, to receive families in the event of a mass casualty.

"This gives us an additional resource to be able to prepare those families, work with them, give them the comfort and counseling by an area where our distinguished visitors can come and meet with them it's a very valuable space," Saucier says.

Built on the site of the original chapel, this new center is one the Air force can be proud of.

"The chapel that we had here was not a badge of pride for the air force or our country," Senator Carper tells us.

The 8.7 million dollar project can accommodate 1,100 people of all faiths including Muslim Jewish Buddhist, Catholic, and Protestant.