# Dover test > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Dover_test > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Dover_test.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dover_test > Source revision: 1355440983 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) US journalistic phrase This article is about the expression *Dover test*. For The West Wing episode, see [The Dover Test (The West Wing)](/source/The_Dover_Test_(The_West_Wing)). American war casualties returning to Dover AFB from [Iraq](/source/Iraq) in 2004. Photo by the [U.S. Air Force](/source/U.S._Air_Force). The **Dover test** is an informal test and a [journalistic](/source/Journalist) phrase to describe whether the general population of the [United States](/source/United_States) is supporting the participation of the United States in a [war](/source/War) or other [military action](/source/Military_action) by the public reaction to returning war casualties. The test is usually used to support a [partisan](/source/Partisan_(political)) position concerning the United States government's actions rather than to actually determine the level of public support for the war. ## Description A U.S. Army soldier sleeps near transfer cases aboard an aircraft bound for Dover Air Force Base, Delaware from [Afghanistan](/source/Afghanistan) in 2003. He was accompanying his friend's remains. The test's name refers to [Dover Air Force Base](/source/Dover_Air_Force_Base) in [Dover](/source/Dover%2C_Delaware), [Delaware](/source/Delaware) in the United States. The base is home to the Department of Defense's [Charles C. Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs](/source/Charles_C._Carson_Center_for_Mortuary_Affairs). 50,000 [U.S. casualties](/source/United_States_casualties_of_war) have arrived at this airport since 1955. An early use of the term "Dover test" was uttered by Senator [John Glenn](/source/John_Glenn) (D-Ohio) in 1994.[1] The Dover test was also explicitly mentioned by Gen. [Hugh Shelton](/source/Hugh_Shelton) in 1999, and again on January 19, 2000, when he said:[2] ...(M)ust be subjected to what I call the 'Dover test.' Is the American public prepared for the sight of our most precious resource coming home in flag-draped caskets into Dover Air Force Base in Delaware – which is a point entry for our Armed Forces? The Dover test is not a formal test, and the consequences are difficult to measure. Some say that certain deduction from the tests can be attained, though. If the United States population continues to support the war after the news coverage, then the [U.S. government](/source/Federal_Government_of_the_United_States) has passed the Dover test, and continued warfare probably does not reduce the popularity of the government. If the American population does not continue to support the war, then the government has failed the test, and continued warfare may reduce the popularity of the government. Differing factions may use reactions to the results to further their own motives. Subsequently, the test is used more often to support someone's opinion or to question government actions than to actually determine the level of public support for the war. ## History ### Early examples The return of American war casualties created difficulties for the U.S. government for the first time during the [Vietnam War](/source/Vietnam_War), where the public opinion changed against the war during the conflict. On December 21, 1989, during the [invasion of Panama](/source/Operation_Just_Cause), President [George Herbert Walker Bush](/source/George_Herbert_Walker_Bush) prohibited media coverage of returning casualties, apparently angered by a [split screen](/source/Split_screen_(film)), showing him giving a news briefing on one half of the screen, and returning caskets on the other half. [*[dubious](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Accuracy_dispute#Disputed_statement) – [discuss](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Dover_test#What_in_the_world?)*] In the first Iraq War, the government banned media outlets from showing any returning deceased at Dover. ### Recent examples [Operation Restore Hope](/source/Operation_Restore_Hope) in [Mogadishu](/source/Mogadishu), [Somalia](/source/Somalia), could be said to have failed the Dover test after the [Battle of Mogadishu](/source/Battle_of_Mogadishu_(1993)) on October 3, 1993, when the mutilated bodies of US soldiers were shown on the news. Public support quickly fell and U.S. forces were soon withdrawn. During November 2000, the [Clinton administration](/source/Bill_Clinton) established a rule prohibiting any press coverage of returning US war casualties. However, this rule was rarely enforced. During the [U.S. invasion of Afghanistan](/source/War_in_Afghanistan_(2001%E2%80%93present)) in 2001, photos of returning war casualties were frequently shown on the news. ### Iraq war and post-occupation The Dover test was most recently mentioned by the [press](/source/Newspaper) in regard to the [invasion](/source/2003_invasion_of_Iraq) and [occupation](/source/Post-invasion_Iraq%2C_2003%E2%80%93present) of [Iraq](/source/Iraq). The [Bush administration](/source/George_W._Bush) tried to avoid having to pass the Dover test by enforcing the rule from the end of the Clinton administration. Tami Silicio, a worker for a military contractor in [Kuwait](/source/Kuwait) took photos of the coffins of returning casualties, which made their way to the front pages. Subsequently, she and her husband were terminated by the contractor. Shortly thereafter a journalist from [The Memory Hole](http://www.thememoryhole.org/) requested casualty photos under the [Freedom of Information Act](/source/Freedom_of_Information_Act_(United_States)), and received a number of pictures. Some photographs at the site were later identified as the coffins of [Space Shuttle Columbia](/source/Space_Shuttle_Columbia) crewmembers, not military casualties. The Bush administration was displeased, and prohibited the further release of photos to the media. ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-lat940924_1-0)** Ross, Michael (September 24, 1994). ["Pre-Election Battle Over Haiti Shaping Up in Congress Politics"](http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/citations/dover_test_2/). *LA Times*. Retrieved 7 December 2017. As it stands, congressional support for the Haiti mission is too thin 'to pass the Dover test,' said Sen. John Glenn (D-Ohio), referring to the Dover, Del., Air Force base where the bodies of any U.S. soldiers killed in Haiti will be flown. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-cnn031103_2-0)** Shields, Mark (November 3, 2003). ["Time to take the Dover test"](http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/11/03/column.shields.opinion.dover/). CNN. Retrieved 7 December 2017. ## External links - [https://nppa.org/news/797](https://nppa.org/news/797) National Press Photographers Association reporting 14 out of 19 families have agreed to media coverage of returning casualties. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dover test](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dover_test) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dover_test?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.