Officials at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, the entry point for the nation’s war dead, retaliated against four employees after they raised concerns about the mishandling of service members’ remains, according to an independent agency that investigates whistle-blower complaints in the federal government.

The agency, the Office of Special Counsel, delivered a 39-page report to the Air Force on Monday detailing what it called reprisals against the four employees over a 17-month period in 2009 and 2010.

The office declined to make the report public on Tuesday, saying it would give the Air Force 30 days to take “substantial” disciplinary action against the officials responsible for retaliating against the workers.

Though the special counsel declined to name the officials, it released a scathing report on the mortuary in November that singled out three officials for criticism: Col. Robert H. Edmondson, the former commander of the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations Center; Trevor Dean, Colonel Edmondson’s former deputy; and Quinton R. Keel, the former mortuary director.