Memo: Arlington Cemetery Plagued by Waste and Mismanagement
A view of Arlington National Cemetery on July 21, 2010. (Oli Scarff/Getty Images)
In a memo released on Tuesday, a Senate subcommittee disclosed that it has “obtained information suggesting that 4,900 to 6,600 graves may be unmarked, improperly marked, or mislabeled” on the maps at the historic Arlington National Cemetery. These problems, according to the memo, are “far more extensive than previously acknowledged.”
The Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight gave kudos to Salon.com for a series of articles about the cemetery’s mismanagement, and to whistleblowers whose concerns went largely ignored for years.
The waste and contract mismanagement at Arlington, the memo pointed out, started years ago:
More than ten years ago, the Army began the development of a new system to automate the management of burial operations at Arlington National Cemetery. Documents and information obtained by the Subcommittee show that a series of improper actions and errors have wasted millions of dollars and delayed implementation of a functioning system by years.
Despite spending between $5.5 million and $8 million to develop a better system, “Arlington National Cemetery still does not have a system that can accurately track graves and manage burial operations,” the memo reads.
There are 330,000 grave sites at the cemetery--a burial place of military veterans, Supreme Court justices, U.S. presidents, former slaves and Civil War soldiers. The cemetery is managed by the U.S. Army.
In a hearing last month, Army Secretary John McHugh testified that the Army officials overseeing the cemetery were ignorant of the problems, Salon noted.
According to The Washington Post, the Army has known about these problems for almost 20 years but has been unable to solve them. The Senate subcommittee also found that the Army—which had divided oversight of the cemetery among several Army organizations over the years—had failed to conduct “even the most basic oversight.”
The subcommittee has subpoenaed some cemetery officials, and they are scheduled to testify on Thursday.
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8 comments
Robert Huddleston
July 28, 2010, 4:39 p.m.
If the official managing the cementery appears be fore the committee, and I were on the committe, the first question would be: Who was your immediate boss? And the second would be: What was your last performance rating and were you awarded a bonus?
The answers shoiuld reveal much.
Norman
July 28, 2010, 4:39 p.m.
How disgusting this is to read. That this incompetence has been going on for 20 years and has been known, is no wonder that the Wars being waged today are in such sad shape. The moral decay that embraces everything this Government seems to touch, tells me that it’s not outside forces we need to worry about, but it’s the present mind set that prevails in just about everything. I’m an ex-U.S.M.C. member & damn proud of it. I don’t know how the people involved or know about this one item, can sit on their collective ass & be proud of their service. What a disgrace.
Les
July 28, 2010, 11:24 p.m.
This just “stinks” !! Here we have veterns of our wars, judges, presidents, etc. and we can’t “manage” a cementery. Why don’t we get a large, private company who has this experience(Forest Lawn) comes to mind.Then we could use some of the “extra” money to help reduce our deficit !! and quit wasting “our” money.
John Palmer
July 30, 2010, 12:31 p.m.
As a former US Army Vet, I am saddened by this situation. The last Federal Agency that should be in charge of this cemetery is the Army. It is filled with useless brass.
I do not believe in private operation of any US Properties.
The US Parks can do a better job.
Bob Roberts
July 30, 2010, 3:12 p.m.
Early on when this story broke, I warned that the number would grow from 231 to thousands. This was based on knowledge of the way in which burials are made and the sheer number of burials daily. It was obvious to me that if this had gone on for so long, it was impossible that only 231 burials could be wrong. I have offered assistance to a number of agencies involved with Arlington to no avail, and now Metzler gets to retire with pension after embarrassingly screwing up the #1 cemetery in our nation. This is what happens when a person or persons with no experience are allowed to play with a national cemetery. I say play with it, because they had absolutely no prior experience in operating cemeteries or overseeing such large contracts. And now, Higginbotham is taking the fifth over the contracts. Could this be because he awarded them without good diligence to buddies? Or family members? It appears appointment to these positions requires no experience, and no oversight beyond appointment. Unbelievable!
http://www.cemops.com
Bob Roberts
Aug. 2, 2010, 7:13 p.m.
I have learned since my last post, via another poster on another news item, that Metzler had experience as a cemetery superintendent with the VA system. If this is the case, and now Metzler has been exposed as possibly one of the sloppiest operators ever, the VA might want ot investigate every cemetery he ever managed for them. WE would be glad to perform such investigations, but know we won’t get that invititation. For the good of all veterans, I believe this is right. Check every cemetery location this man ever had a part in, to make sure his incompetence doesn’t plague you down the road.
http://www.cemops.com
Norman
Aug. 2, 2010, 9:01 p.m.
Folks, I just received a E-Mail from Bob Roberts about the Metzler. He has worked for the VA previously, so should have been vetted. Apparently he wasn’t, or if he was, well, this is the problem facing the Military today. Relying on civilian help is turning out to be a boondoggle. This guy gets a paid retirement? The Army has known about him & the problem? No heads will roll? No wonder they can’t win a War. Oh me, oh my. If I had my way, I’d create the biggest Wall in Washington D.C. and put the picture & name of each & everyone of these incompetent members of the Civilian & Military who have worked for the Government. They should also be denied any pension too.
John Phillips
Aug. 3, 2010, 12:58 a.m.
Perhaps the problem is not only with the incompetence of those managing the graveyard, but those sending the bodies to the graveyard…the politicians and corporations who wage the wars that kill so many of the “occupants” of the graveyard. I think we are placing too much value on the deceased and not enough on the living. Or, maybe we should increase the cost of the burial of each soldier returning from the wars and take it directly from the Pentagon budget. Make them feel the pain of each death in the only way they understand it: financially. It seems that when soldiers have ceased to be of value to the military, that is, they are either dead or physically/mentally incapacitated, they are not afforded any dignity, either living or dead. That Sen. Claire McCaskill got so upset during the hearing was a sham. Does she care as much for the living?