Army Probes Where Bodies Are Buried– UPDATED
UPDATE FROM: Slate :Top two Arlington officials tell conflicting stories
Secretary McHugh Orders Probe of Arlington
The Army has taken a big step into finding out what’s amiss at Arlington National Cemetery, announcing today it will conduct an investigation into allegations of accountability lapses, poor record keeping and unspecified “other issues,” at the nation’s most hallowed burial ground.
In ordering the investigation by the Army Inspector General, Army Secretary John McHugh said, “As the final resting place of our nation’s heroes, any questions about the integrity or accountability of its operations should be examined in a manner befitting their service and sacrifice.”
Problems at Arlington were recently outlined by Mark Zaid, attorney for whistleblower Gina Gray, in a posting here on the Line Of Departure earlier this week, “More Grave Concern.”
The announcement of the investigation came along with the release of the findings of a separate internal investigation by the Military District of Washington (MDW) — which was conducted after the discovery of an unmarked grave.
Click here to see the full Army Regulation 15–6 investigation
“While the unmarked grave was first discovered in 2003, cemetery officials took no action until 2009,” says a Pentagon news release.
“[Secretary] McHugh is now directing the Inspector General to examine accountability and policy issues in that case. The Inspector General is also in the midst of a management review of Arlington National Cemetery, begun under former Army Secretary Pete Geren, to make overall recommendations on how better to operate the facility, including possible changes in policy, procedures and regulations.”
Gina Gray, the Iraq war veteran who brought this situation to my attention tells me to stay tuned, there’s more to come.
Tags: Arlington Cemetery, Gina Gray, Investigation, John McHugh, Probe
