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Max Cleland on Arlington scandal: ‘The Army….is not in the cemetery business’

9:52 am July 10, 2010, by jgalloway

Former U.S. senators Max Cleland of Georgia and Bob Dole of Kansas, both high-credentialed veterans, have been placed in charge of an independent commission looking into the operation of Arlington National Cemetery.

An Army investigation recently found that the remains of U.S. soldiers, marines and other personnel – perhaps hundreds – have been misidentified or misplaced in the venerated burial ground.

While talking to Florida veterans on Friday, Cleland, 67, briefly touched on the situation. From the Orlando Sentinel:

“They’re thinking about war and winning war and strategies for war,” he said of the Army, which oversees the cemetery, the final resting place for more than 300,000 fighting men and women who perished in military service from the Civil War to Afghanistan. “The Army, in many ways, is not in the cemetery business.”

He said the cemetery should be maintained as a living national shrine.

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16 comments Add your comment

max headroom

July 10th, 2010
10:27 am

When he was asked to help with the investigation, Mr.Cleland said “Might as well, I can’t dance”.

The Goobernator

July 10th, 2010
11:25 am

The comment in probably out of context. If the comment is negative, then one might assume “the army is not in the flag raising business” and could be just a sloppy about how it handles the national flag. I do not think that is the case.

Will Jones - Atlanta Jeffersonian Exegesis

July 10th, 2010
11:58 am

Corrupt politicians want the Army and every other military branch to “outsource” activities, which can be inexpensively done by patriot servicemen and women, to their campaign contributors’ “enterprises,” as with Halliburton.

If we had righteous leadership taking the corrupt and those who fall short to account the problem would be solved.

Start with hanging Bush and Cheney for 9/11 and the message will be sent to every other failure and traitor feeding on the Nation’s dime.

Bob Roberts

July 10th, 2010
12:32 pm

The Army is NOT in the cemetery business, and has now proven they shouldn’t be.
Appointing non cemeterians to run Arlington has proven to be a mistake, and now they perpetuate that mistake by continuing to appoint persons that have no cemetery experience.
Arlington needs to be remediated, to insure the past is not revisited, and to insure the future is stable. We have offered our help, as expert cemeterians, and have never heard back from any of them. $5.5 mil to computerize their records is absurd. We could have done that for much less, and still made a nice profit. We continue to wait for that call. http://www.cemops.com

The Goobernator

July 10th, 2010
2:46 pm

It’s absurd to think that the personnel assigned to oversee and run Arlington National Cemetery had war priorities on their minds. There are plenty of military personnel that are not in war focused tasks. I am not surprised to see other comments stating a boondoggle is afoot to create a cushy profit for the well connected to clean up this mess.

Bob Roberts

July 10th, 2010
3:38 pm

I dont’ see the boondoggle comments you refer to goobernator.
The unfounded expenses for the computerization were paid out over a few years span, with no computerization to show for the expense. Someone made out very well for doing absolutely nothing.
My only stance is, Arlington needs to be turned upside down and looked at from all angles, to insure the future integrity of the system. I am a veteran, and find this inexcusable. Wherever the priorities were for the Army, it certainly wasn’t in protecting the sanctity of Arlington National Cemetery.
CemOps obviously is not connected with the government, well or otherwise. We just have the expertise to help and hope they call.
There are 4 or 5 professionals in the industry capable of pulling off such a transaction as what is necessary to move Arlington forward. We are proud we have 2 or those individuals in our ranks.

Producer

July 10th, 2010
5:27 pm

It’s just a matter of time before Max blames this whole mess on Saxby! LOL! It’s good to see Cleland once again with his lips puckered against the national teat sloppily sucking out money! Another commission! Good for him. It’s encouraging to see him back on the public dole, no pun intended to his partner.

Beretverde

July 10th, 2010
5:36 pm

I’m not in the landscaping business, but I get the job done at my home!

Mark

July 10th, 2010
6:09 pm

Let Bush do it,.. he put em there.

Will Jones - Atlanta Jeffersonian Exegesis

July 11th, 2010
7:25 am

Looking to feed from the Public trough is not the solution at Arlington.

Arlington National Military Cemetery is not a “business,” it is hallowed ground to be husbanded by those whose high calling and inviolate patriotism bring them there. Its corruption and administrative errors are merely a minor reflection of the major evil we have allowed to befall Our Nation in the false, Anti-Christ leadership of those who assassinated with impunity President Kennedy, committed 9/11, and now temper the potentially righteous actions of President Obama.

Bob Roberts
July 10th, 2010
12:32 pm

The Army is NOT in the cemetery business

John Galt

July 11th, 2010
4:26 pm

Arlington is a shrine to hubris as much as to anything else. The land was stolen from Robert E. Lee, with Yankee corpses buried there as an insult to the great Confederate general. Move the whole thing, refurbish the land, and give it back to the rightful owners.

Ole Guy

July 11th, 2010
5:15 pm

I find it incredulous that Lieutenant Cleland, United States Army Signal Corps, would issue such a statement. Only by the actions of some Army Medics…and The Almighty…was he able to delay bivouacking in Arlington.

Lieutenant, please revisit your statement.

Ole Guy

July 11th, 2010
5:50 pm

My apologies to Captain Cleland. I had remembered reading of the incident in which he lost his legs. I had been in the Army a few short months and had recalled, erroneously, that he was a 1/Lt. My sincere apologies, Captain.

However, I feel that your statement, from a Soldier’s point of view, is way off base. An NCO’s job…and by extension, the Army’s job…is taking care of Soldiers, up to and including taking care of his remains. Therefore, the DOD, and all the Services therein, are in the cemetery business.

News Update – July 12, 2010

July 11th, 2010
9:08 pm

[...] Former Senator Max Cleland report the Army is not in the cemetery business. [...]

Kevin

July 12th, 2010
5:21 pm

Will Jones,

U are a moron sir.

JMAX

July 27th, 2010
11:23 am

The question the needs to be asked…….. Are there any “Mis-Labled graves in the Camelot Section of Arlington”?