USA — Army Announces Changes at Arlington National Cemetery

WASHINGTON — The Army and the Vet­er­ans Affairs Depart­ment have entered into a for­mal agree­ment that will allow Arling­ton Nation­al Ceme­tery employ­ees to enroll in VA’s Nation­al Ceme­tery Admin­is­tra­tion Train­ing Cen­ter, Army Sec­re­tary John M. McHugh announced yes­ter­day.

VA has oper­at­ed the cen­ter since 2004, pro­vid­ing train­ing and pro­fes­sion­al devel­op­ment to employ­ees who man­age and oper­ate nation­al cemeteries. 

The top two offi­cials in charge of Arling­ton Nation­al Ceme­tery were relieved of their duties and dis­ci­plined ear­li­er this year after an Army inves­ti­ga­tion found the cemetery’s man­age­ment to be dys­func­tion­al. An Army inspec­tor gen­er­al report iden­ti­fied 76 sep­a­rate defi­cien­cies, includ­ing poor record keep­ing that allowed occu­pied gravesites to be improp­er­ly marked or often not marked at all. 

“While Arling­ton Nation­al Cemetery’s unique mil­i­tary mis­sion sets us apart from oth­er nation­al ceme­ter­ies, we are com­mit­ted to learn­ing from and part­ner­ing with experts in ceme­tery admin­is­tra­tion to improve over­all oper­a­tions,” McHugh said in announc­ing the train­ing agree­ment. “With 131 ceme­ter­ies nation­wide, VA has tremen­dous expe­ri­ence in day-to-day ceme­tery oper­a­tions, and we believe this unique pro­fes­sion­al devel­op­ment oppor­tu­ni­ty will help our employ­ees devel­op the skills need­ed to bet­ter meet their mission.” 

The VA train­ing cen­ter empha­sizes tech­ni­cal, super­vi­so­ry and lead­er­ship train­ing for employ­ees rang­ing from super­vi­sors and equip­ment oper­a­tors to groundskeep­ers and ceme­tery rep­re­sen­ta­tives, offi­cials said. The cen­ter also offers train­ing to state vet­er­an ceme­tery employ­ees to assist them in meet­ing nation­al shrine stan­dards at their local facilities. 

“Both VA and the Army share an oblig­a­tion to hon­or all who have served and sac­ri­ficed for their coun­try,” Vet­er­ans Affairs Sec­re­tary Eric K. Shin­se­ki said. “VA will con­tin­ue to assist the Army and pro­vide access to our exper­tise in ceme­tery oper­a­tions and systems.” 

McHugh also announced that Patrick Hal­li­nan, the for­mer direc­tor of field pro­grams for VA’s Nation­al Ceme­tery Admin­is­tra­tion Train­ing Cen­ter, has been select­ed as Arling­ton Nation­al Cemetery’s super­in­ten­dent. Hal­li­nan was named act­ing super­in­ten­dent June 10, and was named per­ma­nent­ly to the posi­tion Oct. 10. 

“Pat Hallinan’s unique expe­ri­ence in nation­al ceme­tery man­age­ment, com­bined with his proven lead­er­ship and abil­i­ty, made him the only choice pos­si­ble for this impor­tant job,” McHugh said. “I have every con­fi­dence in Pat and Exec­u­tive Direc­tor Kathryn Con­don to strength­en man­age­ment and over­sight, and restore America’s con­fi­dence in the oper­a­tion of this most hal­lowed ground.” 

Source:
U.S. Depart­ment of Defense
Office of the Assis­tant Sec­re­tary of Defense (Pub­lic Affairs) 

Face­book and/or on Twit­ter

Team GlobDef

Seit 2001 ist GlobalDefence.net im Internet unterwegs, um mit eigenen Analysen, interessanten Kooperationen und umfassenden Informationen für einen spannenden Überblick der Weltlage zu sorgen. GlobalDefence.net war dabei die erste deutschsprachige Internetseite, die mit dem Schwerpunkt Sicherheitspolitik außerhalb von Hochschulen oder Instituten aufgetreten ist.

Alle Beiträge ansehen von Team GlobDef →