Former Fort Snelling administrator named Arlington manager

LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - A new manager has been brought in at Arlington National Cemetery, capping a yearlong struggle to revamp burial procedures and record-keeping after a spate of grave mix-ups that marred the reputation of the U.S. military's most hallowed ground.

The Army says that James Gemmell, former director of the Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minnesota, will be deputy superintendent at Arlington. His hiring fills out the new management team, a year after a highly critical Army inspector general's report found at least 211 discrepancies between burial maps and actual grave sites.

Officials have also begun allowing burials on Saturdays to meet demand.

Last September officials determined that two people were buried in the wrong graves, and in December they discovered eight sets of cremated remains buried in one grave.