nited States Army Regulations (AR-290-5) Arlington National Cemetery

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1.0 General

Subtopics:

Purpose
1.1 Purpose
This regulation states the authority and assigns the responsibilities for the development,     operation,         maintenance, and administration of the Arlington and Soldiers’ Home National Cemeteries, a civil works activity of the Department of the Army.

Army national cemeteries.
1.2 Army national cemeteries.
The Army national cemeteries, consisting of the Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, and Soldiers’ Home National Cemetery, Washington, DC, are under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Army. The Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works is directly responsible to the Secretary of the Army for policy formulation in the administration of these cemeteries. The Personal Affairs Directorate, an element of The Adjutant General Center, is responsible for their day-to-day administration, operation, and maintenance.
Statutory authority.

Scope and applicability.
1.3 Statutory authority.
Basic statutory authority pertaining to the Army national cemeteries is in Title 24, Chapter 7, United States Code, entitled “National Cemeteries.” Many of the provisions of this chapter were repealed by Section 7(a) of the National Cemeteries Act of 1973 (Public Law 93-43, 18 June 1973, 38 USC 1000 et seq.); but Section 7(b) provides that nothing in this section shall be deemed to affect in any manner the functions, powers, and duties of the Secretary of the Army with respect to Army national cemeteries.

1.4 Scope and applicability.
1.4.A Scope.
a. Scope. Except as specifically provided otherwise in this regulation (or by directive of the Director, Personal Affairs, TAGCEN), this regulation and TM 10-287 will govern the development, operation, maintenance, and administration of Arlington National Cemetery and the Soldiers’ Home National Cemetery. AR 210-190 assigns responsibilities for the operation, maintenance, and administration of Army post cemeteries.

1.4.B Applicability.
b. Applicability. The provisions of this regulation are applicable to active and retired members of the Armed  Forces. Chapter 2 of this regulation is applicable to the National Guard and Reserve insofar as the eligibility criteria for guardsmen and reservists on active duty and those retired who are receiving compensation are concerned.

1.5 Resources.
Resources for Army national cemeteries are authorized in the annual HUD-SPACE-SCIENCE-VETERANS Appropriation Act under “Salaries and Expenses, Cemeterial Expenses, Army.” These resources will not be used for any other purpose.

Subtopics:
Funding and accounting.
1.5.A Funding and accounting.
a. Funding and accounting. The Comptroller of the Army allocates the funds to TAG Comptroller, Operating Agency 11. Funds are allotted at the request of the Director, Personal Affairs, and are controlled and accounted for separately from any other funds in accordance with applicable regulations, governing use, accounting, and reporting of Department of the Army Civil Funds.

Manpower.
1.5.B Manpower.
b. Manpower. Manpower authorizations will be made by Headquarters, Department of the Army, to the Director, Personal Affairs, TAGCEN, for suballocation to the Arlington National Cemetery and to the Chief of Engineers to support ongoing construction projects.

1.6 Responsibilities.
Pursuant to AR 10-33; GO 20 (12 May 1972); the provisions of the National Cemeteries Act of 1973; GO 10, Section XXVI (8 May 1974); and GO 14, paragraph 10b (27 May 1974), the Director, Personal Affairs, under the direction of the Secretary of the Army, is responsible for the development, operation, maintenance, and administration of the two Army national cemeteries and for formulating plans, policies, procedures, and regulations, pertaining to them (24 USC 278). Specific responsibilities for Arlington and Soldiers’ Home National Cemeteries will be delegated by the Director, Personal Affairs, to the Commanding General, US Army, Military District of Washington, in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding between those two officials.

1.7 Names for Army national cemeteries.
The Director, Personal Affairs, is responsible for naming Army cemeteries and all features within them (e.g., drives, walks, or special structures). Newly constructed interior thoroughfares for vehicular traffic in Arlington National Cemetery will be known as drives. They will be named for important persons who have made unusual contributions to better the United States.

1.8 Cemetery enclosures.
Army national cemeteries will be enclosed by substantial stone or iron fences (24 USC 279).

1.9 Federal jurisdiction.
Where the State legislature has given the consent of that State to purchase the land which now comprises a national cemetery, the jurisdiction and power of legislation of the United States over Army national cemeteries will, in all courts and places, be held to be the same as is granted by Section 8, Article 1, Constitution of the United States (24 USC 287).

1.10 Donations.
Subtopics:

Policy.
1.10.A Policy.
a. Policy. Under Department of the Army policy, proffered donations or gifts for beautifying Army national cemeteries may be accepted from legitimate societies and organizations or from reputable individuals, subject to the following provisions:
(1) The society, organization, or individual does not associate the name of the Department of the Army in any way with soliciting for the donation or gift.
(2) Delivery is made to the cemetery or to another point designated by the Department of the Army without expense to the Government.
(3) Installing, constructing, placing, or planting is in keeping with the planned development of the cemetery and the donor agrees to the use of the gift at any designated place within the cemetery.
(4) The donor is not permitted to affix any commemorative tablet or plaque to the items donated or to place one in the cemetery or elsewhere on Department of the Army property.
1.10.B Processing.
b. Processing. All proffers of donations to Army national cemeteries will be referred to HQDA (DAAG-PEM), WASH DC 20314, with the recommendation of the cemetery superintendent as to the action to be taken.

1.10.C Conditional gifts.
c. Conditional gifts. The Secretary of the Army is authorized, at his discretion, to accept, receive, hold, administer, and expend any gift, devise, or bequest of real or personal property on condition that the item be used for the benefit of, or in connection with, the operation, maintenance, or administration of the two national cemeteries under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Army. The Adjutant General will take appropriate action on conditional gifts as prescribed in AR 1-100.

1.10.D Unconditional gifts.
d. Unconditional gifts. All proffers or donations of gifts which are unconditional will be accompanied by a report stating all material facts in connection with the source, nature, and purpose of the gift.

1.11 Design and layout of Army national cemeteries.
The Personal Affairs Directorate is responsible for the general design requirements of Army national cemeteries and for the layout of specific sections within these cemeteries.

1.11.A Burial sections and memorial plots.
a. Burial sections and memorial plots. Official detailed plans will be prepared by officials of the Arlington National Cemetery in coordination with the Personal Affairs Directorate. The sizes of all gravesites and/or plots will conform to those shown in the official plans. The standard size for all gravesites in sections established since 1 January 1947 is 5 feet by 10 feet. The size of plots for memorial markers is 5 feet by 5 feet.
1.11.B Opening of new sections.
b. Opening of new sections. New sections will be opened and prepared for burials or for installing memorial markers only with the approval of the Director, Personal Affairs, and after types and sizes of monuments on permanent sites have been established.
1.11.C Establishment and/or expansion of military post sections.
c. Establishment and/or expansion of military post sections. No new post sections will be established nor will existing post sections be expanded.

1.12 Communications.
a. Army national cemetery superintendents will be expected to reply to specific inquiries from the general public concerning the cemeteries under their immediate jurisdiction, if their replies can be based on established policies, procedures, or known facts. When a reply is made to a Member of Congress or to an individual who indicates that the matter has been or will be taken up with a Member of Congress, a copy of the communication and the reply will be furnished as promptly as possible to HQDA (DAAG-PEM), WASH DC 20314.
b. The authority outlined in a above does not apply to future plans concerning the Army national cemeteries; unusual circumstances surrounding interments; matters concerning change of the laws, policies, and the governing regulations; or matters requiring a decision by higher authority. Such cases will be acknowledged with the statement that the communication has been referred to the Director, Personal Affairs, TAGCEN, for direct reply. The communication and a copy of the acknowledgment will then be forwarded to HQDA (DAAG-PEM), WASH DC 20314, with comments and recommendations.
c. Written communication with the White House or Members of Congress will be in coordination with, or a copy of the correspondence provided to, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works).

1.13 Records Maintenance.
Records at Army national cemeteries will be maintained and disposed of as prescribed in AR 340-2, AR 340-18-1, and in other pertinent regulations in the AR 340-18 series
1.14 Arlington Memorial Amphitheater.
a. The Act of 2 September 1960 (74 Stat; 24 USC 295a) provides that the Secretary of Defense or his designee may send to Congress in January of each year recommendations on the memorials to be erected and the remains of deceased members of the Armed Forces to be entombed in the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater in Arlington National Cemetery. The Act further provides that–
(1) No memorial may be erected and no remains may be entombed in the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater unless specifically authorized by Congress;
(2) The character, design, or location of any memorial authorized by Congress is subject to the approval of the Secretary of Defense or of his designee.

b. Under the provisions of the Act of 2 September 1960, the Secretary of the Army has been designated to act in behalf of the Secretary of Defense.

c. Any requests relative to inscriptions or memorials within the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater will be referred to HQDA (DAAG-PEM), WASH DC 20314, for appropriate disposition. The Department of the Army will seek the advice of the Commission of Fine Arts concerning such matters.

1.15 Power of arrest.
The superintendents of Army national cemeteries are authorized to arrest any person who willfully destroys, mutilates, defaces, damages, or removes any monument, gravestone, or other structure or who willfully destroys, cuts, breaks, injures, or removes any tree, shrub, or plant within the limits of the cemetery and to bring that person before any United States magistrate or judge of any district court of the United States within any State or district where the cemeteries are situated, to hold that person to answer for the misdemeanor, and then and there to make a complaint in due form (Act of 2 March 1911 (36 Stat. 1167; 24
USC 286)).

1.16 Solicitations.
Solicitations to the public of any type of business including the sale of souvenirs and refreshments within the cemetery are prohibited. Violators who do not leave when so ordered or who unlawfully reenter the cemetery after being evicted will be subject to prosecution under 18 USC 1382. (See TM 10-287.)

1.17 Procurement.
Cemetery supplies and services will be procured in accordance with the provisions of the Armed Services Procurement Regulation (ASPR), the Army Procurement Procedure (APP), and any special procedures that are issued by the Director, Personal Affairs.

1.18 Accountability for property and supplies.
Army national cemetery property, supplies and equipment will be procured and accounted for in accordance with chapter 6, TM 10-287.
a. Army national cemetery property is procured from the civil works appropriations “Salaries and Expenses, Cemeterial Expenses Army”; therefore, separate records will be maintained for this property. Conditions peculiar to these cemeteries may require deviation from certain property accounting procedures and techniques. In establishing these procedures and techniques, the superintendent may be authorized exceptions by the Director, Personal Affairs, to meet varying conditions. These exceptions must necessarily conform fundamentally to basic Army policy and regulations governing property accountability.
b. Individuals who have Government property and/or supplies in their possession or under their supervision are responsible for the proper custody, care, and safekeeping of the property and/or supplies and may be held financially liable for failure to exercise these responsibilities.

1.19 Encroachments and revocable licenses.
1.19.A Encroachments.
a. Encroachments. No railroads will be permitted upon the right-of-way acquired by the United States leading to Arlington or Soldiers’ Home National Cemetery or to encroach upon any roads or walks thereon and maintained by the United States (24 USC 290).
1.19.B Revocable licenses.

b. Revocable licenses.
The construction or erection of poles and lines (including underground lines) for  transmitting and distributing electric power or for telephone and telegraph purposes, as well as water and sewer pipes, will not be permitted without the authority of the Department of the Army. Requests for revocable licenses to construct water, gas, or sewer lines or other appurtenances on or across the cemetery or an approach road in which the Government has a right-of-way or fee simple title or other interest will be submitted for final action to the cemetery superintendent with a complete description of the privilege
desired and a map showing the location of the project on the roadway in question. The superintendent will forward the application and enclosures with his comments and recommendations to HQDA (DAAG-PEM), WASH DC 20314.

1.20 Standards of construction, maintenance, and operations.
The following standards of the Department of the Army will be observed in the development, operation, maintenance, administration, and support of Army national cemeteries and will be considered in relation to budgetary reviews within the Department of the Army:
a. As permanent national shrines provided by a grateful nation to the honored dead of the Armed Forces of the United States, the standards for construction, maintenance, and operation of Army national cemeteries will be commensurate with the high purpose to which they are dedicated.
b. Structures and facilities provided for national cemeteries will be permanent in nature and of a scope, dignity, and aesthetic design suitable to the purpose for which they are intended.
c. National cemeteries will be beautified by landscaping and by means of special features based on the historical aspects, location, or other factors of major significance.
d. Accommodations and services provided to the next of kin of the honored dead and to the general public will be of high order.

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