Wait Time for Burial at Arlington Can Be Nearly a Year

Military families can wait up to 49 weeks for burials of loved ones at Arlington National Cemetery because of the high demand for graveside ceremonies and the increasing mortality rates of older veterans, according to a Pentagon Inspector General's report. The system in place for scheduling and conducting burials is suited to the task, the IG's report states, but the sheer volume of family requests routinely exceeds "the resources available on a daily basis for the conduct of burials," including honor guards and chapel availability. In addition, the advanced age of veterans from World War II, Korea and Vietnam leads to more requests for burials than can be handled on a daily basis, states the IG's report, released last month. Read more about the wait times on Military.com.