Army investigators at Arlington National Cemetery have found more than 100 unmarked graves, scores of grave sites with headstones that are not recorded on cemetery maps, and at least four burial urns that had been unearthed and dumped in an area where excess grave dirt is kept.

From Army Secretary John McHugh’s press conference announcing disciplinary action for Arlington officials and redress for the dysfunction:

I’m unable to explain the past, but I can promise this about the future.  The United States Army will take every step necessary to fully ensure that every challenge, every need at Arlington is clearly understood and effectively addressed.  We will initiate those steps necessary to best correct yesterday’s oversight and meet tomorrow’s requirement.  We owe no less to our departed heroes, no less to the loved ones of this nation who, when the call was sounded, stepped forward to serve, answered with love and dedication.  For them, for their loved ones and for this nation, the better tomorrows for Arlington National Cemetery begin today.

Some Guardsmen from the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, while still called up on active duty, found themselves getting rushed through Lewis-McChord’s medical facilities. So they contacted their members of Congress to alert them to what they considered alarming anomalies between their treatment and that given to active-duty soldiers. Staffers for two Oregon legislators, Sen. Ron Wyden (D) and Rep. Kurt Schrader (D), visited Lewis-McChord on May 11. They quickly found that “this was more than a couple of isolated incidents,” said Wyden spokeswoman Jennifer Hoelzer.

Interviews with base staff and members of the 41st IBCT eventually led the congressional aides to discover a PowerPoint presentation at the base that clearly placed reservists and active-duty soldiers on two different tracks for medical attention. The PowerPoint, assembled by the family practice department at the base’s Madigan Army Medical Center, indicated that the goal for active-duty soldiers was to “RUSH” attention for an acute illness or infirmity to a unit medical provider. For reservists, the goal for most demobilizing soldiers was “GET HOME NOW.” For Guardmen and Guardswomen getting ready to deploy, it was “Get acute issues resolved and be eligible to deploy.” Feel confident about that standard of care?

The PowerPoint itself carried a flip — to the Oregon Guardsmen, offensive — illustration of the bifurcation. I’ll put the slide below:

In a letter to Wyden and Schrader, the chief of the Army’s Medical Command, Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, “apologize[d]” for what he called the “insensitive and offensive depiction of Reserve Component Soldiers in this presentation.”

That’s not good enough for Wyden and Schrader. They’ve written to Army Secretary John McHugh asking for a full investigation of whether members of the 41st were treated as “second-class soldiers” and ensuring that the Guardsmen get “all the medical, pay and other benefits to which they are entitled.” Wyden spokeswoman Hoelzer expects McHugh in for a discussion about next steps later this week.

“I have directed Gen. Carter Ham to conduct an accountability review to identify whether any personnel were responsible for failures or deficiencies in applying Army programs, policies, and procedures to the alleged assailant. Further, he will provide a recommendation as to whether disciplinary or adverse action is warranted by each finding, and if so, the nature of such disciplinary or adverse action and the basis for such recommendation.

“In addition, I have requested that Gen. Ham provide me with any general observations he may have developed as a senior leader in our Army, and as a member of the Independent Panel, that he believes may be of help to the Army in charting a way ahead.

“We are an Army that is grounded on disciplined and established standards. Leaders at every level are responsible for ensuring that our policies and regulations are followed and that appropriate action is taken if they are not.

“We must use this incident as an opportunity to reinforce the basics of leader involvement with soldiers. It is this fabric that binds us together in war, and we must ensure that it is continuously strengthened.”

“I am deeply saddened by the tragic events today at Fort Hood. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the fallen, the wounded, and all those touched by this incident. There is little we can say at this point to alleviate the pain or answer the many questions this event raises, but I can pledge that the Department of Defense will do everything in its power to help the Fort Hood community get through these difficult times.”

The Secretary of the Army:

This is a terrible tragedy that we will know more about in the coming days. For now our focus is squarely on taking care of our soldiers and their families,” said Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those who have been killed and wounded. The leadership at Fort Hood is marshalling the medical support and counselors necessary to take care of our soldiers and their families and to notify the next of kin.”

Bill Owens (D) – 33 percent (+5)
Dede Scozzafava (R) – 29 percent (-6)
Doug Hoffman (C) – 23 percent (+7)

Writes pollster Steven Greenberg:

Scozzafava is approaching the point where nearly as many voters have an unfavorable view of her as have a favorable view, and nearly half of voters still don’t know enough about Owens to have an opinion about him.

The election is on Nov. 3.

Here’s the full breakdown from the poll, showing where, and with which voters, Owens and Hoffman have gained ground.

The poll also has President Barack Obama’s approval rating at a healthy 56 percent in a district he carried by 5 points over Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). Obama’s approval has actually inched up from 55 percent since the last poll two weeks ago.

“Clearly, the presence of a third candidate,” pollster Steven Greenberg in the poll’s press release, “points to the fact that the winner of the race will likely not win with a majority of the votes cast, but rather a plurality.”

It’s a hard race to get a read on. It should be favorable terrain for Democrats: President Obama has a 55 percent approval rating in the district, which he carried last year with 52 percent of the vote over Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). And the presence of Hoffman is a clear problem for Scozzafava. While he’s pulling 22 percent of the Republican vote from Scozzafava, he’s only pulling 6 percent of the Democratic vote from Owens. But Scozzafava’s liberal stances on social issues and record of supporting tax increases are helping her appeal to Democrats, while Owens, who has not even promised to support a public option in the health care bill, is trying to appeal to Republicans.

This is the longest war that we have ever fought with an All-Volunteer Force. When the question was raised 30 years ago, when we launched the experiment of the all volunteer Army, if we could stay at war for eight years and not have to resort to the draft, most said, “No way.” They were wrong. Our Soldiers and Army Families proved them wrong.

Not everyone would see that as an unmitigated good thing — We sure showed the critics that we can have a manpower-intensive series of indefinite wars! — but Geren’s heart is clearly in the right place.

We’re 90 minutes into the hearing and he hasn’t said anything yet. (I had to step away for about ten minutes to talk with my editor, so I apologize if I missed something.) I’ll update when I hear him discuss DADT.