Sea Services Funeral Services: No Military Honors Columbarium Inurnments


General Information:

No military honors interments are for family members of military members who are authorized burial at Arlington National Cemetery (ANC). A military chaplain may also be requested at no additional cost to the family, if no civilian religious leader will be present.

Specific Information:

No military honors interments begin by the curb at the Columbarium. Plan on arriving at the Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) Administration Building about 30 minutes before the service, which gives you time to meet with the family and with the Cemetery Representative. There are no salutes rendered during this type of service by the military. For specific information, ask the Cemetery Representative upon arrival.

At the Columbarium

  • Look for the Cemetery Representative, who can help you regarding protocol. Another helpful person is the OIC or NCOIC (Officer or Non-Commissioned Officer in charge). At the columbarium, stand by the Officer in Charge (OIC) at the curb. NOTE: There will be no OIC or NCOIC present for the Coast Guard.
  • The pall bearer will remove the urn from the car and prepare to march to the niche where the urn will be placed. The Cemetery Representative can show you where the niche is inside of the columbarium before the ceremony begins.
  • Lead the procession, after the pallbearer has retrieved the remains and is ready to follow you.

At the Columbarium: The Niche

  • When all have arrived at the niche, the Cemetery Representative will invite a family member to place the remains in the niche.
  • At this point, the Cemetery Representative will look to you to for the internment service or its equivalent.
  • Please do this short service according to the dictates of your faith. At the end of this service, you are welcome to offer condolences to the family. Time is our enemy at ANC, with an average of 23 funerals each day. We request that these services be under ten minutes in length.
  • The Cemetery Representative will announce that services have ended, and invite people to go to their cars.