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Briefly....mid March 2010
DASD Newberry Visits Congressional Offices: Mr. Bob Newberry met with professional
staff members of the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this month. They discussed
DPMO’s current activities to include both missions, personnel recovery and personnel accounting,
as well as progress on implementing the requirements of the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Senator Durbin Meeting: Staff members of Senator Durbin’s office met with Mr. Newberry
to discuss World War II recovery operations in Tarawa, and potential collaboration with private
researchers, as well as the 2010 NDAA.
American Legion: Mr. Newberry addressed members of the American Legion at their mid-winter
conference in Washington, DC. He updated the Legionnaires on the accounting community’s efforts
to implement the 2010 NDAA, as well as Vietnam’s proposal to increase the pace and scope of U.S.
accounting efforts there.
Planning for China Visit: Mr. Newberry and Major General Tom, Commander of JPAC, have
begun preliminary plans for a joint visit to China in mid-April. The visit would offer an
opportunity to review Chinese progress on archival agreements, to review proposed excavation
sites, and visit the site of a potential Korean War U.S. aircraft loss.
Waivers Granted: DoD has approved a waiver which will allow cargo to be flown aboard
Lao and Vietnamese aircraft. JPAC may now use these aircraft in support of POW/MIA recovery operations.
Vietnam War Case Coordination Review: Analysts from DPMO and JPAC met in late February
to discuss future steps to be taken in approximately 230 cases of missing Americans. Of those,
25 were placed in a “no further pursuit” status and 10 others were placed in a “deferred” category.
These designations mean that additional evidence is needed to continue the active pursuit of these
cases in the field.
Casualty Conference: Mr. Newberry hosted the annual Accounting Community Casualty Conference
in late February. U.S. government representatives from throughout the DoD and Department of State
examined a variety of topics to include information sharing, data base collaboration, as well as the
2010 NDAA.
World War II Crash Site found:: DPMO analysts have located a WWII crash site on the isle
of Morgo in northern Italy. Eight U.S. personnel were aboard the aircraft when it crashed in
January, 1944. The site will be proposed for a future recovery mission.
Family Updates: DPMO hosted two back-to-back Family Updates in Los Angeles and Honolulu
in late February, with approximately 250 family members attending. More than a million readers
and viewers saw coverage of these events through newspapers and television reports.
*HIGHLIGHTS*
LABORATORY STUDY RELEASED:
The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Security Affairs and DPMO cosponsored in 2008 an independent study (click here) by the Institute of Defense Analyses (IDA) to review the current structure, resources, assets and physical location of the Central Identification Laboratory at the Joint POW/Missing Personnel Accounting Command in Hawaii. The recommendations of the IDA study are being considered as part of a strategic planning effort led by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/Missing Personnel Affairs, to increase significantly the rate of identifications in accordance with congressional guidance. NEWBERRY APPOINTED NEW DASD:
Mr. Bob Newberry has been appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/Missing Personnel Affairs and Director of the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office. He had served previously in DPMO as acting DASD. During his Air Force career, he served three combat tours in Southeast Asia flying the F-4 Phantom, and three tours in Europe flying the Air Force’s A-10 Warthog, as well as a two-year assignment flying with the U.S. Marine Corps. He comes to DPMO from leadership positions in Asia-Pacific matters, counternarcotics, counterterrorism, special operations and many other significant mission areas in the Department of Defense.
2009 POW/MIA RECOGNITION DAY AND POSTER:
This year's POW/MIA Recognition Day was commemorated on September 18, the third Friday of the month. This is the traditional day of the month for that observance each year. Ceremonies were held across the country in large and small cities, in major and minor league baseball parks, in veterans' posts and chapters, on U.S. military bases and elsewhere. At the Pentagon, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates hosted a ceremony, with presentations by Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General James E. Cartwright, with keynote remarks delivered by former POW Admiral (and Senator) Jeremiah Denton. Video and photos of the Pentagon ceremony are available for viewing.
In response to overwhelming demand, we ordered additional commemorative posters which are now available. We do not have an unlimited supply, so please place your order online quickly or they will no longer be available. You may also order the posters by phone at 703-699-1131, or by regular mail at: DPMO, Attn: Posters, 241 18th Street South, Suite 800, Arlington, VA 22202. Whether ordering by phone or by letter, please specify your name, number of posters, mailing address and telephone number.
POW/MIA Bracelet Inquiries :
Members of the public often contact DPMO requesting information on serviceman for whom they wore a Vietnam War POW/MIA bracelet. They usually wish to contact the person or his family so they can send them the bracelet that they wore. Since we cannot provide the public with private addresses we have on file, we recommend forwarding a postage-affixed letter to the respective serviceman's casualty office (see links below) with a cover letter explaining the request. If the service casualty office has a current address, they will forward the letter to the serviceman or his family. At that point, the serviceman or family member may choose to contact the concerned citizen and provide them with an address to send the bracelet. There is no guarantee that this process will work. Many of the former POWs are no longer in contact with their service casualty office and this also applies to the families.
2008 CHINA ARCHIVES ARRANGEMENT:
U.S. and Chinese officials signed a document February 29, 2008, in Shanghai, China to formalize research in Chinese archives on Korean War POW/MIA matters. Ambassador Charles A. Ray, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/Missing Personnel Affairs, signed the arrangement with Major General Qian Li Hua of the Chinese Ministry of National Defense. The arrangement outlines expected cooperation between the U.S. and China in researching the archives, which may shed light on Americans who were missing in action or held as prisoners of war in camps managed by the Chinese. CLICK HERE to read the English and Chinese versions of the document. CLICK HERE to read the follow-up arrangement that was signed on April 24, 2008, which described in more specific detail the types of Korean War documents to be examined, as well as general timelines and actions to be carried out by both sides.
LINKS TO MILITARY SERVICES:
If you would like to visit the Army, Navy, Air Force or Marine Corps POW/MIA websites, click on the icons below.
ARMY
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NAVY
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AIR FORCE
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MARINE CORPS |
CLICK HERE for detailed information on Service Casualty Offices Points of Contact
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VIDEO:
KEEPING THE PROMISE
DPMO MISSION BRIEFING
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