News-Info-Alerts

To: ALL

From: Andi Wolos & Bob Necci

(POW-MIA InterNetwork)

Re: DPMO Update

Date: January 31, 2001

"Defense POW/MIA Weekly Update

January 18, 2001

DESERT STORM REPORTS CLARIFIED

Air Force and Navy officials have clarified information related to accounting for American casualties during Desert Storm. One media report indicated that most of the crew of the Air Force's AC-130 "Spirit 03" were still listed as "killed in action, body not recovered." However, that report was based on outdated information. According to the Air Force, all crewmembers of "Spirit 03" were recovered, and buried in individual funerals.

Two U.S. Navy aviators are still listed as KIA/BNR from combat in Desert Storm. They are Lieutenant Commander Barry T. Cooke and Lieutenant Robert J. Dwyer.

NAVY CHANGES STATUS OF CMDR. MICHAEL SCOTT SPEICHER

Secretary of the Navy Richard Danzig has changed the status of Cmdr. Michael Scott Speicher from Killed in Action/Body Not Recovered (KIA/BNR) to Missing in Action (MIA). Speicher's F/A-18 aircraft was shot down by enemy fire in the first day of the air war over Iraq on Jan. 17, 1991. He was placed in an MIA status the next day. On May 22, 1991, following a Secretary of the Navy status review board that found "no credible evidence" to suggest he had survived the shootdown, his status was changed to KIA/BNR.

In December 1995, working through the International Committee of the Red Cross, investigators from the Navy and Army's Central Identification Laboratory entered Iraq and conducted a thorough excavation of the crash site. In September 1996, based on a comprehensive review of evidence accumulated since the initial KIA/BNR determination, the Secretary of the Navy reaffirmed the presumptive finding of death.

Over the years since that determination was made, the Navy and the U.S. government have consistently sought new information and continued to analyze all available information to resolve Speicher's fate. This additional information and analysis, when added to the information considered in 1996, underscored the need for a new review.

Based on the review, Danzig has concluded that Speicher's status should be "Missing in Action."

NSA DECLASSIFICATION REVIEW OF SENATE RECORDS COMPLETED

The National Security Agency (NSA) has completed its review of nearly 23,000 pages of NSA-originated material in the retired files of the 1992 - 1993 Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs. The declassified files were returned to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) on January 2nd. This action ensures relevant archival records of the Committee are available for public access.

In 1993 when the Committee completed its work, the Committee Chairman, Senator John F. Kerry, requested the records be declassified. Although family members of unaccounted-for servicemen from the war in Southeast Asia awaited the release of these records, the declassification process took longer than anticipated.

In 1999 several family organizations sought the support of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/Missing Personnel Affairs, Mr. Robert L. Jones, to expedite the declassification process. In a letter dated July 13, 1999 to the Director, NSA, Lt. Gen. Michael V. Hayden, Jones noted that family members awaited the release of the redacted records for more than six years. Jones added, "I support their request for access to the releasable portions of all Department of Defense documents that relate to POW/MIA issues. I encourage you to exert all effort to ensure relevant archival records are available for public access."

The completion of the declassification review and the release of the documents show the government's commitment to release all relevant information pertaining to the unaccounted-for servicemen in Southeast Asia.

KEY DOCUMENTS ON PERSONNEL RECOVERY SIGNED

Under the leadership of DPMO, DoD recently issued several key policy documents that will help preclude ad hoc planning and execution of personnel recovery functions by requiring effective organization, and proactive preparation and training for personnel recovery operations. This effort required 18 months of coordination with all the services, the combatant commands, the intelligence community, and the interagency community. These policies and instructions clearly define roles and responsibilities throughout DoD encompassing all aspects of personnel recovery.

DoD Directive 2310.2, Personnel Recovery, was signed by the Deputy Secretary of Defense (DepSecDef) in December. This directive transfers Executive Agency for personnel recovery from the Air Force to the Commander in Chief, U.S. Joint Forces Command. This change will reinforce the "joint" nature of personnel recovery, and establish a four-star advocate for this important function.

DoD Instruction 2310.4, Repatriation of Prisoners of War, Hostages, Peacetime Government Detainees, and Other Missing or Isolated Personnel, was signed by the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (USD(P)) in November. This instruction implements policy, assigns responsibilities, and prescribes procedures for repatriating U.S. military personnel, DoD civilians, and DoD contractors who have been POWs, held hostage by terrorists (foreign or domestic), detained in peacetime by a hostile government, evading enemy capture, or otherwise were missing under hostile conditions. It will help ensure their smooth transition back to U.S. control, placing their well being above all other concerns.

DoD Instruction 2310.6, Non-Conventional Assisted Recovery, was signed earlier by the USD(P). This instruction implements personnel recovery policy, assigns responsibilities, and prescribes procedures to develop and execute Non-conventional Assisted Recovery procedures for U.S. military personnel, DoD civilian employees, contractors, and other designated personnel isolated during military operations or as a direct result of developing or ongoing crises prior to military intervention.

DoD Directive 1300.7, Training and Education to Support the Code of Conduct, was also signed recently by the DepSecDef. This directive outlines policy and realigns responsibilities to develop and execute the Code of Conduct training for members of the U.S. Armed Forces according to the 1976 Defense Review Committee Report. The need to revise this directive was identified during the 1997 DoD Personnel Recovery Conference.

DoD Instruction 1300.21, Code of Conduct Training and Education. This instruction implements policy as prescribed in DoDD 1300.7, assigns responsibilities, and prescribes procedures to develop and execute Code of Conduct training for members of the U.S. Armed Forces.

DPMO TO HOST FAMILY UPDATE SATURDAY IN LAS VEGAS

The January Family Update to be held Saturday in Las Vegas will include more than 100 family members of unaccounted-for servicemen from all conflicts. The attendees come from several states to join the government specialists from DPMO, the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory Hawaii (CILHI), Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA), the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL), and the military service casualty offices.

These updates are held monthly in cities across the U.S. This marks the sixth year that DPMO and other government specialists have presented this updated information to family members. Approximately 1,750 families of missing servicemen have attended these meetings.

These all-day Saturday briefings are preceded by a Friday evening session designed especially for veterans and members of the general public. The Friday briefings last approximately two hours, and are open to the public.

Experts present information on the latest technologies used to identify remains, including mitochondrial DNA. Archival research and other topics are also presented to the families. At the end of the all-day sessions, families are invited to individually review details of their own cases. This initiative assists families who are unable to travel to Washington, D.C. to review their individual case files.

Cities visited in recent months include Miami, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Spokane, St. Louis, Omaha, Atlanta, Portland, Pensacola, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Philadelphia, Detroit, Jacksonville, Memphis, Sacramento, and others. The next Family Update will be held in San Francisco on February 24th. Families who wish to attend that update should contact their military service casualty officers immediately to register for the meeting.

DPMO SEEKS STATES' ASSISTANCE TO LOCATE FAMILY MEMBERS OF THE MISSING

The Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/Missing Personnel Affairs, Robert L. Jones, recently sent letters to the Directors of Veterans Affairs of all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands seeking their aid in locating family members of America's unaccounted-for servicemen. The letters also requested their support to ask family members of the missing to provide DNA samples in support of the identification of remains.

A vital part of the U.S. government's success in identifying recovered remains rests with its ability to locate family members of those who were lost. Although the government had success in maintaining contact with family members of those lost during the Vietnam and Cold Wars, this was not the case for Korea, where over 8,100 servicemen remain missing. Since 1996 the remains of 107 individuals believed to be American servicemen were repatriated from North Korea; only five have been identified. As ten recovery operations are planned for North Korea in 2001, it is highly likely that more remains will be recovered, and the need to contact family members of those missing from the Korean War becomes essential.

Since the time the letters were mailed, 21 states have contacted DPMO providing varying degrees of response to Mr. Jones' request to find family members. As an added benefit, 54 family members (representing 44 cases) have come forward to volunteer a blood sample for DNA comparison testing. Representatives of the service casualty office will contact these family members to obtain a DNA sample.
Published by the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office
2400 Defense Pentagon Washington, DC 20301-2400
(703) 602-2102 www.dtic.mil/dpmo"