News-Info-Alerts

Re: CILHI, JTFFA Combine to Form JPAC

From: POW-MIA InterNetwork

Date: October 06, 2003

"CILHI, JTF-FA combines to form JPAC
Submitted by: Marine Forces Pacific
Story Identification Number: 2003106221125
Story by Pfc. Bernadette L. Ainsworth

MARINE FORCES PACIFIC, CAMP H. M. SMITH, Hawaii(Oct. 6, 2003) -- The U. S. Army's Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii and Joint Task Force- Full Accounting combined to form the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) in a ceremony Oct. 1 at the new Nimitz-MacArthur Pacific Command Center here.

Along with the activation ceremony, JPAC held its first remains repatriation ceremony at Hickam Air Force Base, Oct. 1, in which four sets of remains, believed to be those of American service members unaccounted from the Vietnam War, were brought back to be identified.

According to a JPAC press release sent Sept. 26, the decision to merge resulted from extensive studies to determine feasibility and the benefit of operational improvements. JPAC will serve as the operational nucleus to coordinate all U.S. POW/MIA investigation and recovery efforts.

The missions for JTF-FA and CILHI were very similar, but not the same.

The Joint Task Force-Full Accounting focused on achieving the fullest possible accounting of Americans missing or unaccounted for as a result of the Vietnam War.

The Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii's mission was to search for, recover and identify missing Americans from all previous conflicts. JPAC will now take on both of these missions.

"This unification will allow us to take advantage of the abilities of these two commands and eliminate redundancy," said Army Brig. Gen. W. Montague "Que" Winfield, commanding general, JPAC.

Together, JTF-FA and CILHI have recovered and identified more than 1,850 missing or unaccounted for Americans.

There are more than 88,000 Americans still missing. One American is missing from the Gulf War, more than 1,800 from the Vietnam War, 120 from the Cold War, more than 8,100 from the Korean War, and more than 78,000 from WWII.

JPAC's first official mission will be to Laos in two weeks.

"Every service member brought home is a small victory and a small promise kept to their families," said Brig. Gen. Winfield."