Missing Personnel Office
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The Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO), as part of the
United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...
, was an organization that reported to the
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy The United States under secretary of defense for policy (USDP) is a high level civilian official in the United States Department of Defense. The under secretary of defense for policy is the principal staff assistant and adviser to both the secr ...
through the Assistant Secretary of Defense (International Security Affairs). DPMO provided centralized management of
prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
/ missing personnel (POW/MP) affairs within the Department of Defense. On January 30, 2015, DPMO, along with the
Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (often referred to as JPAC) was a joint task force within the United States Department of Defense (DoD) whose mission was to account for Americans who are listed as Prisoners of War (POW), or Missing in Act ...
, were merged into the new
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Defense whose mission is to recover American military personnel listed as prisoners of war (POW) or missing in action (MIA) from designated past conflicts, ...
. DPMO thus ceased to be as a separate entity. During its existence, activities of the Director of the DPMO included the following: *Organize, direct, and manage the DPMO and all assigned resources. *Serve as the DoD focal point for POW/MP matters. *Provide DoD participation in the conduct of negotiations with officials of foreign governments in efforts to achieve the fullest possible accounting of Americans missing as a result of military operations. *Develop uniform DoD procedures for determination of the status of missing personnel and for the systematic, comprehensive, and timely collection, analysis, review, dissemination, and periodic update of information relating to missing personnel. *Collect and analyze information concerning U.S. military and civilian personnel that are missing, imprisoned, or unaccounted for. *Maintain case files, comprehensive records, and databases on U.S. military and civilian personnel who are or were prisoners of war, missing, or unaccounted-for as a result of hostile action in compliance with regulatory guidance mandated in the 1996 Missing Persons Act. *Sanitize or declassify DoD POW/MP documents and related materials for disclosure and release in accordance with 50 U.S. Code, Section 435 Note and Executive Order 12958. *Maintain open channels of communication with the U.S. Congress, POW/MP families, and veterans' organizations through consultations and other appropriate methods. *Represent the Department of Defense in established POW/MP related interagency groups. *Provide intelligence collection requirements to the
Defense Intelligence Agency The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is an intelligence agency and combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense, specializing in defense and military intelligence. A component of the Department of Defense (DoD) and the ...
. *Serve as "executive secretariat" for support to the US-Russia Commission on POW/MP Affairs exercising managerial, administrative, and logistical assistance, as required. *Managing the recovery of US human remains from the Korean War with the North Korean government during the 1990s


See also

*
Vietnam War POW/MIA issue The Vietnam War POW/MIA issue concerns the fate of United States servicemen who were reported as missing in action (MIA) during the Vietnam War and associated theaters of operation in Southeast Asia. The term also refers to issues related to the tre ...
* List of United States servicemembers and civilians missing in action during the Vietnam War (1961–1965) * List of United States servicemembers and civilians missing in action during the Vietnam War (1966–67) * List of United States servicemembers and civilians missing in action during the Vietnam War (1968–69) * List of United States servicemembers and civilians missing in action during the Vietnam War (1970–71) * List of United States servicemembers and civilians missing in action during the Vietnam War (1972–1975) * Operation Glory – about the 1954 post-Korean War Armistice operation to repatriate remains held by North Korea


References


External links


Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
{{DEFAULTSORT:Defense Prisoner of War Missing Personnel Office Prisoner of War Missing Personnel Office Vietnam War POW/MIA issues Missing people organizations