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Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency official seal
Seal of the Defense POW/MIA
Accounting Agency
Department overview
FormedJanuary 15, 2015 (2015-01-15)
JurisdictionFederal government of the United States
Headquarters2600 Defense Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
38°52′15″N 77°03′19″W / 38.87083°N 77.05528°W / 38.87083; -77.05528
Annual budgetUS$196 million (2024)
Department executives
  • Kelly McKeague, Director
  • Fern Sumpter Winbush, Principal Deputy Director
  • John Figuerres, Deputy Director for Operations
  • Sergeant Major Anthony Worsley, Senior Enlisted Advisor
Parent departmentU.S. Department of Defense
Websitedpaa.mil

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Defense whose mission is to recover and identify unaccounted Department of Defense personnel listed as prisoners of war (POW) or missing in action (MIA) from designated past conflicts, from countries around the world.

History

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U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Henry Ritticher, Gold Star brother to Lt. Jack C. Ritticher, places a rosette after Rittcher's name during the National POW/MIA Recognition Day Ceremony [1]hosted by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii, Sept. 20, 2024. The rosette signifies Rittcher's remains have been found and identified and is no longer missing in action (MIA).

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency was formed on January 15, 2015, as the result the merger of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office, and parts of the United States Air Force's Life Sciences Lab.[2] Scientific laboratories are maintained at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, and Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Hawaii with their headquarters located at The Pentagon in Washington D.C. Currently, DPAA is in a cooperative agreement with The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., which provides operational support during worldwide recovery operations.[3] Following the 2023 wildfires in Maui, the agency assisted in identifying victims' remains.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "DPAA Hosts 2024 National POW/MIA Recognition Day Ceremony". DVIDS. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  2. ^ "Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Becomes Operational". U.S. Department of Defense.
  3. ^ "HJF | HJF Teams With Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency to Account for Missing DoD Personnel". www.hjf.org. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  4. ^ "DNA tests lower the death toll in Maui fire to 97". www.npr.org. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
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