FYI--Lee: SOURCE: silive/opinion/editorials/index.ssf/2013/07/military_has_bungled_search_fo.html Military has bungled search for American MIAs Staten Island Advance Editorial By Staten Island Advance Editorial Staten Island Advance on July 13, 2013 at 8:55 AM, updated July 13, 2013 at 8:56 AM The U.S. military effort to account for Americans missing in action as far back as World War II has turned into a disgraceful mess. It amounts to a dereliction of duty. Under fire over shortcomings, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), which is based at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, has admitted it is “dysfunctional.” Now the Defense Department has ordered a full review of the system it is using to determine the fate of over 80,000 service members left missing in the nation’s wars over the past 70 years — including at least two Staten Islanders lost during the Vietnam era. Responding to criticism over the flawed search for MIAs, Pentagon spokesman George Little declared, “We have a sacred obligation to perform this mission well.” It’s a promise that must never be forgotten. Yet the Associated Press reports that a JPAC study — previously suppressed by military officials — found the MIA program was mismanaged, wasteful and even corrupt. According to the AP, the analysis found that the command was relying on inaccurate databases and digging up too few clues on the battlefield. To “support” excavations, Washington paid North Korea hundreds of thousands of dollars. But the study found that some remains apparently were taken out of storage and planted in former American battlefield locations. Some international searches, particularly in Europe, were boondoggles, concluded the JPAC probe, which cited “a pattern of foreign travel, accommodations and activities paid for by public funds that are ultimately unnecessary, excessive, inefficient or unproductive.” It’s referred to by some as “military tourism,” the AP noted. The Associated Press says that it obtained a copy of the internal military study after Freedom of Information Act requests for it by others were denied. A management expert who is still employed by JPAC had studied the organization for more than a year. But early in 2012, Maj. Gen. Stephen D. Tom, then in charge of the command, wrote in an internal staff memo that JPAC would “not consider any allegations, findings or recommendations from the report,” which he said would “not be considered in future planning efforts” aimed at improving operations. He “disavowed” the study and said it was “rejected in its entirety.” The Pentagon claims that, until now, not all of the problems cited in the report were brought to the attention of senior officials at the Department of Defense. According to Stars and Stripes, a military-sanctioned newspaper, congressional sources confirm that a report due for release soon by General Accounting Office faults JPAC for inefficiency and unfulfilled goals. Three years ago, Congress mandated the annual recovery by 2015 of the remains of at least 200 MIAs from World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam. But JPAC still averages fewer than 70 recoveries a year. The current JPAC commander, Air Force Maj. Gen. Kelly K. McKeague, told the AP he would not dispute those who say his organization is dysfunctional. “I’d say you’re right, and we’re doing something about it,” McKeague replied. He said changes being considered by the military include putting the entire MIA accounting bureaucracy and its management under the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington. We count on and expect President Obama, the Pentagon and Congress to act swiftly to fix the problems in the official search for Americans missing in action. It is the only honorable response to this scandal. The U.S. military effort to account for Americans missing in action as far back as World War II has turned into a disgraceful mess. It amounts to a dereliction of duty. Under fire over shortcomings, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), which is based at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, has admitted it is “dysfunctional.” Now the Defense Department has ordered a full review of the system it is using to determine the fate of over 80,000 service members left missing in the nation’s wars over the past 70 years — including at least two Staten Islanders lost during the Vietnam era. Responding to criticism over the flawed search for MIAs, Pentagon spokesman George Little declared, “We have a sacred obligation to perform this mission well.” It’s a promise that must never be forgotten. Yet the Associated Press reports that a JPAC study — previously suppressed by military officials — found the MIA program was mismanaged, wasteful and even corrupt. According to the AP, the analysis found that the command was relying on inaccurate databases and digging up too few clues on the battlefield. To “support” excavations, Washington paid North Korea hundreds of thousands of dollars. But the study found that some remains apparently were taken out of storage and planted in former American battlefield locations. Some international searches, particularly in Europe, were boondoggles, concluded the JPAC probe, which cited “a pattern of foreign travel, accommodations and activities paid for by public funds that are ultimately unnecessary, excessive, inefficient or unproductive.” It’s referred to by some as “military tourism,” the AP noted. The Associated Press says that it obtained a copy of the internal military study after Freedom of Information Act requests for it by others were denied. A management expert who is still employed by JPAC had studied the organization for more than a year. But early in 2012, Maj. Gen. Stephen D. Tom, then in charge of the command, wrote in an internal staff memo that JPAC would “not consider any allegations, findings or recommendations from the report,” which he said would “not be considered in future planning efforts” aimed at improving operations. He “disavowed” the study and said it was “rejected in its entirety.” The Pentagon claims that, until now, not all of the problems cited in the report were brought to the attention of senior officials at the Department of Defense. According to Stars and Stripes, a military-sanctioned newspaper, congressional sources confirm that a report due for release soon by General Accounting Office faults JPAC for inefficiency and unfulfilled goals. Three years ago, Congress mandated the annual recovery by 2015 of the remains of at least 200 MIAs from World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam. But JPAC still averages fewer than 70 recoveries a year. The current JPAC commander, Air Force Maj. Gen. Kelly K. McKeague, told the AP he would not dispute those who say his organization is dysfunctional. “I’d say you’re right, and we’re doing something about it,” McKeague replied. He said changes being considered by the military include putting the entire MIA accounting bureaucracy and its management under the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington. We count on and expect President Obama, the Pentagon and Congress to act swiftly to fix the problems in the official search for Americans missing in action. It is the only honorable response to this scandal. © 2013 SILive. All rights reserved.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Jul 2013 18:31:07 +0000
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