JPAC Team Dedicated to Fullest Possible Accounting in Republic of Korea

A team from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) is in the third week of an investigative mission in the Republic of Korea.

A Stars and Stripes reporter recently spent time with the team and the newspaper published a feature story on the team’s efforts.

The mission of the approximately 400 men and women of JPAC, which celebrated its fifth anniversary this past October, is to achieve the fullest possible accounting of all Americans missing as a result of the nation’s past conflicts.

In those five years, JPAC teams have spanned the globe, operating in over thirty countries. Last year, teams deployed to 12 countries on 69 recovery and investigative missions, and completed 75 identifications. Also in the past year, the Central Identification Laboratory (CIL) became the third Federal Laboratory to pass the International American Society of Crime Laboratory Assessment, and the CIL opened the Forensic Science Academy, an advanced forensic anthropology program consisting of five courses, taught under the auspices of the Department of Defense.

JPAC continues to build strong and expanding relationships within the countries it operates, many of which are located in the U.S. Pacific Command area of operations.