A Defense Department agency that tracks down the remains of missing military members and prisoners-of-war has been forced to suspend search missions because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Officials with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Office said COVID-19 has had a “significant impact” on their worldwide operations.
All field missions this month have been either been completed or terminated earlier than planned and agency personnel have returned to their home base. All future missions have been postponed or canceled, at least through early June.
“COVID-19 dynamics have forced us to radically alter our operations but keeping our team safe, here at home and abroad, is paramount,” said Kelly McKeague, director of DPAA. “At the same time, we are continuing to take actions with which are personnel can remain productive in their duties while maintaining the required distancing.”
The agency suspended several missions earlier than planned, including recovery operations and investigations in the Republic of Kiribati - location of the Battle of Tarawa in World War II - along with other former battlefields in the Philippines, Poland and Vietnam.
Other than a privately-funded underwater investigation off the coast of Latvia, there are no search missions occurring anywhere, agency officials said.
“All personnel are home and in 14 day self-isolation,” DPAA officials said in a statement.
The agency also has canceled search or investigation missions at World War II battlefields in Europe, including Austria, Belgium and Italy and postponed assignments that would have taken teams to Cambodia, Guam, Kuwait and Laos, among other locations.
Most of the agency employees are now teleworking when possible to limit the number of employees in offices.
“The ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic requires we take the necessary precautions to prevent and mitigate the impact of the virus while ensuring we remain mission ready,” Rear Adm. Darius Benaji, DPAA’s deputy director for operations said in a statement.
Organized meetings for family members planned in Miami and Little Rock have been cancelled. Briefings will still be provided by telephone, DPAA officials said.
“This is the first time DPAA has ever cancelled a (Family Member Update) and we did so to protect attending families,” officials said.
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