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            Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
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    Donate to the Mission  FAQ Category 1
 AGENCY  **Budget and Appropriations** The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is a Defense Agency within the Department of Defense (DoD) and receives annual funding through the DoD, Defense-Wide (DW), Operation and Maintenance (O&M), and Procurement (PROC) Appropriations. The DPAA budget for Fiscal Year 2023 is $150 Million.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The agency does not currently conduct operations in North Korea; however, through past operations we have recovered over 200 remains.
The U.S. remains committed to the mission of achieving the fullest possible accounting of missing service members. When conditions are deemed suitable, we will open discussions with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) regarding a restart of recovery operations. There are approximately 7,500 service members still unaccounted-for from the Korean War. Of that total, it is estimated that approximately 5,300 are located in North Korea. The majority of our missions in North Korea were in Unsan and Kujang counties.
 
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 Thank you very much for your kind and generous wish to support the POW/MIA effort.
Many have expressed a desire to help DPAA provide the fullest possible accounting for the approximately 81,000 missing Department of Defense personnel from the Nation’s past conflicts to their families and the Nation.
The Secretary of Defense has the authority to accept and use gifts of money, property, or services made on the condition that the gift be used for the purpose of facilitating accounting for missing persons pursuant to Title 10, U.S. Code § 1501(a).
This authority has been delegated to the Director, DPAA.
If you are interested in making a non-cash monetary gift (check or money order), please mail it and any conditions on the use of the gift to:
Director
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
2300 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301-2300
If you are interested in donating property or services, please email dpaa.donations@mail.mil and briefly describe the gift, its value, any cost that DPAA may incur if the gift was accepted, and any conditions on use of the gift.
A DPAA representative will respond to your email.
 FAQ Category 2
 PROCESS  We have Research and Investigation Teams (RITs) comprised of 10-14 members who are primarily analysts and linguists. Their job is to research archives in the host nation (museums; government archives; etc); investigate any leads in Last Known Alive cases (still our number one priority); and obtain the oral history from host-nation military and governmental officials that may have broad information about a particular region or battle. They can develop 30-40 new leads through these means.
The agency can also form investigative teams (ITs) consisting of four to nine members with specialized skills (team leader, analysts, linguist, medic, and sometimes anthropologists). Their job is to follow up on the leads of the RIT through interviewing potential witnesses, conducting on-site reconnaissance, and surveying terrain for safety and logistical concerns. Their goal is to obtain enough information to correlate or connect a particular site with an MIA. Their findings and recommendations determine what will be scheduled for recovery.
We have more than two dozen recovery teams (RTs) including underwater and mountaineering teams. Each team consists of 10-14 people comprised of a forensic anthropologist, team leader and sergeant, linguist, medic, life support technician, communications technician, forensic photographer, explosive ordnance disposal technician, and mortuary affairs specialists. Recovery teams use standard field archaeology methods in the excavation as directed by the on-site anthropologist.
 
 Family members can contact the appropriate Service Casualty Officefor more information.
 FAQ Category 3
 RESOURCES  Yes. The Library of Congress and National Archives are additional resources if you would like to do research on your own. https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/finding-aids/powmia-files https://aad.archives.gov/aad/
 
 ALL IMAGERY, VIDEO AND GRAPHICS ON THE DPAA WEBSITE ARE NOT COPYRIGHTED AND AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC USE.
 
 We offer periodic tours of our facilities on Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii. If you are interested in visiting our command, please contact Public Affairs.
 
 
 
 Maternal family members are eligible to provide blood samples for the purpose of establishing a comprehensive family reference DNA database.
A family reference database that includes an mtDNA sample for each of the unaccounted-for servicemen enables comparisons between remains in support of the identification process.
Families should contact their Service Casualty Office POC for details regarding sample provision. Also, a helpful eligible donor chart is provided on the possible donors page. We encourage anyone who is interested to contact the Armed Forces Medical Service (AFMES) for related DNA questions.
 
 United States Air Force 1 (800) 531-5501 United States Army 1 (800) 892-2490 United States Marine Corps 1 (800) 847-1597 United States Navy 1 (800) 443-9298 Department of State 1 (202) 485-6106
 FAQ Category 4
 EMPLOYMENT  Air Force Personnel All Air Force personnel must apply for a position on Talent Marketplace. For enlisted personnel, our special duty jobs are advertised during the two assignment cycles.  If your rank/grade/AFSC are not advertised on Talent Marketplace, we currently do not have a vacant billet.   Officer positions will be listed on Talent Marketplace and you will rack and stack the DPAA billet against the other advertised positions in your career field for consideration to be assigned to DPAA.Navy and Marine Personnel All Navy and Marine personnel must contact their respective rating assignment officer for any type of assignment. For Navy personnel, they must request an Agency assignment from their Detailer at BUPERS. For Marine personnel, they must request an Agency assignment from their Monitor at HQMC. The rating assignment officer will decide if a billet is available at the Agency depending on their Specialty/Rate/NEC/MOS. Please refer all of your assignment questions to your rating assignment officer at BUPERS/HQMC.Army Personnel All Army personnel must contact their respective branch manager at HQDA for an inquiry on an assignment to the Agency. Their rating branch manager will let them know if a billet is available at the Agency depending on their Specialty/MOS. Please refer all of your assignment questions to your branch manager at HQDA in regards to getting assigned to DPAA. **Reserve / National Guard Personnel** The Agency doesn’t have any Reserve or National Guard billets. The Agency does not have the authority to bring Reservists/National Guard personnel to active duty to augment our missions.  *For personnel that have been assigned to a billet at the Agency, please email the respective team below if you have any questions. Air Force Team: dpaa.ncr.hcd.list.air-force@mail.mil Army Team: dpaa.ncr.hcd.list.army@mail.mil Navy and Marine Team: dpaa.ncr.hcd.list.navy-marine@mail.mil
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