“Until They Are Home”

This is the simple but poignant reminder of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command:

Until they are home.

The mission of JPAC is to “achieve the fullest possible accounting of all Americans missing as a result of our nation’s past conflicts” and to date, this 400-personnel organization at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam is working tirelessly to give closure to over 90,000 families who’ve lost loved ones in conflicts since WWII. JPAC has an amazing and noble goal, one that baffles my mind after taking a tour of their facilities and learning about their operation (as an overview, watch their command brief).

Recently, JPAC joined the social media movement of the DoD and hosted its inaugural tweetup. JPAC commander, Major General Stephen Tom, talked to our social media group about the determination of the JPAC organization to fulfill our Nation’s promise of bringing fallen comrades home.

JPAC’s Central Identification Laboratory (CIL) is the largest skeletal identification lab in the world where approximately 30 forensic anthropologists and dentists work on solving mysteries decades old. In teams of 10-14 specialists, the JPAC staff researches historical sites, launches a investigative team, then as warranted, deploys a full recovery team to collect remains and artifacts.

As part of the tweetup, I witnessed a repatriation ceremony where remains collected from Vietnam, Laos, and Vanuatu were honored then taken to the CIL lab for identification.

I can’t begin to explain the complex challenges JPAC faces in their mission. Their combat scene investigations cover the spans of time, geography, culture, science, and so much more. If you can, visit JPAC on one of their public tours and learn about its honorable mission.

Thanks to JPAC and Pacific Command for this amazing opportunity.

For more pictures from the JPAC tour and arrival ceremony, check out my Flickr set.

JPAC online at:

• JPAC Web site
• JPAC on Facebook
• JPAC on Twitter
• JPAC on YouTube
• JPAC on Flickr

More #ArrivalCeremony coverage:

• Dallas Nagata
• Ricky Li
• Mad Marv