Many organizations play a role in DOD’s efforts to account for missing  persons. JPAC  reports to the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM). As of May 2013, DOD reported that more than 83,000 persons remained  missing or unaccounted for from past conflicts in Vietnam, Korea, the  Cold War, the Persian Gulf, and World War II. Leadership Weaknesses and Fragmented Organizational Structure Undermine DOD’s Capability and Capacity to Accomplish Missing Persons Accounting Mission

While DOD has made some progress in promoting collaboration and  communication among members of the missing persons accounting  community, its capability and capacity to accomplish its missing persons  accounting mission is being undermined by longstanding top-level  leadership weaknesses and a fragmented organizational structure. Leadership from both the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (USD  Policy) and PACOM have not been able to resolve disagreements  between key members of the accounting community. However, as  of June 2013, DOD had not completed a community-wide plan enabling it  to increase its capability and capacity to account for missing persons so  that the community has sufficient resources to ensure that at least 200  missing persons are accounted for annually beginning in fiscal year  2015. Moreover, the fragmented organizational structure—with each member of  the accounting community reporting to a different line of authority—has  exacerbated these problems, such that a majority of accounting  community members believe that alternative structures would be more  effective. Development of Community-wide Plan Is Impeded by a Fragmented Approach to Planning and Disputes among Community Members

While DOD has made some progress in drafting a community-wide plan  to increase its capability and capacity, as of June 2013 DOD had not  completed a community-wide plan. Law No. Without a community-wide plan, the accounting community organizations  have had varied success in identifying and obtaining funds and resources  to meet the accounting-for goal. DOD guidance is also unclear with respect to defining investigation  responsibilities for DPMO and JPAC, and this lack of clarity has enabled  each organization to develop its own operational roles, which overlap one  another. DOD Does Not Have Agreements in Place to Conduct Missing Persons Operations Outside of PACOM’s Area of Responsibility

While JPAC has negotiated an agreement with European Command  governing JPAC’s operations in Europe, JPAC has not established  agreements or other appropriate mechanisms with the other combatant  commands to conduct operations outside of PACOM’s area of  responsibility. DOD estimates that more than 73,000  persons are missing from World War II and are located in the areas of  responsibility of all geographic combatant commands (see figure 2  above). DOD Accounting Community Has Not Established Criteria to Prioritize Potentially Recoverable Missing Persons from Conflicts Other Than the Vietnam War

While DPMO has established criteria to prioritize recovery efforts for  missing persons from the Vietnam War, the DOD accounting community  is hampered in its ability to estimate how many recoveries can reasonably  be expected from other conflicts, because DPMO has not established  criteria that can be used to prioritize missing persons cases by reflecting  feasibility of recovery. Furthermore, the December 2009 memo  from the Deputy Secretary of Defense, directing the DASD to begin  planning a response to the accounting-for goal, noted that reorganizing  the personnel accounting community to improve efficiency could be  included as part of the planning process. We found that 12 of the 13 survey  respondents who answered the question ranked an option with a more  centralized chain of command as the most effective in enabling the  accounting community to achieve its mission. Until  the Secretary of Defense ensures that activities associated with the  accounting mission are efficiently and effectively carried out with unity of  command and effort, the inefficient and potentially avoidable overlap and  disagreements among the community members may continue, and  recovery operations could be hindered by unexpected operational  concerns and a lack of standard procedures. DOD’s comments  are reprinted in their entirety in appendix V.
In agreeing with our first eight recommendations, DOD stated that it: needs to examine options to unify the personnel accounting  community’s fragmented organizational structure; will clarify the roles and responsibilities of members of the accounting will negotiate a new memorandum of agreement between JPAC and  the Life Sciences Equipment Laboratory; will finalize its community-wide plan to develop increased capability  and capacity to account for missing persons; will establish criteria that can be used to prioritize efforts to recover will establish a mechanism for community-wide communications; needs to formalize communication procedures for the organizations  identified by the GAO; and will develop personnel files for all unaccounted-for persons.
Why GAO Did This Study

DOD reports that more than 83,000 persons are missing from past conflicts in Vietnam, Korea, the Cold War, the Persian Gulf, and World War II. Several DOD organizations, known as the accounting community, have a role in accounting for the missing. Between 2002 and 2012, DOD accounted for an average of 72 persons each year. In 2009, Congress mandated DOD to increase its capability and capacity such that the community could account for at least 200 missing persons annually by 2015. The law also added all World War II losses to the list of conflicts for which DOD was responsible, thus increasing from about 10,000 to 83,000 the number of missing persons for whom DOD must account. A committee report accompanying the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 mandated GAO to review DOD's efforts to address the accounting-for goal. GAO assessed DOD's capability and capacity to accomplish the missing persons accounting mission. In doing so, GAO analyzed guidance and requirements, discussed accounting efforts and the structure of the community with community members, and surveyed accounting community members and related entities.

What GAO Found

While the Department of Defense (DOD) has made some progress in promoting communication among the several organizations responsible for accounting for missing persons--known collectively as the accounting community--DOD's capability and capacity to accomplish its missing persons accounting mission is being undermined by longstanding leadership weaknesses and a fragmented organizational structure. Leadership from the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (USD Policy) and U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) have not been able to resolve disagreements among accounting community members, thereby impacting DOD's ability to meet the mandated goal of increasing its capability and capacity to account for 200 missing persons a year by 2015. DOD averaged 72 identifications annually in the decade ending in 2012. GAO found the following areas of progress and continuing areas of weakness:
In response to a 2009 direction from the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the accounting community has begun drafting a community-wide plan to meet the accounting-for goal, but as of July 2013 this plan had not been completed due to a fragmented approach to planning and disputes among community members. Without a community-wide plan, members have had varied success in obtaining resources to meet the goal.
DOD is working to clarify its guidance, but roles and responsibilities for community members are not well defined, and this lack of clarity has led to overlap in key aspects of the mission such as investigations.
DOD does not have agreements with all combatant commands to conduct operations to find missing persons outside of PACOM's area of responsibility. JPAC negotiated an updated agreement with European Command, signed in April 2013, but it has not negotiated similar agreements with any of the other four geographic combatant commands.
While DOD has established criteria to prioritize recovery efforts for missing persons from the Vietnam War, it has not established criteria to prioritize potentially recoverable missing persons from other conflicts.
DOD has not established mechanisms to sustain recent improvements in communication among community members.
Statute and DOD guidance assign responsibility for the accounting mission to many organizations and each reports through a different line of authority. Thus, no single entity is responsible for communitywide personnel and resources. This fragmented organizational structure has exacerbated weaknesses in leadership, and most community organizations GAO spoke to believe alternative structures would be more effective. A majority of community members GAO surveyed conveyed a lack of confidence about the organizational structure. For example, 12 out of 13 survey respondents ranked an option with a more centralized chain of command as the most effective in enabling the accounting community to achieve its mission. Until top-level leaders at USD Policy and PACOM can ensure that all mission activities are carried out with unity of effort, inefficient and potentially avoidable overlap, unexpected operational concerns, and disagreements among members could continue to hinder the mission.

What GAO Recommends

GAO is making nine recommendations to DOD, including for example: examining options to reorganize; clarifying responsibilities for the accounting community; improving planning, guidance, and criteria to prioritize cases; and sustaining communication. DOD generally concurred with these recommendations.