Petition Language

There are 80,000 Missing American Service Personnel worldwide. Less than 1 in 1,000 are recovered each year. In 2009 the House, the Senate and the President of Representatives began to correct this injustice by passing the National Defense Authorization Act of 2010. This bill calls on the Secretary of Defense to implement a comprehensive, coordinated, integrated, and fully resourced program to account for all of these Missing. Among the particulars are an increased in recoveries to 200 in 2015.

We believe that implementation of this Act requires a committment to expeditiously recover remains that are already located or located as part of this effort, and a committment to systematically seek through arcihval and field research the location of the 25-35,000 Missing the Defense Department views as "possibly recoverable" The House and Senate must assure the Authorization is interpreted in this manner and that the 2011 Defense Appropriation fully funds this effort. Recognizing that the Defense Department will need to create the capability to recover remains outside its traditional area of expertise and realizing the passing of witnesses and surviving family members we ask that you seek immediate implemetation of any necessary pilot programs in anticipation of the completion of the 2011 Defense Appropriation. At a time of war it is essential that todays service personnel and their families know that American honors its commitment to leave no one behind.

• This bill sets the target of tripling our rate of recovery to 200 per year. Encouraging as that figure is, the Secretary of Defense's office has written that there are 700-3,500 remains already located but not yet recovered, with 1-500 more located each year. The 200 target will not reduce this backlog. Any permanent program we implement must call for the quick recovery of remains that are located in accessible areas, and the systematic review of archives and field studies to seek the location of those whose present location is unknown. As witnesses and surviving family members age this effort cannot be deferred.
• Please inform the Secretary of Defense, as well as the House and the Senate Appropriations Committees of your desire to see this effort fully funded in the upcoming Defense Appropriation, with the objective defined as the timely location and recovery of all MIA's, not less than the 200 annual target. The aging survivors of our Missing Personnel can ill afford delay, and the witnesses whose information is needed to accomplish recoveries are themselves aging as well.
• In anticipation of the 2011 Defense Authorization, please insist that the Defense Department initiate whatever pilot programs are required to create the capability to locate and recover remains regardless of war or theater. Please work with the Secretary of Defense and the Appropriations committees to assure that such an interim implementation effort is initiated immediately, with the goal of systematically searching both US and foreign archives, as well as battlefields for evidence of missing personnel of all wars, theaters and services, recovering any located expeditiously.

There is no expiration date on our promise to the men and women of the Armed Services to "leave no one behind". I am confident you will support accelerated efforts to research, locate, recover and identify our 80,000 MIA's consistent with the goal of providing the fullest possible accounting of these families while their surviving family members are in a position to benefit from those efforts.

Thank you.

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