Yes, we know, it has been a while. Our inbox has been hit hard with links to news stories and information that had been flooding in regarding the reorganization of the POW/MIA accounting agencies. Things seemed to be moving in the right direction when Michael Lumpkin was the face of the reorganization, officially announced in March ’14. All POW/MIA family organizations from all of the conflicts seemed to be poised and optimistic.
Even after the sudden change of direction in August/September when Lumpkin was replaced by Policy ASD Christine Wormouth. The Personnel Accounting Consolidation Taskforce – PACT – seemed to pick up the ball and still headed in the right direction. Then mistakes started to happen. Followed by all of the backdoor negotiating and backstabbing that some people are famous for, actually infamous. On October 31st, according to news articles from both Stars and Stripes and more recently, the Honolulu Register, Secretary Hagel held a conference call asking for a break for his staff to make sure everything was headed in the right direction. The two-week break became a two month break and then. out of left field, we got a whole new group of people to temporarily head the reorganization.
From reports and emails, this new group has decided to make the families the enemy. They are reading group websites, checking non-profit statuses and playing Big Brother. Then, if they find anything to their disliking, they are trampling on the 1st Amendment and tell families that they can’t be part of the process until they behave?
Well, here is a thought … We may have only skimmed the GAO report and read the beginning of the DOD’s Inspector General’s report but, we’re pretty sure that the phrase “highly dysfunctional” was used to describe the DOD, NOT the families or any family group. We’re pretty sure that the questionable leadership outlined in these reports were within DPMO and JPAC, not the families. In fact, the reports tasked you with improving relationships with the families and re-establishing trust. You have done the complete opposite.
Why not start with the man or woman in the mirror, DOD? Why not worry about your own house before you go looking for problems in someone else’s? From what we have seen in the past, oh, 40 years – you have plenty there to keep you busy. Is this how you fix what is broken in your own house? Silencing your critics? Ignoring the past? Making families out to be the bad guys after decades of your own abuse? And to what end? To punish families further for wanting the truth about their missing loved one? For expecting the DOD to keep its word and then holding your feet to the fire when you don’t?
You aren’t the victims here.
Maybe that is really the problem here – you don’t know how to fix your own problems …. so it is just easier to point out flaws in your victims. Then blame your failure on us?
Their Voice: POW/MIA Families Tell Their Stories 
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