Who: The Department of Defense (DoD), Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), Armed Forces Medical Examiner System (AFMES) and Service Casualty Offices (SCO).

What: DPAA, AFMES and SCO personnel will be virtually meeting with families of loved ones who are unaccounted for from past conflicts from the Vietnam War, the Korean War, the Cold War, and World War II. During the Family Member Update (FMU), families will be briefed on what the government is doing to bring their loved ones home, as well as have a chance to interact in a two-way dialogue and to ask specific questions about their loved ones’ loss. Family members can register to attend at www.dpaa.mil. Briefings open to media include those centered on rigorous process and scientific methods used in searching for and identifying loved ones. 

When: April 17, 2021, from 10 a.m. MDT/noon EDT until approximately 2 p.m. MDT/4 p.m. EDT

Where: The main briefings, which media are encouraged to attend, will be held online and can be viewed at https://www.dpaa.mil/Livestreams/. They will also be archived after the FMU. One-on-one briefings will be held online, but are private and for families only.

Why: DoD is committed to keeping families of the missing and the public informed about the efforts being made to account for our missing DoD personnel. Before COVID-19, DPAA specialists would meet with hundreds of family members of missing personnel at our labs and offices in Washington, D.C., Hawaii, Nebraska, Delaware, and major metropolitan areas across the country. Because of COVID-19, DPAA transitioned to the virtual FMU format to stay connected with families and to ensure a safe and healthy environment for our families of the missing and briefers. These meetings are designed to address families’ individual needs. 

For additional information on the DPAA’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA web site at www.dpaa.mil, or find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa/ or https://www.linkedin.com/company/defense-pow-mia-accounting-agency. Media interested in interviewing Subject Matter Experts should reach out to Lt. Col. Tamara Fisher Carter no later than April 14.