Photo By Staff Sgt. Blake Gonzales | Brenda Ilifanoa, Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery (NMAG) field...... read more read more
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The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) relies heavily on host nation counterparts to successfully conduct investigation and recovery operations in the Indo-Pacific region. Within the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, there exists a vital partnership which not only streamlines DPAA’s efforts, but enables the continued search, recovery, and identification of missing personnel from World War II.
The Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery (NMAG) is the government agency responsible for national, cultural, and historical preservation, overseeing all archaeological activity within the country. Since NMAG also issues field activity permits and coordinates local site permissions, DPAA works frequently with the organization to facilitate recovery operations. For recovery mission 24-1PG, the partnership has proved invaluable.
“Papua New Guinea has over 800 languages, and vastly different social and cultural norms,” said U.S. Army Capt. William Ryan, DPAA 24-1PG team leader. “NMAG helps us navigate those differences across the country. We want to perform our duties respectfully, so we use NMAG to help us facilitate tracking down leads, getting land access, and beginning recovery operations. NMAG is basically the facilitator of all that.”
In 2022, DPAA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with NMAG which established a framework of coordination for DPAA research and field activities within Papua New Guinea. The agreement formally outlined the mutual understandings between the two agencies, and now gives new recovery teams a frame of reference when conducting field operations in the country.
“It outlines the roles and responsibilities of each agency, as well as the partnership in between,” said Ryan. “That being outlined in black and white makes it so we have an understanding before we come into country. A new team leader like myself, coming into Papua New Guinea for the first time, it gives me a better expectation of what’s going to happen, who I can rely on, and who is basically my support in country. It does a great job of doing that.”
Field activities in Papua New Guinea typically require a healthy amount of coordination between local governments, landowners, and communities. As a result, NMAG typically provides a representative to act as a bridge between DPAA and the local representatives surrounding recovery sites.
“When we do come out with DPAA on these missions, the first thing we do is try to establish contact with the provincial administration,” said Brenda Ilifanoa, NMAG field technical officer. “We also try to seek out the landowner for the site that we’ll be working at and try to create some community relations with the people. When the team actually gets out to the site to carry out their investigations or recovery operations, we also ensure that everything that they do is within Papua New Guinea law. It’s very important.”
Land access in Papua New Guinea can sometimes be challenging, as much of the land is customary, or administered in accordance with local custom rather than through state. Properly navigating land permissions is another aspect of recovery operations which NMAG assists with.
“We have to ensure that we’re working with the right people,” said Ilifanoa. “If it’s state land, then we don’t have too many issues, but of course, the state has to give you authority. Likewise, if its customary land, we have to get the okay from the landowner to conduct our business. We try as much as possible to explain the kind of mission we’re out here for and ensure that we are not working outside of DPAA and NMAG’s jurisdiction.”
NMAG’s assistance is even more vital if there’s a language barrier.
“Language wise, I speak English well, but for many of our people, they speak either their local dialect or Pidgin, so we’re here basically as translators,” said Ilifanoa. “Language plays a big part in trying to build that bridge. We translate for DPAA leadership to the landowners in Pidgin and vice versa.”
NMAG also supports DPAA field activities by organizing support from other National Papua New Guinea agencies, including the Papua New Guinea Defense Forces (PNGDF).
“Those individuals help keep us safe on mission,” said Ryan. “A lot of the time, those individuals come from the region that we’re going too. They know a lot about the culture in this region, so we rely heavily on them as well as NMAG to work through differences.”
DPAA’s comprehensive partnerships with local entities like NMAG helps ensure successful recovery operations through host nations. Local support and cooperation allow DPAA to facilitate its mission while adhering to local customs and laws, thus, building upon the essential relationships necessary to continue searching for and recovering missing personnel.
“Personally, I think the work DPAA does is very humbling and very noble,” said Ilifanoa. “I feel privileged to be a part of this great mission to bring home the missing. 80 years is a long time for family members to be waiting, but this mission gives closure to those families. Being a part of NMAG and coming out on these missions, it’s a great honor.”
There are approximately 72,000 missing personnel from World War II. With the full support of organizations like NMAG, DPAA continues to search, recover, and identify the missing personnel lost during this conflict, as well as the Vietnam War, the Korean War, and the Cold War.
| Date Taken: | 09.02.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.06.2024 23:39 |
| Story ID: | 479923 |
| Location: | PG |
| Web Views: | 70 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Success Through Cooperation: The Partnership Between DPAA and NMAG, by SSgt Blake Gonzales, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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