DPAA Highlights Critical Need for Lao and Vietnamese Linguists at ACLPM Workshop

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) delivered an essential briefing during the Advanced Command Language Program Manager (ACLPM) Workshop, held in Monterey, California, Sept. 12, 2024. Their participation highlights the importance of recruiting skilled Lao and Vietnamese linguists to support the agency’s ongoing missions in Asia, where the shortage of language specialists has become a significant obstacle in recovering missing personnel.

The ACLPM Workshop, an annual Department of Defense (DoD) Language, Regional Expertise, and Culture event, is dedicated to the professional development of language professionals across all military branches. This year’s event brought together more than 300 service members, fostering a collaborative environment that encouraged knowledge-sharing, showcased advancements in language training, and provided networking opportunities across the language and regional expertise community.

At the heart of DPAA’s mission is the solemn task of accounting for missing personnel from past conflicts, primarily through recovery operations and advanced identification techniques. In Southeast Asia, where we are still missing personnel from the Vietnam War and other past conflicts, linguists with proficiency in Lao and Vietnamese are crucial to the success of these recovery missions.

“DPAA established key points of contacts with SOCOM [United States Special Operations Command], Defense Language Institute, and U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Marine Corps headquarters Language Program Managers.” said U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Sarah Clemmer, DPAA linguist. “This enables DPAA to solicit language-enable service-member positions throughout the DoD community to directly support DPAA worldwide operations.”

At the workshop, DPAA personnel engaged with the assembled service members to brief them on the critical need for linguistic support in these key regions. During the briefing, they explained the agency’s current recovery efforts, identification methods, and the stringent processes used to account for missing personnel. DPAA officials emphasized that these missions, while complex and challenging, are vital for ensuring that no fallen individual is left behind. The ACLPM Workshop provided an ideal platform for DPAA to raise awareness about this shortage and to engage with potential recruits.

“We are seeking the specific skill sets in Lao and Vietnamese linguists, along with the pathways for interested service members to join our missions,” said U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Andrew Burdge, DPAA linguist. “The language expertise provided by these professionals can be the key to unlocking vital information about recovery sites, obtaining cooperation from local populations, and identifying previously inaccessible areas where personnel may still be found.”

DPAA also outlined the recruitment and training process for service members interested in supporting these recovery missions. This includes language proficiency assessments, cultural immersion training, and deployment opportunities in support of DPAA’s global efforts. The agency’s leadership expressed their hope that the workshop’s attendees would not only consider joining their mission but would also advocate for the importance of linguists in future military operations. Recruiting and training Lao and Vietnamese linguists will be key to DPAA’s continuous work to account for the approximately 81,000 personnel still missing from conflicts dating back to World War II.

The agency remains committed to expanding its linguistic capabilities. For those interested in supporting DPAA’s efforts, the agency encourages direct engagement through recruitment channels, emphasizing that every linguist who joins the mission brings the agency closer to its goal: providing closure to families on their loved ones.