From the March, 1999 Coalition Newsletter
by Donna Downes Knox
In January, the
collective POW/MIA community was confronted with a difficult and important
situation. The controversy centered around proposed changes to JCSD, the
support directorate for the U.S. side of the U.S. Russian Joint Commission on
POW/MIAs.
At the heart of
the situation was the announced intention to remove Norm Kass from his position
as Executive Secretary of the Joint Commission itself, and from his position as
Director of the JCSD, which conducts research and investigation for the
Commission. Norm has served the Commission and the families admirably for years
and we were dismayed to learn that he would no longer be a part of the POW/MIA
accounting effort. Adding to our concerns was the fact that Norm himself was
opposed to the re-assignment, and there appeared to be no legitimate reason for
moving him off of the project. He said he had been given no explanation for the
re-assignment, except references to different management styles.
Immediately, a
ground swell of opposition arose from the POW/MIA community. Norm Kass is one
of our most dedicated and trusted investigators into the reported transfer of
American POWs to the Soviet Union during the Korean, Vietnam, and Cold Wars.
Norm and his team of investigators on the JCSD have developed some promising
leads on the transfer issue. They have shown themselves to be in search of the
truth, even where that truth might be politically or emotionally difficult.
Their work is very important to the accounting mission. Norm Kass is very
important to the accounting mission.
The Coalition of
Families conducted an extensive inquiry into this situation. We met and spoke
with various government officials, including Bob Jones at DPMO; General Roland
LaJoie, the new
U.S. Chair of the
Joint Commission; representatives of Commissioners on the Joint Commission,
Senator Bob Smith (R-NH) and Congressman Sam Johnson (R-TX). We spoke with Norm
Kass and other members of the JCSD. We reviewed written correspondence and
other documents. We discussed the situation with numerous veteran and family
organizations. We also drew from our long history of dealing with DoD, Norm
Kass and the rest of the JCSD investigators.
Our inquiry led to
concerns that went beyond the removal of Norm Kass from the accounting effort.
The JCSD is the primary investigative arm of the accounting effort, as it
pertains to the reported transfer of men to the former Soviet Union. Part of
JCSD’s value to the families is that it serves two masters; DPMO and the
Commissioners. This directorate is unique among POW/MIA taskings, in that it
serves as a bridge between executive and congressional activity on this issue.
Concerns that the Full Accounting will fall victim to the Administration’s
other political and economic agendas are somewhat lessened by the fact that the
JCSD also reports to members of Congress. In sum, part of JCSD’s value to the
operation is its distinction from other DoD offices.
We became aware of
indications that the JCSD was going to be absorbed into the day to day
operations of the larger DPMO office, a move which we felt would jeopardize the
team’s status as a quasi-separate and distinct team of investigators. The DPMO
recently put out a draft five year strategic plan that called for movement of
the JCSD offices into the DPMO office space. What’s more, though the various
other DPMO directorates were specifically listed, the plan did not mention the
JCSD. This indicated that the JCSD would either cease to exist as a separate
entity, or it would come under the supervision of some other DPMO directorate.
Adding to our concerns was a provision that called for all active
investigations to transition to "reactive efforts" by the year 2004.
This latter provision strongly suggested a fundamental altering over time of
JCSD’s function. It gave the impression that a plan was underway to phase out
actual investigation into the fate of our missing men, and minimize the
accounting effort by the arbitrary date of 2004.
We raised our
concerns with DPMO, with General LaJoie, and with the Department of Defense
leadership up to and including Secretary Cohen. Early in March, the Coalition
received a letter from Walter Slocombe, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.
Mr. Slocombe informed us that the five year plan was a working draft that would
continue to evolve. He said no decisions had been made about its application to
the JCSD, and that final decisions would reflect the needs of the office as
well as the many organizations involved, both in and out of government. He
further stated that our views would be considered in the process.
One clearly
positive result of the POW/MIA community’s involvement in this matter is DoD’s
resulting decision to retain Norm Kass in his position as head of the JCSD. We
spoke out and our collective voice was heard. We thank the DoD leadership for
responding to our concerns, at least on the initial matter of Norm Kass’s
on-going leadership in the accounting effort. This should serve as a reminder
to us all that the accounting effort is being waged on our behalf. It is our
right, and our responsibility, to monitor the process and to make it clear when
that process becomes unacceptable.
The future
structure and quasi-autonomy of the JCSD, apparently, is a matter still under
consideration. Therefore, the fundamental integrity and work product of the
JCSD team, as we have come to know it, is not yet secure. We must continue to
play an unyielding role in this matter as plans, strategies, and policies
evolve. We will encourage the Department of Defense leadership to listen to the
POW/MIA community, for we have worked the full accounting issue for decades.
The families have lived it for a lifetime, in the most profound way. If major
changes are contemplated, we would like to be involved in the process.