Families of missing-in-action service members from the Vietnam war were issued a promise on June 25 from the new overseer of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency to look into budget cuts that have canceled MIA searches in Vietnam and Laos.
Former Army Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata, now undersecretary of defense for Personnel and Readiness, was initially met with skepticism on the budget cuts at the annual DPAA briefings for the families of those lost during the Vietnam era. Tata sought to mend fences, however, by pledging to work for restoration of about $40 million in DPAA cuts as proposed in a bill currently before Congress.
Tata first had to convince a skeptical audience member who questioned whether he would follow through on his promises.
“I’m up here telling you — please let me go look at the legislation. That’s my commitment,” he said. “I absolutely support increasing the budget for DPAA. The more money, the more questions we can answer for you.”
Tata, who previously commanded the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, and was deputy commanding general of the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan, was referring to a bill introduced by Sen. Deb Fisher (R-Neb.) to restore $40 million in funding to the DPAA. The bill was attached to the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act.
Budget cuts and fuel shortages caused by the war in Iran already resulted in the cancellation in April of searches for the missing in Laos.
“Due to significant impacts resulting from fuel shortages in Laos, DPAA was forced to cancel four recovery teams that were planned for April 27 through June 10,” a DPAA release at the time stated.
Tata sought to assure the audience of family members that he had the “full unmitigated support” of President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in his new mission, one in which former Army Maj. Gen. Kelly McKeague, director of the DPAA, will report directly to him.
“I will do anything possible to help Kelly and his team,” said Tata, whose past inflammatory remarks, including calling former President Barack Obama a “terrorist leader,” led to the withdrawal of his nomination to the post of under secretary of Defense for Policy during the first Trump administration.
McKeague said the main thing Tata could do would be to lobby for increased funding for the DPAA budget, which has gone from $185 million in Fiscal Year 2025 to $167 million in FY2026, and is projected to be capped at $160 million in FY2027, according too DPAA.
The lack of funding has forced DPAA to cut the number of recovery and investigative teams operating in Vietnam from 27 to seven; from 13 to five in Laos; and from three to one in Cambodia, a DPAA release said.
The $40 million DPAA was seeking from the Fisher bill was a pittance compared to the size of the overall defense budget, which was expected to come in at upwards of $1 trillion, McKeague said.
“It’s chump change, it’s peanuts,” McKeague said. The added funding, meanwhile, would allow him to boost the number of recovery teams.
Tata also touched on another issue that has stymied and infuriated families of the missing for decades — the red tape blocking the declassification of records that could hold information on their loved ones.
Tata said there was “very little reason” why the military “should be withholding any records. I’m super committed” to getting answers, he told the audience.
Bipartisan legislation has been introduced in the House and Senate — the “Bring Home Our Heroes Act” — to overcome the bureaucratic hurdles that often make access to information difficult for families.
According to language in the bill, the legislation would “establish an independent Missing Armed Forces and Civilian Personnel Records Review Board to identify missing personnel records, facilitate the transmission and disclosure of these records, and review any decisions by federal agencies to postpone declassification for purposes of protecting sensitive classified material.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) in a statement noted that the “bipartisan Bring Our Heroes Home Act takes meaningful steps to ensure that vital records are preserved, responsibly declassified and made accessible so that families can finally gain the clarity they deserve.”
