A simultaneous work plan allows three or more sites to be covered during the 30-day duration of any JFA deployment. If circumstances warrant, two or three teams can converge on a single site, particularly when time or weather constraints might limit success. Fifty to 100 local workers augment each of the recovery teams at the excavation site. The objective is to complete work at each site within the 30-day period. Major problems result if an excavation is not completed within the time available — among them the loss of potential evidence because of scavenging and the effects of weather. The work of the archeologists is particularly important, since their thorough knowledge of soil conditions and excavation techniques enables them to pinpoint disturbances in the ground caused by the impact of an aircraft, an explosion or a field burial.

Subscribe Today

• Did you enjoy our article?
• Read more in Vietnam Magazine
• Subscribe online and save nearly 40%!!!
 

Their skills are key to site discovery, since time has erased virtually all surface indicators such as aircraft debris. While much of the heavy earthmoving labor is done by local people employed for that purpose, the site archeologist supervises digging and screening of earth down to'sterile soil,' that is, ground no longer affected by the impact of an aircraft crash. Because of the remote location of field deployments and the rudimentary medical infrastructure in rural Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, the doctors and medics who accompany the teams often are the only health professionals available in the area. Virtually every field deployment has needed medical support for illness, broken bones and other medical emergencies. JTF-FA doctors and medics also treat an average of 1,000 to 2,000 Laotian villagers during each JFA. Over the years they have saved 11 or 12 lives.

Field deployments are risky operations due to the large amount of unexploded ordnance in most of the areas where JTF-FA teams are working. Hundreds of Laotian, Cambodian and Vietnamese civilians are killed or maimed each year from unexploded ordnance. Explosive demolitions specialists scour and clear every operational area before any work begins.

Laos is the most bombed country in history. 'More ordnance was dropped on this little country than in all of World War II,' Gahagan noted. 'Our men and women risk their lives every day they walk around out there.'

Disease is another threat to teams in all three countries. Malaria and dengue fever are endemic throughout the region. There are also poisonous snakes and centipedes to contend with, as well as the constant concern about heat casualties among workers.

JTF-FA Detachment 1 in Bangkok, Thailand, is responsible for all operations in Cambodia. Compared to the large efforts in Vietnam and Laos, the scope of Cambodian operations is smaller because there were only 65 Americans missing in Cambodia. Detachment 1 conducts one JFA in Cambodia per year. The one held in January 2000 consisted of an investigation and two recovery operations. As in Laos and Vietnam, the Cambodian armed forces provide extensive helicopter support and also have allowed American aircraft to visit excavation operations on a case-by-case basis, a privilege not available in either Laos or Vietnam.

Air Force Lt. Col. Jeff Smith, who commands Detachment 1, volunteered for the assignment after hearing a JTF-FA briefing while he was a student at the Naval War College. His detachment consists of six other U.S. military personnel, one American civilian and four Thai civilians. The Cambodian government, he said, has been 'extremely easy to work with. There are far fewer restrictions and conditions imposed on our operations, as compared to the situation in Laos or Vietnam.' In addition to its investigative and recovery responsibilities in Cambodia, Detachment 1 also provides logistic support for all three of JTF-FA's field detachments. Bangkok was selected for the region-wide logistical support mission for a number of reasons. It is a regional hub for many U.S. government offices and also offers easy access to manpower and resources. The Thai government provides great assistance to the mission by providing access to U-Tapao Royal Thai Air Base, which serves as the hub for deployments of all JTF-FA and CILHI teams to Southeast Asia. 'We stay pretty busy,' Colonel Smith noted.

Help HistoryNet by bookmarking to