The mission of the Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command is to investigate, recover and identify the remains of Americans missing from our past conflicts. Our specific mandate is limited to losses from World War II to the first Persian Gulf War.

Our arduous mission, which is global in scope, requires significant resources. Investigations rely on extensive research. Recovery operations are carried out in inhospitable environments. The scientific testing is extremely demanding. But, as responsible stewards of federal funding, we continuously seek efficiencies and optimize cost-effectiveness.

The efficacy and value of JPAC were recently questioned by Dr. Michael Rethman in a commentary ("JPAC’s honorable mission no longer worth the cost," Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Nov. 14). His views are markedly different from the perspectives of many who know JPAC’s work. His facts differ as well.

JPAC is not just about the money, and our mission is more than obligations that are codified in federal law. In short, JPAC is far from being a "non-essential government operation."

This year alone, we’ve identified more than 113 unaccounted-for service members, not the one identification yearly claimed by Rethman. Given Congress’ goal to build capacity and capability for 200 original identifications annually beginning in 2015, I’m certain we’ll significantly add to the more than 1,800 heroes we’ve already brought home and identified since this noble mission began in 1973.

Since taking command, I’m more convinced than ever that JPAC’s mission is essential, if not obligatory. Approximately 83,400 unaccounted-for service members have yet to be recovered. These are neither numbers on a spreadsheet nor are they long-forgotten names. Each name is a hero who dutifully answered our nation’s call. More important, each is a relative of a family that patiently waits for resolution.

Far be it for me to think that families of the missing "no longer care or exist." The fact is that to understand who cares, one need only read any of the countless news stories of families who’ve had their hero returned home after decades of waiting.

A recent article from the Chronicle-Telegram in Ohio relates how Rita Tanner knew that her brother, Marine Cpl. Clarence H. Huff Jr., would one day return home from the Korean War. He was 20 when he was reported killed in action on Dec. 2, 1950, during the battle at Chosin Reservoir. Her entreaty is simply, "Don’t give up hope."

To understand who cares, one need only to attend one of the Family Updates held several times a year by the Department of Defense Accounting Community. Last year, more than 1,280 families attended to learn about the status of our efforts to recover their loved ones.

To understand that caring is not limited to the relatives of these heroes, one need only observe a parade, memorial service and burial of the missing-in-action who are finally laid to rest at home. One recent ceremony in Gainesville, Fla., gathered hundreds of caring citizens.

Since 1941, our government has made extensive efforts to fulfill the promise made to those who made the supreme sacrifice. Those who went into harm’s way did so, and do so today, with the assurance that we will do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to locate, and account for the remains of our missing, and bring closure to their families. The passage of time neither dims nor diminishes this moral imperative.

Above the door leading into the JPAC laboratory is President Calvin Coolidge’s sage advice: "The Nation which forgets its defenders will be itself forgotten."

The talented professionals of JPAC are dedicated to ensuring that our missing shall not be forgotten.