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In Tough Seas: Overcoming Field Challenges Through Innovation and Partnerships With DPAA

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Abstract

In 2022 and 2023, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) partnered with Marine Imaging Technologies to conduct remote sensing survey operations in Guam to search for and possibly confirm the locations of four separate B-29 Superfortress wreck sites. The reported locations for these sites are in challenging environments; high seas, fast currents, and strong winds pose hazardous conditions for survey teams and equipment. Additionally, the bathymetry of the areas consists of dynamic changes in depths with sudden valleys, rises, and seamounts, mirroring the rocky coastline which poses threats to successful, strategic surveying and quality results. Marine Imaging Technologies worked with Eastern Search and Survey to develop an innovative survey system that allowed flexibility and pliability for small boat, deeper water, and limited crew operations. This paper discusses the goals, challenges, and results of this project and looks at ways forward on similar missions partnering with DPAA to account for MIA service members.

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Notes

  1. For this website, please see: http://tinyurl.com/ye2492d9.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all the historians and archaeologists of the Indo-Pacific Directorate of DPAA, the Joint Region Marianas, the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Marianas, the Andersen Air Force Base, and the Mariana Islands Range Complex, who provided the essential information to make these projects happen. We would also like to thank Captain Barnaby Acfalle and his crew on Liquid Soul; David Ullman, Nick Balfour, and Ben Roberts; Jessical Irwin from HJF; and special thanks to Mr. Jim Pinson, owner of GMI Wholesale for logistics, lodging, and diving support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Imaging Technologies, Pocasset, MA, USA

    Calvin Mires & Evan Kovacs

  2. Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, CTR Supporting Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Partnerships and Innovation Directorate, Seattle, Washington, USA

    Megan Lickliter-Mundon

  3. Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, CTR Supporting Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency Partnerships and Innovation Directorate, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Alba Mazza

Authors
  1. Calvin Mires
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  2. Evan Kovacs
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  3. Megan Lickliter-Mundon
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  4. Alba Mazza
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All authors wrote, reviewed, and edited manuscript.

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Correspondence to Calvin Mires.

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Mires, C., Kovacs, E., Lickliter-Mundon, M. et al. In Tough Seas: Overcoming Field Challenges Through Innovation and Partnerships With DPAA. J Mari Arch (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11457-024-09396-5

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