The U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs (USRJC) was established in March 1992 by direction of the Presidents of the United States and of the Russian Federation. The Commission serves as a forum through which both nations seek to determine the fate of their missing servicemen. DPMO provides direct analytical, investigative and administrative support to the USRJC through the Joint Commission Support Directorate.

The Commission's objectives are: to determine whether American servicemen are being held against their will on the territory of the former Soviet Union and, if so, to secure their immediate release and repatriation; to locate and return to the United States the remains of any deceased American servicemen interred in the former Soviet Union, and to ascertain the facts regarding American servicemen who were not repatriated and whose fate remains unresolved.

The Commission is organized into four working groups, each representing a key area of investigation. These groups encompass World War II; the Korean War; the Vietnam War, and the Cold War. The last of these has focused on American aircraft lost during the Cold War period as well as Soviet military personnel unaccounted for from Afghanistan and other areas of conflict. In addition, the Gulag Study team was created within the Joint Commission Support Directorate to investigate the substantial number of reports received about U.S. servicemen taken to, and held within, the camps and other detention facilities of the former Soviet Union.

The Commission meets in plenary session at least once a year. To date, 18 such sessions have been held, 16 in Moscow and two in Washington, DC. The Commission's most recent Plenum was held in Moscow in November 2002. The plenary schedule has been augmented by a series of working group sessions held to define agenda topics and advance likely areas of inquiry. In April 2001, a third meeting of principals was held in Washington, DC.

Recognizing the value of increased cooperation with East European countries, the Commission has initiated a number of contacts with officials of Eastern Europe over the past several years. Commission members and/or support staff have visited Warsaw, Prague, Budapest, Bucharest, and Sofia. These efforts have resulted in productive discussions with governmental officials as well as private citizens sympathetic to the commission's goals and objectives. The dialogue already begun has generated a number of archival research and interview programs.

JCSD Products:
Visit to Moscow, Russian Federation by Honorable Jerry D. Jennings September 19-23, 2004 (posted 04 October 2004) U.S.-Russia Archival Conference April 13-15, 2004 After Action Report (posted 14 May 2004) Visit to Moscow, Russian Federation, of Honorable Jerry D. JenningsDeputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Prisoners of War/Missing Personnel Affairs) September 9 – 13, 2003 (posted 20 October 2003) Searching for Lieutenant Brevik: US Analysts, Russian Army Officers, Japanese Veterans, Volunteers, and Russian Newspaper “Izvestiya” Keep Searching for Lt. Brevik (By: Sergey Nekhamkin, Izvestiya, 25 July 2003) (Posted 11 September 2003) Searching for Lieutenant Brevik: Russians, Americans Starting Search for Body of US Pilot Killed in Battle Against Japanese (By: Sergey Nekhamkin, Izvestiya, 20 June 2003) (Posted 11 September 2003) Meeting of Commissioners Cold War Working Group - U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs, 16 April 2003 (Posted 15 May 2003) Congressman Johnson's Trip to Moscow and Eastern Europe, January 2003 (Posted March 7, 2003) 18th Plenum of the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs in Moscow (Posted December 9, 2002) DASD Jennings meets with Russian Commissioners of the USRJC in Moscow, 26 September 2002 (Posted November 13, 2002) USRJC Cold War Working Group Meeting in Moscow, 25 September 2002 (Posted November 13, 2002) Gulag Study - Fourth Edition, 22 June 2002 (Posted July 18, 2002) Minutes of USRJC Co-Chairmen Meeting, 28 May 2002 (Posted November 14, 2002) Gulag Study - Third Edition, 20 November 2001 (Posted December 6, 2001) Minutes of Forth Meeting of Principals, 12 November 2001 (Posted November 14, 2002) Trip Report for TDY to Kamchatka, Russia, 30 June - 18 September 2001 (Posted November 26, 2001) Trip Report for TDY to Moscow, Krasnoyarsk, and Irkutsk, Russia, 9-26 September 2001 (Posted November 9, 2001) Report of the U.S. - Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs, April 2001 (Posted October 19, 2001) Full Report - HTML Format (English Only) Full Report - PDF Format, 1.8MB (English and Russian) JCSD Meeting with the Sabre Association Reunion: Las Vegas, Nevada, April 17-22, 2001 (May 8, 2001) Minutes of Third Meeting of Principals (April 2001) 17th Plenum of the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs: (December 18, 2000) By Section - HTML Format Full Report - HTML Format Full Report - PDF Format 16th Plenum of the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs (December 28, 1999) 15th Plenum of the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs (March 03, 1999)