BlackFive

Recovery team to tackle China’s austere slopes
By Capt. Geoffrey Kent and Sgt. Erika Gladhill

HICKAM AFB, Hawaii (Army News Service, Aug. 11, 2004) – After three weeks of mountain training in Alaska and triathlon training in Hawaii, U.S. Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command recovery team members said they were “ready to execute” their mission in the Himalayas.

The JPAC recovery team departs Aug. 12 to the Tibetan Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China, to recover the remains of three Americans lost in a C-46 crash in the Himalayan Mountains during World War II.

The site is located at an altitude of more than 14,000 feet and is only miles from the border of India. It can only be reached after trekking for four days from the nearest village.

The JPAC team trained for this mission with the Northern Warfare Training Center at Fort Greeley, Denali National Park and Mt. McKinley, Alaska, for three weeks.

This 13-member specialized team includes Army mountaineers, an Air Force pararescueman, a Marine Chinese linguist, an orthopedic surgeon, an explosive ordnance disposal expert, a special forces medic and several mortuary affairs specialists...