MIA is a term used to describe a person whose whereabouts are unknown, commonly used for military personnel missing during war or missions. Reasons for going MIA include becoming a POW, being wounded or killed, or deserting. Identification techniques and search methods are improving, but families of missing personnel may never know what happened. Agencies exist to assist families of missing military personnel.
The term missing in action (MIA) is a designation used to describe the state of a person whose whereabouts are unknown. While any organization with a missing member may use the term, MIA is most commonly a military term given to active duty men and women who go missing during a war or while completing some other military mission. There are various reasons a member of the military might go missing in action, including becoming a prisoner of war, being wounded or killed, and deserting. Until the missing person is found and identified, dead or alive, there is no way to know why they are MIA. Fortunately, many militaries are advancing in their identification techniques and search methods.
If a person becomes a prisoner of war (POW), it means that the opposing army has captured and held him prisoner. Once his Home Army realizes that he has been taken prisoner, his status will change from MIA to POW. Members of the military can be prisoners of war for years without their national servicemen noticing. If a POW dies before his Home Army knows that he is a POW, there is little chance that his status will change from MIA to POW. There’s an even slimmer chance that his family and loved ones will ever know what happened to him.
A military’s identification technology and search methods are just as important if a person becomes MIA because they were injured or killed. Until the injured person or remains are found and identified, there is no way to determine why he disappeared in action or whether he is dead or alive. The military is becoming more adept at identifying seriously injured or dead soldiers. For example, most militaries now require their soldiers to wear identification tags, commonly referred to as “dog tags.” Some military personnel are even able to genetically identify the remains with the help of science.
When a person is classified as missing by desertion, it is usually because their military has no knowledge of the desertion. Typically, the military has other designations for members who defect. For example, in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, the general military term for desertion is “absence without official leave” (AWOL). Once a person is designated AWOL or a similar status, it means they are known to have deserted the military or temporarily left without official permission. In general, desertion is a serious and punishable offense in the military.
Some governments and militaries have agencies to assist the family members of missing military personnel. Such agencies could provide resources such as direct contact information to help update family members on a missing person’s status, regularly updated records of members who are registered, and even information about blood sample provision for the agency’s DNA database. The best way to find out about these agencies is to contact the government office that handles military matters.
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