*** Virtual Speaker ***
The presentation will expose the audience to the work and impact of Project .jpg)
Recover. Project Recover is a non-profit organization and Department of Defense partner that has been in existence for three decades. Their mission is to locate and repatriate Americans missing in action (MIA) from our previous wars. There are more than 81,000 American MIAs and five million Gold Star MIA family members waiting for answers to what happened to their loved ones so that they can find healing and some sort of closure. Project Recover is the only fully vertical non-governmental organization (NGO) executing this mission in the world. Project Recover executes the entire mission set from research, to search, to documentation, to recovery in both the terrestrial and underwater environments. The mission will be explored with multiple stories of success and the impact these missions have created around the world.
About Project Recover:
Project Recover is the nation’s leading citizen-led, nonprofit organization dedicated to locating, recovering, and repatriating the more than 81,000 American service members still missing in action. We seek to honor the sacrifice of our brave service members by bringing them home, giving closure to their families, and preserving their legacy.
For over 30 years, Project Recover has been dedicated to this mission, completing over 100 unique missions in 25 countries. These missions have led to the development of a database tracking more than 700 case studies associated with 3,000 MIAs. We are proud to have successfully located 200 MIAs that await further recovery missions for repatriation. In collaboration with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, we are actively working to identify 26 MIAs to return them home to their families.
Our work is a living memorial and a uniquely American mission driven by humbled gratitude and honor of our nation’s MIAs.
Dr. Derek Abbey spent 23 years in the United States Marine Corps, serving as an enlisted Marine and an officer, both on the ground and in the air. This included serving as an F/A-18 aviator and in the special operations community. He conducted multiple deployments in the Hornet and holds more combat time in the jet than in peaceful skies. Additionally, he is a plank holder (original member) at 1st Raider Battalion and Marine Special Operations Company Delta.
Since retiring from the Marine Corps in 2014, Derek has remained committed to serving the military populations in several capacities. These not only include Project Recover, but also working extensively with military in higher education at San Diego State University and University of San Diego, as well as with several military-connected nonprofits.
He studied history at Oregon State University for his undergraduate education while he was an active duty Marine. He holds an M.A. in Higher Education Leadership and a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from the University of San Diego. Additionally, he holds a credential from Stanford University in Non-Profit Executive Leadership and is a 2019 President George W. Bush Scholar.
He has been a member of Project Recover for over 20 years and currently serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer. For more than 30 years, Project Recover has searched for Americans missing in action (MIA) from our nation’s previous conflicts with the intention of providing answers and closure to Gold Star Families and helping to heal the wounds of war. Project Recover. Today, Project Recover is the only non-government organization (NGO) which has the capability of executing all mission sets related to locating and repatriating American service members who remain MIA. This includes research, search missions, documentation missions, and recovery missions in both the underwater and land environments.
