Also called: DPAA Recovery Team Member, Recovery Team NCO
Deploys to old battlefields and crash sites from Vietnam to Europe to dig for the remains of missing American service members.
Teams of about 10 to 14, with an anthropologist, medic, linguist, EOD tech and others, camp near a crash site for 30-60 days. They excavate in grids with local workers, screen soil for bone and personal items, and document everything. Remains go to the lab in Hawaii for identification.
RMC for typical E-5 to E-8 ranks (this job is for experienced NCOs and officers), 2026 estimate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 4 years after high school. Serve in a related military specialty (mortuary affairs, medic, EOD, linguist, photographer, team leader) and apply for a DPAA assignment. Free-college benefits: Tuition Assistance (up to $4,500/yr) while serving, the Post-9/11 GI Bill (36 months of tuition + housing stipend) afterward, and SkillBridge internships before separating.
Ways in: Military, On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Anthropology, History, Archaeology.
Growing about average. Military specialties are not in BLS projections. The services recruit for this job every year and openings track force size and retention rather than market growth.
Low risk for 10 years. Ground radar and drones help find sites; careful digging and recovery stay human.
Classes: US history, Biology, Earth science.
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