Subscribe

TOKYO — U.S. military officials still are working for a full accounting of their personnel in the wake of Sunday’s deadly earthquake and tsunami that pounded popular tourist destinations across the region.

U.S. Forces Korea officials said Wednesday they were continuing efforts to account for South Korea-based members who were in tsunami-affected areas.

They did not provide the number of personnel or information on their current circumstances.

On Tuesday, USFK spokeswoman Air Force Lt. Col. Deborah Bertrand said the process is going slowly because “infrastructure damage has made communications difficult.”

On Wednesday, a Marine Corps spokeswoman on Okinawa would not state how many personnel were vacationing in the affected areas.

“That’s a force-protection issue,” said Staff. Sgt. Suki Forbes.

Forbes said personnel on vacation “have contact numbers with their individual units that they are expected to use in such instances. We have not been made aware of anyone missing.”

And Jeff Martin, chief of staff for Department of Defense Dependents Schools-Pacific, said 14 teachers believed to have been vacationing in Thailand still were unaccounted for as of Wednesday.

He said they “are believed to be on their way back, so that’s why we haven’t been able to contact them.”

Sign Up for Daily Headlines

Sign up to receive a daily email of today's top military news stories from Stars and Stripes and top news outlets from around the world.

Sign Up Now