Laura Hudson Thought Leadership & CSR Pillar

About the Vietnam Wartime Accounting Initiative (VWAI)

USABCI received a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense (also referred to as the U.S. Department of War)¹ to act as its private sector partner in support of the Vietnam Wartime Accounting Initiative (VWAI). Authorized under the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), this is a critical  humanitarian initiative to assist Vietnam in locating and identifying personnel who were killed or went missing during the Vietnam War.  The grant stipulates that the awardee will meet specific KPIs. Participating in this program paves the way for further opportunities for U.S. business to contribute to recovery efforts related to the Vietnam War.  

Scheduled to run through December 2026, the VWAI specifically focuses on strengthening Vietnam’s capacity to locate, recover, and identify missing persons. The project employs private-sector technology and corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs to strengthen people-to-people ties and open new opportunities for U.S. businesses in Vietnam. The project encourages dialogue, training, and exchanges for veterans and families of the missing, helping to build reconciliation and mutual understanding.  

Program Objectives 

The VWAI leverages a public–private framework.  Program Objectives include: 

• Information collection, digitization, verification, and sharing.  

• Enhancing Vietnam's data management capabilities.  

• Building Vietnam's capacity for locating, recovering, and identifying missing persons, including DNA capacity building.  

• Facilitating exchanges, training, and dialogue.  

• Other activities deemed necessary by the Secretary of Defense.   

Key Milestones 

To achieve these goals, USABCI’s VWAI program is implementing a series of high-impact milestones designed to build momentum and attract partners: 

December 2025:  

• Dec 1: Engagement with His Excellency Nguyen Quoc Dzung, Ambassador of Vietnam to the United States, Dr. Andrew Byers, Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for South and Southeast Asia, and Ambassador (ret.) Brian McFeeters, interim President and CEO, US-ASEAN Business Council. 

• Dec 15: Formal program launch and initial grant awards to qualified U.S. companies during NSC-515 Delegation visit to Washington, D.C. and US-ASEAN Business Council Office.

• March 30, 2026: USABC Business Mission to Vietnam to expand outreach while engaging a broader range of U.S. companies and stakeholders interested in contributing to the initiative.  

• June 2026:  An academic exchange to Vietnam led by Texas Tech University (TTU), providing an opportunity to showcase how technology can amplify research and imagery analysis efforts.  

• September 2026: A veteran's exchange to Vietnam led by the Longest Climb Foundation (LCF) in collaboration with TTU, providing an opportunity for strategic engagements with the Veterans Association of Vietnam (VAVN) and senior defense and government leaders.   

• December 2026:  USABC Aerospace Defense and Security (ADS) Mission to Vietnam aligned with the Vietnam Defense Expo, providing an opportunity to share successes with high-level leaders and identify opportunities for future engagement. 

Call for Proposals 

To achieve the program objectives, USABCI is inviting grant proposals for projects offering innovative solutions in: 

• AI and technology-driven research support and imagery analysis 

• Data management and social media crowdsourcing 

• Safer and more effective field operations 

• DNA capacity building 

• Resources to support veterans’ exchanges and strategic dialogues 

Please contact Chuck Casey at ccasey@usasean.org or Han Thu Ya at hya@usasean.org if you have any questions and request a copy of the grant guidelines and application form.