DOT Exonerates Oakland From Troop Mistreatment At Airport
“The lack of protocol for treating military personnel during transport is “no excuse for the poor treatment these brave men and women received in exchange for defending our freedoms.”
The Oakland International Airport did not break any laws or regulations when it denied 200 Marines and soldiers access to the passenger terminal during a layover last year from Iraq to the troops’ home base in Hawaii, the Transportation Department says.
Calvin L. Scovell III, the department’s inspector general, blamed the mix-up on security concerns and a communication failure between the Defense Department and the Homeland Security Department.
The contract to allow military layovers at the California airport “did not require that military personnel have access to the airport terminal; it only required that military personnel be allowed to deplane and stretch their legs on stops lasting over one hour,” said a report released yesterday to House lawmakers who requested an investigation into the matter.
The Sept. 27 layover was the last stop for fuel and food, but the troops, who were returning from a tour in Iraq, were denied access to food and bathroom facilities.
A Marine reported the incident to Rep. John L. Mica, Florida Republican and ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and said it “felt like being spit on.”
Airport officials were concerned that the flight’s ground staff could not provide “an adequate level of escort and control of such a large group of military personnel in or around the terminal area,” the inspector’s report said.
The report also said the Homeland Security and Defense departments have no coordinated policy to conduct security screenings or a communications process to allow the Marines and soldiers in passenger terminals.
The review also found “miscommunication about the proper storage and safeguarding of weapons carried on board aircraft during the layover” and that the airport “could not confirm that weapons [on the plane] would be secured and safeguarded in accordance with Department of Defense regulations and that the Marines and soldiers would leave their weapons on board.”
An airport spokeswoman and a Defense Department spokesman said they received the report but were not prepared to comment until their respective officials had a chance to review the findings.
Calls for comment to the Transportation Security Administration were not returned.
The inspector general recommended the establishment of a task force with representatives from the Homeland, Defense and Transportation departments, along with representatives from the airlines and airports, to develop a uniform process for handling service members on all military chartered flights at U.S. commercial-service airports.
The lack of protocol for treating military personnel during transport is “no excuse for the poor treatment these brave men and women received in exchange for defending our freedoms,” Mr. Mica said.
Mr. Mica said he and Rep. Tom Petri, Wisconsin Republican and ranking member of the Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee on aviation, will follow up on the inspector general’s report.
“The shocking thing is that there is no protocol for handling our returning troops, and at Oakland they got a very rude welcome,” Mr. Mica said. “We just need to get some regular order of the process so we don’t have a recurrence of what we saw happen here.”
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Oakland….not surprising at all.
“Airport officials were concerned that the flight’s ground staff could not provide “an adequate level of escort and control of such a large group of military personnel”
Huh? Provide escort and control? Those are words you’d use in a prison, when discussing criminals. Ah, but that’s how these evolutionary throwbacks see our military, isn’t it. What exactly are the terrorists then?
February 1st, 2008 at 12:00 pmJeff, ya took the words right out of my mouth.
Oakland, big freakin suprise.
February 1st, 2008 at 12:05 pm“miscommunication about the proper storage and safeguarding of weapons carried on board aircraft during the layover” and that the airport “could not confirm that weapons [on the plane] would be secured and safeguarded in accordance with Department of Defense regulations and that the Marines and soldiers would leave their weapons on board.”
What a load of bullshit. Marines would never leave their weapons unwatched, that’s why we have gear guards. Amazing how on my first trip to the sandbox we stopped in Prague, they gave us almost an entire terminal to ourselves, no problems there and yet there are problems right in our own country. Oh wait, its California, never mind, not a surprise.
February 1st, 2008 at 12:15 pmthey are spewing excuses and lies trying to cover their asses… truth is, they are scared of soldiers
February 1st, 2008 at 12:33 pmWTF I see small airports all over our great counrty, take care of several planes loades of our soldiers AT THE SAME TIME. But they are not in CA. One of the best is in Bangor Maine. They are telling us a bunch of BS. They are just to liberal and don’t like our military. I think GOV. Arnold should fire them all and start over.
February 1st, 2008 at 1:32 pmThe state has too many 60’s and 70’s flower children with drug fried synapses and brains vegetated into the stuff that forms swamp gas
February 1st, 2008 at 3:10 pmI am still waiting on that one earthquake the will break off the whole stinking state and float away.
February 1st, 2008 at 4:35 pmYeah Bangor is great, no matter what time we come through there, people young and old are always lined up to greet us in the terminal.
Heck even Ireland lets us into the General Terminal area.
As for weapons, that’s actually comical. Guardian Angels (designated personal with ammo) guard the plane and weapons when we stop anywhere.
It’s sad really that an area that used to be a supportive military city should now shun those in uniform. But that’s part of what makes our country great. People can huddle under the very blanket of freedom and security that they are trying to burn (guess it’s too soaked with their spit to stay lit.)
February 1st, 2008 at 7:45 pm