Gates has not responded to offer to fly troops home

Senator offers planes to help stranded troops

By Seamus O’Connor - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday May 7, 2008 7:29:16 EDT

Maine’s senior senator has offered up her state’s Air National Guard assets to bring home troops whose flights from the war zone have been delayed.

Military charter flights worldwide have been hit with delays of two to six days since the abrupt April 3 shutdown of ATA Airlines, which had been under contract to provide 70 such flights through September. Delays, which were forecast in early April to last “several weeks,” are especially frustrating to service members awaiting flights home following combat deployments.

Sen. Olympia Snowe, a Republican, sent a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Wednesday offering to send the 101st Air Refueling Wing to the rescue of service members waiting for rides home.

The wing has eight aircraft, which can accommodate 57 passengers each.

“After serving on the brutal front lines of Iraq and Afghanistan, the men and women of our armed forces deserve quick and safe passage back to home to their families,” the letter said. “With its strategic location and readily available aircraft, the 101st Air Refueling Wing of the Maine Air National Guard stands ready to expedite their return.”

Three congressional representatives from Vermont also contacted Gates in recent weeks expressing concern about the flight delays after some troops’ family members voiced their frustrations.

Phone calls to the 101st ARW were not returned. A spokesman for Snowe’s office said that as of press time, Gates had not responded to the letter. http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/05/airforce_maine_delays_050608w/