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Politics : DON'T START THE WAR -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rainy_Day_Woman who wrote (7017)	2/10/2003 11:39:19 AM
From: LPS5	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25898

Here's one way of calling in years of corporate welfare debt... U.S. Orders Airlines to Transport Troops By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writer 10 Feb 2003 WASHINGTON - Commercial airlines are being pressed into military service to transport troops as the Pentagon continues its Persian Gulf buildup for a possible war in Iraq. The airlines were flying troops Monday under an order by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld mobilizing the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, a fleet of commercial passenger and cargo planes that can be used to move people and equipment in emergencies. The Defense Department announced late Saturday it was activating the first stage of the fleet, making it only the second time it has done so in the 51-year history of the program. "The measure is necessary due to increased operations associated with the build up of U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf region," it said in a statement. Officials have the authority to call up 78 aircraft — 47 passenger planes and 31 wide-body cargo planes. But for now, Air Force Gen. John W. Handy, commander of the U.S. Transportation Command, has enough cargo planes and is calling only the passenger aircraft, said command spokesman Navy Capt. Steve Honda. There are 11 carriers signed up for this first stage of mobilization, Honda said by phone from command offices at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. They are American Airlines, American Trans Air, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, North American Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Omni Air International, United Airlines, US Airways and World Airways. Names of airlines that began flying troops Monday were not immediately available, Honda said. The reserve air fleet, established in 1951, consists of aircraft that commercial carriers have agreed to make available for military use in times of crisis and when there are not enough military aircraft to handle all the work. In return for participating, carriers are given preference for the defense departments peacetime passenger and cargo business and guaranteed that the burden of carrying out a deployment will be spread fairly among all participating. The transportation command relies heavily on the commercial transport industry — sea, air and land — to move troops, equipment and supplies world wide in support of the nation's defense. Historically, 93 percent of troops and 41 percent of long-range air cargo are moved by chartered commercial aircraft. The reserve fleet is mobilized — and airlines have 24 to 48 hours to provide the aircraft — only when there are not enough volunteers. The Pentagon has been having trouble finding volunteers from the industry, plagued by bankruptcies. The only other time it was activated was in 1990-91, in the buildup to the Persian Gulf War (news - web sites) and during the war itself. The fleet can be mobilized in three stages, each calling for more aircraft. As of last month, 33 carriers and 927 aircraft were enrolled in all stages. Though it is a help, civilian cargo aircraft are not good for everything because of their size or configuration or the way they operate. For instance, they cannot accommodate tanks, air defense weapons and many helicopters, nor airdrop cargo and people, provide the rapid off-loading needed in combat situations and so on.