Attn: News desks
Remember last year’s incident at the Oakland International Airport when 204 Marines were shunted to a remote area and not allowed inside the passenger terminal while their plane was being re-fueled and re-provisioned? They were flying back to their home base in Hawaii after serving in Iraq.
An investigation by the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General found that no laws or regulations were breached. To the contrary, keeping the Marines out of the passenger terminal was justified for several reasons.
One reason cited by the Inspector General was because airport officials didn’t know if passenger security screening at military bases “is sufficient to meet the Transportation Security Administration’s standards and procedures at commercial airports.” Or, to put it another way, the airport security officials didn’t know if the Marines were subjected to the same pre-boarding indignities that are suffered by commercial passengers.
The Inspector General’s report was completed six months ago, but it was recalled when Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) announced in a press release that an agreement had been reached between the Pentagon and two Dept. of Transportation agencies–TSA and the Federal Aviation Administration–to prevent such hostile greetings to traveling troops.
Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU in bureaucratese), TSA will provide security training to military personnel who will be responsible for screening troops who wish to enter a sterile passenger terminal. The military will also be required to post guards on charter military aircraft while on the ground to ensure that no one enters or tampers with the aircraft or the weapons it might be carrying.
“This agreement will allow returning military personnel to receive their due respect without compromising airport security,” Mica said.
Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.) who this year became chairman of the House Aviation Subcommittee, said the agencies should be commended “for giving this matter their prompt and proper attention.”
