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Demanding the Respect that Our Military Deserves
When our service men and women return home from combat zones all over the world, they never expect to be denied entrance into the airports of their own country.
Believe it or not, this has been occurring to our nation’s bravest. In September 2007, soldiers returning home from Iraq were denied access to the terminal building at Oakland International Airport. The passengers aboard this military charter had already been screened in Kuwait and granted access to the terminal at Kennedy International Airport in New York.
My colleagues on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and I took particular notice of this occurrence. After looking into things, we requested that the Department of Transportation investigate the incident.
The report revealed the need for a uniform process for handling members of the Armed Forces coming into U.S. commercial airports. As a result, the Department of Defense, the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration signed a Memorandum of Understanding that outlines proper protocols for ensuring that our soldiers are always treated with respect at commercial airports.
This new policy will be going into effect immediately. Our fighting men and women should be able to see the families as soon as possible after landing – and not have to sit through a security line. For more information on the Memorandum of Understanding go to http://republicans.transportation.house.gov/News/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=441.
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