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thedrifter
10-03-07, 06:47 AM
Oakland airport keeps Marines out of terminal in Oakland stopover

Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Marines arriving on a military charter flight on their way home from Iraq were barred from entering a passenger terminal at Oakland International Airport to greet family and friends because of security concerns, airport officials acknowledged Tuesday.

Airport authorities decided to keep the Marines at a remote location on the tarmac because the troops had not been screened and had their weapons on board when the plane landed about 1:30 p.m. Thursday, officials said.

Federal authorities, however, said the Marines had been screened when their flight out of Kuwait landed earlier in the day in New York.

"There was no disrespect that was intended," said Omar Benjamin, executive director of the Port of Oakland, which runs the airport. "There was confusion. There were mistakes that were made."

Some of the 200 Marines on board wanted to meet and greet family and friends at the Oakland passenger terminal before continuing on to their base in Hawaii, but that request wasn't made in advance by the military's charter airline, North American Airlines, or its ground handler, Hilltop Aviation, said airport spokeswoman Rosemary Barnes.

As a result, the Marines weren't allowed in the passenger terminal, although they were allowed to get out of the plane to smoke, stretch their legs or go to the restroom, said airport officials, who apologized for the incident. "With different information, there would have been a different outcome," Barnes said.

The incident has prompted outcry by conservative bloggers online who have questioned the airport's motives and patriotism.

"On the far-left coast (the Marines) were quarantined from civilians," John Gibson wrote on Theodore's World, a Web site that bills itself as "American first and conservative second."

"This smacks of the bad old days in the Bay Area when returning Vietnam vets were spat upon. Some high-ranking military person should make sure it never happens again. Our Iraq vets should be welcome anywhere and everywhere," Gibson wrote.

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, a former Marine, agreed, saying the country's troops "deserve only the utmost respect for their service to our country."

"I want to be very clear, the city of Oakland does not condone this type of treatment of our troops," Dellums said. "I have directed our port to look into these matters and work closely with airport personnel to ensure that this type of situation never happens again."

Steve Forsyth, North American Airlines spokesman, said it appears that neither the airport nor the airline did anything wrong. He said the plan from the beginning was for the Boeing 767 to make a short layover in Oakland before returning the troops to their base at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

"Everything I've heard up to this point doesn't imply that there were any issues in the way it was handled, except apparently someone has complained," Forsyth said.

The airport said the Marines were not screened by Transportation Security Administration agents after they arrived in New York on a flight from Kuwait. That factored into the decision to exclude them from the passenger terminal, officials said. But the TSA said the Marines had been screened by U.S. Customs.

"At no time were servicemen and women prohibited from entering the sterile area of Oakland International Airport by TSA personnel or regulations," the federal agency said.

The plane left for Hawaii about two hours after landing in Oakland, Barnes said.

E-mail Henry K. Lee at hlee@sfchronicle.com.

Ellie

thedrifter
10-03-07, 06:58 AM
Marines Feel 'Spit On' At Oakland Airport
By Willie Monroe

OAKLAND, Calif. Oct 2 2007 (KGO) - What appears to be a simple miscommunication has mushroomed into allegations that members of the military are not welcome at Oakland International Airport. It happened when troops on their way home to Hawaii last week stopped for fuel. The airport is working diligently to correct what they're calling an erroneous impression.

Marines and soldiers who passed through Oakland International Airport last week claimed they felt like they were 'spit on', because of the way they were treated.

"We apologize. I apologize to any members of the military who were on this flight, and may have experienced some discomfort or a perception of disrespect. There was no disrespect that was intended. In fact, we have the utmost respect and honor for our members of the military," says Omar Benjamin, Dir. Port Of Oakland.

Members of the military routinely arrive to very public welcomes in the airport terminal, but when more than 200 service people returning from Iraq on a North American Airlines charter jet stopped for fuel in Oakland last Thursday, they said they were not allowed inside the terminal.

Airport officials said they have to know in advance if charter passengers want access to the terminal.

"That's not a problem. All we need to do in the event that they do need to come into the public areas is to park the airplane close to one of the gates, and walk them out onto the ramp via a pedestrian gate, and then into the terminal public areas, baggage claim area, the ticketing area where they can meet and greet family," says Rosemary Barnes, Airport Spokesperson.

Airport officials said that's exactly what happened when another North American charter arrived that same morning calling ahead to make arrangements. No one from Hilltop Aviation, which handled ground operations, was available for comment. The transportation security administration said they had nothing to do with the incident.

The people complaining apparently did not know some people on their flight did visit the terminal even without prior notice.

"A handful of those service people were able to come out to the public area to meet and greet family and friends. The others that remained on board we were told that they didn't need to come outside, because they hadn't made any plans to meet with people," says Barnes.

"To avoid a repeat of last Thursday's confusion, airport officials asked the other military charters coming through the weekend whether their passengers wanted access to the terminal -- something they say they'll do from now on

Ellie

thedrifter
10-03-07, 11:23 AM
Oakland Airport apologizes to troops
By Erik N. Nelson
STAFF WRITER
Contra Costa Times
Article Launched:10/03/2007 03:04:27 AM PDT

OAKLAND -- Oakland International Airport officials apologized for prohibiting a planeload of U.S. troops, just back from Iraq, from entering the passenger terminal during a layover Thursday, prompting conservative pundits and bloggers to hold up the incident as an example of the "Left Coast" dishonoring soldiers.

"We apologize, I apologize to any members of the military that were on this flight and may have experienced some discomfort or perception of disrespect," said Omar Benjamin, executive director of the Port of Oakland, which operates the airport.

"There was no disrespect intended" when North American Airlines Flight 1777 was directed to wait two hours at a remote part of the airport, Benjamin said. The plane was on its way from Iraq to Hawaii.

Benjamin's apology came in the face of conflicting reports circulating across the nation painting the airport in the liberal-leaning Bay Area as a poster child for disrespect toward U.S. troops.

Although the airport said its decision was made "together with the TSA," the Transportation Security Administration denied playing a role.

"We didn't play any role in this," said TSA spokesman Nico Melendez, referring reporters to a statement posted Tuesday on the agency's Web site:

The statement said, "At no time were service men and women prohibited from entering the sterile (secure) area of Oakland International Airport by TSA personnel or regulations. Airport officials, the airline and ground handling company coordinated the arrival and all services associated with this flight."

At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, airport officials said they did not realize that the soldiers had been screened during previous stopovers in Kuwait and New York. They also were unaware that some of the troops, reportedly Marines, had meant to see locals during their two-hour layover, said Deborah Ale-Flint, the airport's assistant director of aviation.

Hilltop Aviation, which was contracted to provide ground services for North American Airlines Flight 1777, had said there were weapons aboard the flight, the passengers had not been screened, and did not tell the airport "that some of the service men and women onboard anticipated meeting family and friends," Ale-Flint said.

"If this information had been shared in advance," she said, "there would have been a different outcome."

As evidence of that, Ale-Flint noted that Hilltop had made such arrangements for an earlier North American flight that same day, and those troops were permitted inside the airport.

Authorities familiar with those events confirmed that the other flight's passengers were screened and allowed into the airport's secure boarding area. They also said that TSA members advised airport officials on procedures for screening the second flight, if needed.

A woman answering the phone at Hilltop in Oakland said the manager of the office was the only person who could respond to questions about the issue, and he was out Tuesday and could not be reached.

The debate sparked by the incident has put Oakland's airport in the same political arena as Democrat and Republican jockeying to show who best supports and honors troops while debating pulling them out of Iraq.

Last week, Democrats, including Rep. Jerry McNerney of Pleasanton, blasted conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh for labeling Iraq war veterans who protest the war as "phony vets."

Now, conservative bloggers and pundits are pointing to Oakland, "not far from San Francisco," notes Fox News pundit John Gibson, as a place where "the welcome mat was not out" for Iraq veterans. Gibson, citing an e-mail from a chaplain who had been on the flight sent to neoconservative National Review writer Michael Ledeen, said that the exclusion was "not a security measure."

"This smacks of the bad old days in the Bay Area when returning Vietnam vets were spat upon," Gibson writes on the Fox News Web site.

Airport officials repeatedly said they had the utmost respect for the nation's military. They said many port and city officials had served in the armed forces, including the president of the port's board and Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums.

A former Marine, Dellums issued a statement that U.S. troops "deserve only the utmost respect for their service to our country" and that he had asked the port "to look into these matters and work closely with airport personnel to ensure that this type of situation never happens again."

Ellie

thedrifter
10-03-07, 06:03 PM
Marines Feel 'Spit On' At Oakland Airport
By Willie Monroe
abc7news.com, CA

OAKLAND, Calif. Oct 2 2007 (KGO) - What appears to be a simple miscommunication has mushroomed into allegations that members of the military are not welcome at Oakland International Airport. It happened when troops on their way home to Hawaii last week stopped for fuel. The airport is working diligently to correct what they're calling an erroneous impression.

Marines and soldiers who passed through Oakland International Airport last week claimed they felt like they were 'spit on', because of the way they were treated.

"We apologize. I apologize to any members of the military who were on this flight, and may have experienced some discomfort or a perception of disrespect. There was no disrespect that was intended. In fact, we have the utmost respect and honor for our members of the military," says Omar Benjamin, Dir. Port Of Oakland.

Members of the military routinely arrive to very public welcomes in the airport terminal, but when more than 200 service people returning from Iraq on a North American Airlines charter jet stopped for fuel in Oakland last Thursday, they said they were not allowed inside the terminal.

Airport officials said they have to know in advance if charter passengers want access to the terminal.

"That's not a problem. All we need to do in the event that they do need to come into the public areas is to park the airplane close to one of the gates, and walk them out onto the ramp via a pedestrian gate, and then into the terminal public areas, baggage claim area, the ticketing area where they can meet and greet family," says Rosemary Barnes, Airport Spokesperson.

Airport officials said that's exactly what happened when another North American charter arrived that same morning calling ahead to make arrangements. No one from Hilltop Aviation, which handled ground operations, was available for comment. The transportation security administration said they had nothing to do with the incident.

The people complaining apparently did not know some people on their flight did visit the terminal even without prior notice.

"A handful of those service people were able to come out to the public area to meet and greet family and friends. The others that remained on board we were told that they didn't need to come outside, because they hadn't made any plans to meet with people," says Barnes.

"To avoid a repeat of last Thursday's confusion, airport officials asked the other military charters coming through the weekend whether their passengers wanted access to the terminal -- something they say they'll do from now on

Ellie

thedrifter
10-04-07, 07:20 AM
Snafus involving Marines in S.F. and Oakland have critics raving <br />
<br />
Carl Nolte, Chronicle Staff Writer <br />
<br />
Thursday, October 4, 2007 <br />
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To the rest of the United States, the San Francisco Bay Area...