My brother flys for a major airline and he just told me an interesting story. Thursday he was called and asked to report to work.  No flight info. was giving which is not SOP.

On arrival at the airport, he was escorted by security to an undisclosed location, searched/interviewed, and then led to an awaiting Jumbo Jet(767). Soon after he boarded and began pre-flight ops, the "passengers" began boarding. The "passengers" were US Soldiers. Most of them had tears in their eyes.  Must have been tough to leave their families.

My brother wasn't given the destination until the plane left the gate. Definetely not SOP!

After many hours of flying the plane landed in it's final destination. I won't say where, but, I will say it was in the Middle East.

He said the Airline Management told him he would be making many of these flights and not to plan on flying his regular schedule.

Thought this was interesting info.

GO USA!

We deployed to Panama the same way in 1989.

Bradd

Please tell me that there are a couple of F15's or F16's escorting these flights....

This is normal for deploying troops overseas.  It is one of the great ways to bring the avaition industry out of the hole.

Probably more than full fare. I know that when I fly, I first find out the commerical fare before I ask about the military fare. At times, the commerical fare is cheaper than the military fare.

Jamie

Nothing new, my brother deployed and returned this way during the Persian Gulf War.

When we left Saudi, we flew back on a flying tigers 747. when the captain found out he had a Huey unit on the airplane he went nuts. He had been a Huey Pilot in Nam. He shot the shit with us for a while before we took off. He asked us if we had ever done a max performance take-off in a 747. Nope says we.. That damn airplane was at a 45-50 degree angle from the time we left the runway till we leveled at FL 420. Holy shit...


Aviator  [img]www.dredgeearthfirst.com/aviator.gif[/img]

It's called Civil Resrve Air Fleet. Makes C-5s, 141's and C-17 more available to haul specialized loads instead of just troops and their bags.

I think commercial airlines were utilized during vietnam war also.  But for this operation maybe there's a consideration for secrecy...  What was the inflight movie? [:)]

Right about that!  Was flown to and from Vietnam on "PANAM". Had real "Stewardist's" serve our meals.

Was far cry from previous "MAC" flights with "Box Lunches" (served by Air Force personnel), "Wooden Bench Seats" down both sides and our bags in the middle of the aircraft for about 18 hours (Super Constellation).

Hell'uva lot more comfy than C-130's and 141's.

Man, I have seen some of those huge military air transport planes at the local air shows in L.A.  Inside they look more like warehouses, with all of the straps and things, very spartan.  Compare that against an American Airlines 737, I will take the American Airlines 737 anytime.

I hope those folks are getting their frequent flyer miles updated.

USA! USA! USA!

Yes We Do

Because its a refundable ticket it costs more.

(Unclassified)
A unique and significant part of the nation's mobility resources is the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF). Selected aircraft from U.S. airlines, contractually committed to CRAF, support Department of Defense airlift requirements in emergencies when the need for airlift exceeds the capability of military aircraft.
[url]http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/affacts/blcivilreserveairfleet.htm?once=true&[/url]

Guess what I said wasn't good enough, huh?

Nothing wrong with what you posted. I just added the URL for people who either like to have the facts proven or who like to learn about things they find interesting.
I myself will try to post URL's, pictures, references if I can.