"Oakland airport scrambles to explain why it kept Marines on tarmac"

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Oakland airport scrambles to explain why it kept Marines on tarmac
By Henry K. Lee
The San Francisco (CA) Chronicle


OAKLAND - 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 today.

Airport authorities decided to park the Marines at a remote location on the
tarmac because the troops hadn't 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" that will be corrected, he
said.

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, Barnes
said. "With different information, there would have been a different
outcome," she said. She said troops aboard another North American Airlines
flight earlier Thursday were allowed into the terminal because arrangements
had been made.

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," Gibson wrote. "Some high-ranking military person should
make sure it never happens again. Our Iraq vets should be welcome anywhere
and everywhere."

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 appeared that
neither the airport nor the airline had done 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 weren't 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.

"It is the responsibility of the charter airline that its operation is
compliant with TSA screening requirements," the airport said in a statement.

But the TSA said the Marines had been screened by U.S. Customs upon landing
in New York.

"At no time were service men 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.

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