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Transport aid for NMI’s troops sought
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Posted on Nov 12 2004
Resident Rep. Pete A. Tenorio has asked the U.S. military for air transportation assistance so that the CNMI’s troops, who are now training in Fort Bliss, Texas, can come home for the Christmas holidays.
Tenorio said yesterday that he has written to commanding general Maj. Gen. Michael. A. Vane about the matter at the urging of family members and friends, and upon confirming that CNMI reservists are eligible for a Christmas holiday furlough upon completion of all training requirements.
Tenorio furnished copies of his letter to the Hawaii Congressional Delegation, Guam’s Delegate to Congress Madeleine Bordallo, and American Samoa’s Delegate Eni Faleomavaega.
In his letter, Tenorio said: “I am writing at the request of the families of the members of the Echo Company, 100th Battalion, 442nd Infantry who have been called to duty. …Many of these men and women are from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, thousands of miles from Texas in the Western Pacific. Under military rules these men have the option to fly space available when on leave. I am concerned that many of these men, who cannot afford to pay for their air fare, will not be able to find seats on a space-available basis during the holiday season when many others are also flying.”
Tenorio asked Vane for special consideration for the soldiers, asking the general if he could communicate with others in the U.S. Department of Defense to make possible the availability of a military transport “so that these brave men and women may spend the holiday season with their families before they are deployed to Iraq early next year.”
