DOD hires airline to transport war dead

[sabra]

http://www.upi.com/SecurityTerrorism/view.php?StoryID=20061229-032827-7271r

DOD hires airline to transport war dead

WASHINGTON, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- The U.S. Air Force has contracted charter flights to transport the remains of troops killed overseas to their homes.

According to Stars and Stripes newspaper, the contract is worth up to $11 million to Kalitta Charters, LLC, of Ypsilanti, Mich.

Dead American service members had been transported as cargo along with other commercial aircraft once they arrived at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, on a military aircraft.

...

Congress in October required the Defense Department to begin using either military or dedicated commercial aircraft to transport remains from Dover on Jan. 1. All remains on Kalitta charter flights will have a military service member to escort them from Dover to their final destination.

[itsmesgd]

1. did fedex bid to high? oh wait, this was prob a no bid

Do we know anything about that airline? do they exist in reality or just on paper?
Hang on and get ready for the horror stories...

on edit:
Four Small Jets??????????????????????????????????????
WTF

[Parche]

15. Kalitta

It was formed along time ago by Connie Kalitta
So they have been around a long time.

[saigon68]

16. With the Chimp increasing troops into the 10,000s in Iraq-Nam

Old Connie will have plenty of WORK



As of August 2006 the Kalitta Air fleet includes

* 2 Boeing 727-200
* 4 Boeing 727-200F
* 5 Boeing 747-100F
* 3 Boeing 747-200
* 1 Boeing 747-200Combi
* 9 Boeing 747-200F

[VegasWolf]

18. 45 years. Doug Kalitta is CEO. Major Republican donor. Good Christian.

http://www.kalittacharters.com/index1.htm

[WritersBlock]

2. They've been flying on charters across the Atlantic since this mess started. n/t

[Wickerman]

3. more from Stars and Stripes

http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=41407&archive=true

snip
“Kalitta Charters will have 4 Falcon 20 aircraft located at Dover providing dedicated airlift transportation of Human Remains,” he said. “A military servicemember will continuously escort the remains to the appropriate destination.”

Under the terms of the contract, the company will fly only the troops’ remains, not cargo, Roggero said.

“The National Defense Authorization Act allows an aircraft to transport the remains of more than one servicemember,” he said.


snip

“We don’t want them coming off mixed with luggage and handled in an improper way because someone on the ground didn’t realize what’s going on,” Army Col. Pat Gawkins told reporters in November.

[uppityperson]

11. Question, sorry if it is graphic but that last line got me thinking suitcases vs coffins

I assumed that the dead were coming back in coffins. How the hell do you mix up and improperly handle a dead person in a coffin unless they are in suitcases, or boxes, or crates, or trunks? I mean, wouldn't a baggage handler notice it was a coffin? Or are they not coming home in recognizable coffins?

[Lars39]

12. This article explains:

http://66.218.69.11/search/cache?ei=UTF-8&fr=slv1-adbe&p=US+troops+home+Transport+body+bags+tubes&u=www.slate.com/id/2139270/fr/podcast/&w=us+troops+home+transport+body+bags+tubes&d=I8m6SUVuOCI0&icp=1&.intl=us

[Wickerman]

13. Without going back to re-read the article

I think they were referring to the cases they stored the coffins in. They were protective things that absorb any impacts, rather than the coffins themselves. But, yeah, the thought of handlers flinging a Samsonite into the box containing the body of someone who made the ultimate sacrifice for his/her country is pretty damn repulsive.

[Supersedeas]

14. cargo

[lies and propaganda]

4. sad that we need a fucking airline to bring back all the dead kids.

:puke:

[catnhatnh]

5. Kalitta CEO is Connie Kalitta....

the drag racing driver (played by Beau Bridges in "Heart Like a Wheel")...Not sure of his politics...

[ashling]

6. Story about this airline on the web

I found this in a newsletter about Great Lakes stuff. The links on the other stories work. This link doesn't. hmmmmmm...............

Search area narrowed for lost airplane engine
YPSILANTI -- The search for a cargo plane engine that fell off during a Kalitta Air LLC flight has been narrowed to a 2-square-mile area of Lake Michigan, a company official said Tuesday.

The flight took off from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport late on Oct. 20, bound for New York’s Kennedy International Airport.

About 15 miles east of Battle Creek, the flight crew of the Boeing 747 reported mechanical problems with one of the plane’s four engines. more...

[tonkatoy57]

7. Kalitta Charters

is a pretty small business. They have @50 employees and do around 15M in sales each year. As others have noted, Connie Kalitta and Doug Kalitta are, or have been,drag racers.

I searched for political contributions for them and didn't find anything interesting.

Why would a small company like Kalitta Charters get a contract like this from the DOD?

AHA, here we go. Looks like they've been doing some "work" for the administration.

"ypsi company makes the national news for violating british airspace to deliver bunken-buster bombs to israel
Who would have thought that our little town might have something to do with the international fight against terrorism? Well, here’s a clip from the Associated Press that proves it's so. (Thanks to the Hamtramck Star’s Hillary Cherry for the tip.)

Scottish prosecutors decided Tuesday not to file charges against a U.S. defense contractor that flew bunker-busting bombs to Israel via British airspace during the conflict in south Lebanon.

Kalitta Air, of Ypsilanti, Mich., was reported by Britain's Civil Aviation Authority for failing to have proper documentation to transport the laser-guided missiles through Prestwick Airport in southwest Scotland in August.

The flights briefly strained ties between London and Washington and resulted in President Bush issuing an apology to British Prime Minister Tony Blair…"

[LynnTheDem]

8. So the women who reported seeing a US soldier's remains along with cargo

being unloaded, was in fact -contrary to what the US military said- correct.

[lyonn]

10. For sure American Airlines has been performing this service

You would assume that other commercial airlines are doing the same. Don't know?

It seems the bushies don't like regular passengers seeing this sad ritual at the airport. Some stuff just escapes the bushies plan to keep all things ugly or sad secret. Well, they fixed this one problem.

[0007]

9. Did they fly any Bin laden's folks out of the country right after

911?

[Shakespeare]

17. Disgusting. My dad flew C-141s and part of their job was to fly back the Vietnam dead.

It's the last bit of respect we can really show those soldiers--this should never, ever be outsourced.

I dread telling my dad about this; it'll make him sick.

[saigon68]

19. Payback to donors and party Faithful

Kind of like an ambassadorship only more $$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[peacebuzzard]

20. My flight last week had soldier remains in 1st class accompanied by

a full dressed soldier. The remains were in a mini coffin (approx 1 sq ft) that was placed on the floor by the soldier. This was a domestic flight.

The soldier requested to be allowed off the aircraft first, since the flight was scheduled to be met by a squadron of full dressed marines
It was. When the aircraft door opened on the jetway the greeting marines were "at attention". A PA was made asking to allow the soldier off the aircraft first (still some passengers tried to dart out, only one or two actually ran off)

The funeral ceremony was held at the aircraft door with the exchange of the U.S. flag.

I fly many trips every month, but this was the first time I ever witnessed this. I asked the captain of the flight if he had ever seen this before and he said it was his first as well.

What in the hell have we come to?


:-(