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DOD To Pay Full R&R Travel
Cost |
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WASHINGTON
- In an effort to bolster military morale, the Pentagon soon will begin
paying travel expenses for troops to get all the way home on leave from Iraq
and Afghanistan. The cost of that extra
leg for tens of thousands of soldiers: $55 million. Until now, the largest
R&R program since the Vietnam War has flown soldiers only to three cities
in the United States and two in Germany, leaving them to pay airfare for
connecting flights if they want to go farther. Some airlines offered
discount fares to help, and a congressman started a program in which
Americans donated millions of their frequent flyer miles for service members
to use to get home. But officials said
Tuesday they were working up a plan for the Defense Department to begin
reimbursing troops for the connecting flights with the $55 million authorized
recently by Congress for the coming year. "If it comes to
pass as envisioned by members of Congress, this would be the most generous
gesture on behalf of the American people," said Maj. Pete Mitchell of
U.S. Central Command. Such full payment of
travel expenses for home leave is unprecedented, he said. To give troops some
relief, the Pentagon in late September started giving two-week leaves in the
largest rest and recuperation program since the Vietnam War. So far more than 27,000
troops have taken the leaves, Mitchell said. The arrangement differs
from the program in place during Vietnam, when soldiers received leaves to
Hong Kong, Singapore or other Asian cities. The Army said Tuesday
it had set no firm date for the start of the reimbursement program, which
requires changes in federal travel regulations. Officials were working on
details such as how much would be paid to each soldier, and whether it would
be retroactive to cover those who have already taken leave, they said. "The devil is in
the details," Mitchell said. But the intent is to
pay the full cost of commercial airfare that troops need to get home from
three drop-off points in the states - Baltimore, Dallas and Atlanta - and two
in Germany. Officials estimated
that troops have been paying an average of $300 to $500 out of their own
pockets to get the rest of the way home. Several soldiers and
their families complained publicly about having to pay for the trips.
Pentagon and congressional officials said they wanted to begin the
reimbursement program amid worries about morale among troops who are working
hard in the global war on terrorism and in the Iraq campaign, which is in its
ninth month. Work on the
reimbursement plan was first reported Tuesday by the Army Times publication. The military has
ordered yearlong deployments in Iraq because it is stretched thin around the
world and didn't get as many international troops to help as had been hoped. Morale has been a
concern, since troops and families in the summer began complaining about
extended tours of duty and repeated deployments. There are more than
130,000 U.S. forces in Iraq and neighboring countries and more than 10,000
deployed for the Afghan effort, where violence continues two years after the
fall of the Taliban. Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not
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