Shame on You, Oakland Airport!

Two days ago while I was checking my Myspace page (yes, unfortunately I got suckered into the trend) I came across one of my friends postings. Usually I do not pay attention to anyone’s bulletins, but this one was alarming. The article was about how Marines and soldiers returning from Iraq were not allowed in the Oakland International Airport terminal.

The servicemen and women were coming home from their lengthy deployment, and were anxiously waiting to reunite with their loved ones. Instead, they were dropped off at the FED EX terminal and not allowed to enter Oakland Airport. For three unnecessary hours they had to wait until released.



I AM DISGUSTED !!! These men and women are NOT the enemy. They did their service overseas for six months without seeing any family members. I am upset that history repeats itself in negative ways. This is exactly what servicemen and women were scared of—to be treated like the Vietnam soldiers when they returned home. Instead of being greeted with flowers, hugs, and kisses the Marines had to wait in an airport hangar. Before the Marines had landed in Oakland they had been to Germany and JFK, and interestingly no other airport had issues with the Marines being in their terminal.

This event created tons of buzz through blogs, major news stations, and newspapers. Oakland airport was under the spotlight. After the incident the Oakland Mayor, Ron Dellums (a former Marine), made a statement to release some of the tension. “I want to be very clear, the city of Oakland does not condone this type of treatment of our troops. 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."

Though this situation has already happened, I hope this never happens to another Marine or solider. This is a mistake, but as a consequence it leaves a bitter taste in many peoples mouths.

The Troop's Advocator

Below is the article I read for anyone intrested.

Marines and Soldiers Returning from Iraq not allowed into Oakland terminal
On September 27th 204 Marines and soldiers who were returning from Iraq were not allowed into the passenger terminal at Oakland International Airport. Instead they had to deplane about 400 yards away from the terminal where the extra baggage trailers were located.

This was the last scheduled stop for fuel and food prior to flying to Hawaii where both were based. The trip started in Kuwait on September 26th with a rigorous search of checked and carry on baggage by US Customs. All baggage was x-rayed with a "backscatter" machine AND each bag was completely emptied and hand searched. After being searched, checked bags were marked and immediately placed in a secure container. Carry on bags were then x rayed again to ensure no contraband items were taken on the plane. While waiting for the bus to the airport, all personnel were in quarantined in a fenced area and were not allowed to leave.

The first stop for fuel/food and crew change was in Leipzig Germany. Troops exited the aircraft and took a bus to a reception area in the terminal, where there was a convenience store, phones, Internet and restrooms. As we exited the bus we were given a re-boarding pass. Three troops remained on the plane with the rifles and pistols. There was no ammunition on the plane and the bolts of the rifles had been removed. After about 2 hours troops re-boarded the plane and flew to JFK in NY.

At JFK the procedure was similar to Germany, 3 troops stayed on the plane to guard weapons while the rest deplaned. At the gate we were each given a re-boarding pass and spent about 1.5 hours in the terminal, at which time we re-boarded and flew to Oakland.

As we came in for the final approach to Oakland a Lieutenant who served in Afghanistan with the same unit in 2006 mentioned how when they landed in Oakland they were not allowed in the terminal. He said, "they made us get out by the FED EX building and we had to sit out there for 3 hours". He also indicated he was almost arrested by the TSA for getting belligerent about them not letting the Marines into the terminal.

Well, the same thing happened again. This time we did not park by the FED EX building, instead we were offloaded near the grass that separates the active runway from the taxi ramp, about 400 yards from the terminal. When we inquired why they wouldn't allow us in the airport they gave us some lame excuse that we hadn't been screened by TSA. While true, the screening which we did have was much more thorough than any TSA search and was done by US Customs. Additionally, JFK didn't seem to have a problem with our entering their terminal, nor did security in Germany.

It felt like being spit on. Every Marine and soldier felt the message loud and clear, "YOU ARE NOT WELCOME IN OAKLAND!"