Mark Savage
01-27-2004, 09:05 PM
Article Here (http://www.recordnet.com/articlelink/110503/news/articles/110503-gn-1.php)
It's been more than eight months since Bear Creek High School graduate Cole Rose has seen his 1-year-old daughter.
Rose, a 22-year-old Army specialist stationed in Iraq for most of the past year, is headed home for a two-week break. But he's not quite sure how he'll get to Stockton.
He could end up in Baltimore, Atlanta or Dallas facing the prospect of buying an expensive ticket home.
Under a new Department of Defense program, military personnel serving in Iraq are being flown to the United States for up to 15 days of rest and relaxation.
From Iraq, the soldiers fly to Kuwait, and from there, they choose flights to either Atlanta International Airport or Germany, said Major David Farlow, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command. From Atlanta, they can continue on to Dallas-Fort Worth; from Germany, they can continue on to Baltimore Washington International.
Rose's mother, Sandy Allen, and his wife, Hannah, have no idea exactly when or how Cole Rose will fly into Sacramento. But they know it won't be free. Once a soldier is stateside, it is the soldier's responsibility to find the way home, Farlow said.
Rose could catch a free military hop. But driven by the need to transport troops or equipment or complete training missions, military flights adhere to no set schedules. Should Rose decide to wait for a hop, he could spend days for it to materialize.
That's not an option for his family. They want him home now.
"As soon as we can get him a ticket, he'll be coming here," said Hannah Rose, 20.
"We don't even know the day he's leaving Germany."
A last-minute roundtrip flight from either Dallas or Baltimore to Sacramento costs $350. From Atlanta, a flight costs about $430.
A new program could help Rose, but it's uncertain if he qualifies. Operation Hero Miles allows people to donate frequent-flier miles for use by military personnel on leave from the Persian Gulf.
Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger, who represents the area surrounding Baltimore Washington International Airport, the commercial airport that has the nation's highest number of military flights for troop transport, dreamed up the idea.
"I just think it's awesome," Allen said.
Ruppersberger, a Democrat, contacted airlines and suggested the program. He was concerned about the financial burden placed on soldiers trying to spend some quality time with family and friends, according to the congressman's Web site.
"I didn't know about this until (my husband) told me about them," Hannah Rose said.
"I think it's great, but nobody really knows about it, so how can they donate? Troops
shouldn't have to spend their own money (coming home), because they are fighting for our country," she said.
Hannah Rose and Allen are unsure if Cole Rose can use donated frequent-flier miles to get home. Rose will find out once he reaches Kuwait, likely Friday. Although more than
7 million frequent-flier miles have been donated through the program's Web site -- www.heromiles.org -- there's not nearly enough miles to go around, Ruppersberger's office said.
Allen issued a challenge to local leaders, businesses and community activists to donate their frequent-flier miles to Operation Hero Miles.
"As soon as Cole goes back (to Iraq), I'm going to be on my own little mission to see if they can challenge others to meet their donations," she said.
"There's a lot of creative ways that people can help our troops."
Donate your miles, http://heromiles.org
It's been more than eight months since Bear Creek High School graduate Cole Rose has seen his 1-year-old daughter.
Rose, a 22-year-old Army specialist stationed in Iraq for most of the past year, is headed home for a two-week break. But he's not quite sure how he'll get to Stockton.
He could end up in Baltimore, Atlanta or Dallas facing the prospect of buying an expensive ticket home.
Under a new Department of Defense program, military personnel serving in Iraq are being flown to the United States for up to 15 days of rest and relaxation.
From Iraq, the soldiers fly to Kuwait, and from there, they choose flights to either Atlanta International Airport or Germany, said Major David Farlow, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command. From Atlanta, they can continue on to Dallas-Fort Worth; from Germany, they can continue on to Baltimore Washington International.
Rose's mother, Sandy Allen, and his wife, Hannah, have no idea exactly when or how Cole Rose will fly into Sacramento. But they know it won't be free. Once a soldier is stateside, it is the soldier's responsibility to find the way home, Farlow said.
Rose could catch a free military hop. But driven by the need to transport troops or equipment or complete training missions, military flights adhere to no set schedules. Should Rose decide to wait for a hop, he could spend days for it to materialize.
That's not an option for his family. They want him home now.
"As soon as we can get him a ticket, he'll be coming here," said Hannah Rose, 20.
"We don't even know the day he's leaving Germany."
A last-minute roundtrip flight from either Dallas or Baltimore to Sacramento costs $350. From Atlanta, a flight costs about $430.
A new program could help Rose, but it's uncertain if he qualifies. Operation Hero Miles allows people to donate frequent-flier miles for use by military personnel on leave from the Persian Gulf.
Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger, who represents the area surrounding Baltimore Washington International Airport, the commercial airport that has the nation's highest number of military flights for troop transport, dreamed up the idea.
"I just think it's awesome," Allen said.
Ruppersberger, a Democrat, contacted airlines and suggested the program. He was concerned about the financial burden placed on soldiers trying to spend some quality time with family and friends, according to the congressman's Web site.
"I didn't know about this until (my husband) told me about them," Hannah Rose said.
"I think it's great, but nobody really knows about it, so how can they donate? Troops
shouldn't have to spend their own money (coming home), because they are fighting for our country," she said.
Hannah Rose and Allen are unsure if Cole Rose can use donated frequent-flier miles to get home. Rose will find out once he reaches Kuwait, likely Friday. Although more than
7 million frequent-flier miles have been donated through the program's Web site -- www.heromiles.org -- there's not nearly enough miles to go around, Ruppersberger's office said.
Allen issued a challenge to local leaders, businesses and community activists to donate their frequent-flier miles to Operation Hero Miles.
"As soon as Cole goes back (to Iraq), I'm going to be on my own little mission to see if they can challenge others to meet their donations," she said.
"There's a lot of creative ways that people can help our troops."
Donate your miles, http://heromiles.org