Nelson introduces 'Operation Airlift'

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson has introduced bipartisan legislation allowing new travel reimbursements for National Guard and Reserve service members nationwide that was inspired by 48 Nebraska National Guard soldiers who almost didn't make it home for Christmas because of travel restrictions.

Forty-eight members of the 110th Medical Battalion based in Lincoln were stranded at Fort Lewis, Wash., in December 2007 when training was suspended and the base was shut down for the holidays but military rules prohibited using funds to pay for their travel back to Nebraska until training resumed.

Sen. Nelson was informed of the problem and contacted the State Chamber of Commerce which raised private funds in what became known as "Operation Airlift," to pay for the soldiers' travel so they could spend the holidays with their families.

"It was an embarrassment. These brave men and women who were preparing to go to war had to rely on the generosity of the Nebraska business community so they could come home for Christmas when it was really the nation's responsibility to get them here," said Nelson, who offered an amendment to correct the situation last year.

Sen. Nelson, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, today introduced the bill to address this matter which has affected reservists and guardsmen across the country. The bill was cosponsored by the subcommittee's ranking member, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

Nelson's legislation allows the Secretary of Defense to use Department of Defense funds to pay for travel in situations like those that existed at Ft. Lewis. Specifically, the Nelson legislation authorizes travel if a reserve or guard member is more than 300 miles from home and is placed on leave for 5 days or more because of training suspensions or staffing issues.

In a hearing last week, Sen. Nelson asked Lt. Gen. Clyde A. Vaughn, Director of the Army National Guard and Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz, Commanding General of the U.S. Army Reserve Command for their thoughts on the problem and the legislation. Both generals responded in favor of this legislation.

"We're 100 percent on your side. You know, we went through this thing for several years ... It's absolutely something that we needed the kind of emotion and fervor on behind it to get that straightened out," said Lieutenant General Vaughn.

"It's a morale issue. It's a morale issue for holidays. It's a morale issue any time where we have them sitting in a mobilization station and there's nothing going on. And so we have made the commitment to, wherever possible, stop that from happening," said Lt. Gen. Stultz.