This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx Pentagon Plans to Extend Its Use of Commercial Planes for Troops April 1, 2003 By MICHELINE MAYNARD As it prepares to send 100,000 additional troops to the Persian Gulf, the Pentagon plans to extend the mobilization of a fleet of commercial aircraft that has been used to transport military personnel and equipment, airline industry officials said yesterday. The Pentagon expects to use the commercial planes, called the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, for an additional 60 days, according to a memorandum the Air Force sent Friday to airlines and charter carriers that are taking part in the program. The fleet, known as CRAF, was first mobilized in early February, to move troops to the Middle East in advance of the war in Iraq. It was only the second time that the Pentagon had used commercial airliners in wartime since the program was established by President Harry S. Truman in 1951. The first was during the gulf war in 1991. Under the program, airlines and cargo carriers sign contracts that allow them to bid for military business during peacetime, in return for providing aircraft to the Pentagon during wars. The fleet is mobilized in three ascending stages, ranging from a regional conflict to a global war, each with a greater number of aircraft. For now, the military does not plan to widen its use of aircraft beyond the Stage 1 mobilization, which was carried out in February, according to the memorandum from Maj. Gen. Roger A. Brady of the Air Force, the coordinator of the program at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. Under that call-up, charter and commercial airlines, including American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, United and US Airways, provided 47 planes to the Pentagon. The air reserve fleet includes the industry's biggest aircraft, like Boeing 747, 767 and 777 jets, as well as McDonnell Douglas DC-10's and MD-11's. Cargo planes have not yet been used to transport equipment and are not expected to be mobilized now, according to the memorandum. Nor has the military mobilized commercial airlines for medical evacuation flights, which would be part of a Stage 2 deployment. Under terms of the program, the Pentagon has use of the commercial planes, flown by crews provided and trained by the airlines, for 30 days at a time, unless it seeks to use them for a longer period. Crew members are required to be American citizens. The flights generally take place from bases in the United States to those overseas and do not enter active combat zones. In the memo, airlines were told that the deployment of the additional 100,000 troops would take place over the next 60 days. The largest deployment would be that of the Fourth Infantry Division, the memo said, while other troop movements would take place as scheduled. Airlines were told they should raise their weight calculations for each passenger to 450 pounds, including gear, from 400 pounds. They also were told they should continue to carry chemical protection suits, which were provided to them by the Pentagon. "We'll stop as soon as we can, but for now we're still requiring it of our crews and will continue to make it available to your crews as well," General Brady said in the memorandum. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/01/international/worldspecial/01FLEE.html?ex=1050210565&ei=1&en=9a6e20ebe62dbeea HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@xxxxxxxxxxx or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@xxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company