If You Think Commercial Air Travel Is Bad…

October 5, 2007

in Odds & Ends Stories

Airline travel is, at best, uncomfortable, but traveling for the military is unbearable. The government contracts with a civilian company to fly large amounts of troops where they need to go. Most people would say that is better than flying on a cargo plane, but most people have never flown with the military.

I was coming back from an exercise in the Republic of Korea to my base in Texas. The contractor had taken a plane meant to sit 200 or so passengers, ripped out all of the seats and put 400 seats back in. I am 5’4″ and I spent the entire flight eating my knees. We flew from Korea to Anchorage, AK. A very long, boring, crowded flight that ended at the International terminal at the Anchorage airport. It was the middle of the night and nothing was open. Then, for some reason, the flight didn’t take us back to our base, but to a base on the other side of the state (Texas, REALLY big state). After two days of flying, we packed onto 3 buses for the 14 hour drive to our home base. After that, nothing a real airline can do is that bad!

Signed, GI Jane

{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }

peter griffin April 3, 2009 at 9:05 pm

Are you as hot as Demi Moore?

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Sharon April 8, 2009 at 5:08 pm

Liar! I've flown military charters for many years and you cannot "rip out 200 seats and replace them with 400" without creating severe weight and balance problems. They might reconfigure and get an extra 5-10 rows put in but even then that would be rare.

You're just PO'ed because you weren't put in a 1st class seat and treated like a princess.

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tb February 4, 2010 at 11:40 pm

I have flown over seas with the military 3 times and each time it gets worse and worse. Last time we flew over on a plane that has been in service since the 70’s. My friend tried to turn on his overhead light but it turned on the light 3 rows back. It was funny and scary. I am 6 feet 4inches and I was hugging my knees from VA to Kuwait. Over all it sucks and I feel your pain

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