Story and photo by Robert Johnson
Managing editor
Soldiers are leaving, and by Friday afternoon, Fort Leonard Wood will look like a ghost town.
Holiday Block Leave begins today as most classes and training on Fort Leonard Wood take a two-week hiatus, allowing more than 11,000 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines the opportunity to head home for the holidays.
“We’ll be starting around 6 p.m. and run operations to move service members off the post and to the St. Louis airport for Friday flights,” said Todd Nelson, Directorate of Plans, Training and Mobilization operations specialist. “It will take about 24 straight hours until we complete this task, because it is not over until every Soldier participating in Holiday Block Leave is safely on a flight and en route home.”
Managing editor
Soldiers are leaving, and by Friday afternoon, Fort Leonard Wood will look like a ghost town.
Holiday Block Leave begins today as most classes and training on Fort Leonard Wood take a two-week hiatus, allowing more than 11,000 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines the opportunity to head home for the holidays.
Tammy Lewis, Information, Ticketing and Information travel clerk, helps Pvt. Blake Norman, Company A, 35th EngineerBattalion, make plans for his Holiday Block Leave. Norman is headed to Battleground, Wash., for the annual break in training.
“We’ll be starting around 6 p.m. and run operations to move service members off the post and to the St. Louis airport for Friday flights,” said Todd Nelson, Directorate of Plans, Training and Mobilization operations specialist. “It will take about 24 straight hours until we complete this task, because it is not over until every Soldier participating in Holiday Block Leave is safely on a flight and en route home.”
While the mass exodus from Fort Leonard Wood actually began with the Marine Corps Detachment leaving, Saturday, and the bulk of Soldiers leaving today, the process to get everyone home for the holidays started months earlier.
“We started getting people ticketed in October,” said Tammy Lewis, ITR travel clerk. “We have helped with 3,042 airline tickets to date. The remainder of those leaving bought their own ticket, are taking the bus or are going home in POVs (privately owned vehicles).”
The service members are headed to all 50 states and several other destinations, officials said.
“The farthest place that we helped ticket was to Saipan,” Lewis said. The ITR office worked with the individual to get her the lowest possible airline fare.
“The price of that ticket started at $6,000, but with connections and working with different airlines, we were able to get her a fare for around $2,700,” Lewis said.
The ITR worked to get every Soldier the lowest possible fare.
“This system is set up to find the lowest fare available for military,” said Conny Obermuller, ITR travel agent. “The prices we get have nothing to do with the Web-based fares, because military rates cannot be published. We get the rate directly from the airline, and that price is based on availability.”
“No body was turned away. If a Soldier felt they couldn’t afford the roundtrip air travel, we worked with them on other means to get home. Some are flying home and returning on Greyhound, and others are taking the bus both ways. Some, once they found out that it was a 40-hour bus ride, decided to pay the extra for air travel,” Obermuller said.
As seats filled, the direct flights and better times quickly were taken, Lewis said.
“It did get more difficult to find that best deal in the last few days. The most we had to do was have a Soldier make three connections to get home.”
The hurtle tonight and Friday will be moving the troops to the airport and to their designated flights.
“Once we get to the St. Louis airport, there will be drill sergeants from the 1st Engineer Brigade to offload the Soldiers and get them checked into the correct airlines. The St. Louis USO, in conjunction with many other agencies, will be on hand to offer the Soldiers free entertainment and things to do while they wait for their flights,” Nelson said.
“Then, in January, we get to do the whole process in reverse, but this time, everyone already has their return ticket,” Nelson said.
“We started getting people ticketed in October,” said Tammy Lewis, ITR travel clerk. “We have helped with 3,042 airline tickets to date. The remainder of those leaving bought their own ticket, are taking the bus or are going home in POVs (privately owned vehicles).”
The service members are headed to all 50 states and several other destinations, officials said.
“The farthest place that we helped ticket was to Saipan,” Lewis said. The ITR office worked with the individual to get her the lowest possible airline fare.
“The price of that ticket started at $6,000, but with connections and working with different airlines, we were able to get her a fare for around $2,700,” Lewis said.
The ITR worked to get every Soldier the lowest possible fare.
“This system is set up to find the lowest fare available for military,” said Conny Obermuller, ITR travel agent. “The prices we get have nothing to do with the Web-based fares, because military rates cannot be published. We get the rate directly from the airline, and that price is based on availability.”
“No body was turned away. If a Soldier felt they couldn’t afford the roundtrip air travel, we worked with them on other means to get home. Some are flying home and returning on Greyhound, and others are taking the bus both ways. Some, once they found out that it was a 40-hour bus ride, decided to pay the extra for air travel,” Obermuller said.
As seats filled, the direct flights and better times quickly were taken, Lewis said.
“It did get more difficult to find that best deal in the last few days. The most we had to do was have a Soldier make three connections to get home.”
The hurtle tonight and Friday will be moving the troops to the airport and to their designated flights.
“Once we get to the St. Louis airport, there will be drill sergeants from the 1st Engineer Brigade to offload the Soldiers and get them checked into the correct airlines. The St. Louis USO, in conjunction with many other agencies, will be on hand to offer the Soldiers free entertainment and things to do while they wait for their flights,” Nelson said.
“Then, in January, we get to do the whole process in reverse, but this time, everyone already has their return ticket,” Nelson said.