Mcchord Planes Helping Move Cubans

Five C-141 Starlifter planes and six air crews from McChord Air Force Base are helping move Cuban refugees from camps in Panama to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

The assignment is expected to take about three weeks and will include flights by civilian planes under contract to the Air Force, said Capt. Tatiana Stead, a McChord spokeswoman.

The McChord crews include about 50 pilots, engineers and other staff from the 62nd Airlift Wing, Stead said. About 20 aircraft maintenance and other support staff are going, too.

The plan is to move about 500 refugees each day, she said. Three C-141s, which are troop and cargo carriers, will take 100 refugees each, along with their belongings and military security officers. The other 200 refugees will make the two-hour trip on civilian planes.

The Panamanian government accepted the refugees for six months ending March 6. Their future at Guantanamo Bay is uncertain.

The State Department is trying to get other countries to take them, but “we’re at an impasse,” said Lt. Col. George Lennon, a Defense Department spokesman.

Soldiers from Fort Lewis also have been involved in refugee operations, helping police the camps in Panama and Cuba.