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Puerto Rico Update,
Number 32, Spring 2001
Plan Colombia Flights to Operate from Panama A U.S military announcement in April for bidding on a contract for "transportation services" shows that the Pentagon plans to use airstrips in Panama for operations in Colombia, The Panama News' Eric Jackson discovered. "Though it is the policy of both the Panamanian and U.S. governments to deny any Panama connection with Plan Colombia and any significant U.S. military presence in Panama," Jackson said that an April 6 advertisement in the U.S. government's Commerce Business Daily indicates otherwise. The advertisement's description of the services to be contracted by the Air Mobility Command is as follows: DESC: Cargo, passenger, and combi, air transportation services for US SOUTHERN COMMAND (Central and South America and the Caribbean) utilizing two (2) contractor furnished aircraft plus one (1) back up. The planes must be IFR equipped, multi-engine, turbine powered, short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft capable of operating in/out of semi-prepared 3,000 ft airstrips with a minimum California Bearing Ratio (CBR) of 7. Cargo requirements include transporting 3,000 lbs of palletized foodstuffs, parts, and helicopter blades crated for shipment in 29'0" x 3'8" x 1'6" containers. Passenger requirements are the transportation of up to 19 passengers and baggage totaling 3,000 lbs. Combi operations require transporting passengers and cargo totaling 3,000 lbs. All flights must comply with FAA guidelines flying under FAR Part 121 or 135. The contractor must be able to operate multiple missions simultaneously, seven days per week, 24 hours per day. Contractor will have a minimum of 24 hours notice prior to a requested mission. Operations will be based in Panama with a majority of missions staged from Soto Cano, Honduras or Columbia. There will be approximately 1,800 hours of airlift flights per year. The contract will have a base year and four, one-year options. The contracting of private parties to carry out U.S. policy in Colombia, known as 'outsourcing,' is consistent with military practice in Ecuador and Colombia itself. In Colombia, the State Department hires armed civilians to pilot Huey helicopters that accompany aerial fumigation missions of coca plantations in southern Colombia. In February, a civilian crew working for Dyncorp, under contract with the State Department, came under fire by FARC guerrillas; three Dyncorp pilots have already died in crashes. In Ecuador, documents available on the Internet show that the U.S. Air Force is outsourcing the operation of a military base under renovation in the port city of Manta. Even "host nation riders" who accompany military flights over Colombia will be paid by private contract with the military, according to the implementation plan for the base. The base will accommodate up to 475 personnel when renovations are completed in October, documents show. Sources: The Panama News, 4/11/01; Rep. Schakowsky statement 3/2/01; Ecuador documents: www.eps.gov then search by solicitation number: F44650-01-R-0003 |
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Fellowship of Reconciliation
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