Chartering a Flight to War

there was a tweet:

RT @katruns26point2: @flyingwithfish remember Tower air?? (Flew Tower from JFK to OAK many times … I think @KarlenePetitt flew for them)

— Flying With Fish (@flyingwithfish) February 11, 2012

and, knowing not much about Tower Air (other than the name), i wiki’d it. on the page, there was this picture of soldiers on a Department of Defense charter flight. i don’t know if they are heading off to or coming home from a combat zone (or maybe not going off to war at all), but as much as i love travel, this isn’t my idea of getting a chance to see the world.  don’t get me wrong: i cannot understate my gratitude for those who put themselves on the line, but seeing all these people in their fatigues trying to get some shut-eye, i can only imagine what’s going through their heads; my heart goes out to them.

also, i came across this statistic while doing some quickie research on military charter flights:

“Not enough military planes and pilots to transport U.S. troops means that 87 percent of personnel flown around the globe are carried by civilian charter airlines” —Businessweek

while i have flown on (commercial) flights with — and have sat next to — military personnel in uniform, there is something about seeing a planeful of them that really makes US military involvement worldwide hit home for me.