It's amazing how some things can take place for years without drawing any notice. A classic case is now roiling the inter-net and edging into mainstream media -- the issue is the "sudden" notice that remains of our fallen warriors are being shipped home from DOD's mortuary center at Dover AFB, Delaware, in the cargo holds as regular air freight.

This has not been a secret. There have been any number of reports in the past 32-plus months of how DOD has been getting the bodies home in the most feasible (that is quickest/cheapest) manner.

Now some folks are, rightly, IMHO, raising the issue as to whether this is a fitting and proper way for Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Citizen to receive their sons and daughters, or Mrs. G. I. Joe to receive her husband.

While the Pentagon ponders how to respond to this potential tsunami of outrage, we all know that the smoke machines are being fired up to blow at max levels, and the spinners are practicing their best imitation of genuine sympathy for the families who watch their fallen warrior's remains unloaded along with the golf clubs, the skis and the regular baggage from the belly of Podunk Air Flight 234.

There are a couple of things of which we can be absolutely certain.

One - the PP's will argue that they have considered all possible alternatives and this current use of comm air freight to ship the remains is the best available option, considering the families' desire to get their loved ones' home as soon as possible.

Two - the PP's will not have, and will never, consider what strikes this observer as an obvious solution, albeit perhaps a partial one, that combines speed for the families with the appropriate dignity for the fallen warriors.

That solution is to use the numerous aircraft currently engaged in flying the flag officers (and civilian equivalents) to their conferences that have been shown to sometimes be pretexts for golf outings, or for their illicit meetings with sexual partners or defense contractors, or for their skiing or tennis getaways, etc. 

The available aircraft range from helicopters, to Cessna Citations to C-9's, C-20's, C-32's, C-37's, and even a few VC-25's (Boeing 747-200's for the President). And a substantial number of these "DV" (Distinguished Visitor) aircraft are already stationed close to Dover -- they are assigned to the 89th Operations Group at Andrews AFB just outside the Beltway where they provide Special Air Mission support to the nation's leaders, military and civilian.

And, to be fair, not all these SAM aircraft are ferrying PP's around the globe. Many flights are in support of "CODEL's" (Congressional Delegations) on their frequent junkets. Members of the DOD congressional liaison offices serve as bag handlers, and as facilitators for special social activities. Whatever the members of the CODEL want, the DOD escorts are there to make sure the CODEL's every desire is fully satisfied.

By using the SAM aircraft, each fallen warrior could be transported home with the dignity commensurate with the level of his or her sacrifice, instead of being shipped home as just another piece of over-sized, over-weight air freight.

For those cases where a sudden surge of KIA's might overwhelm the capability of the SAM fleet, there's a guaranteed-ready back-up: hire executive jets that are available on very short notice, and are not, in DOD terms, all that expensive.

A recent item in the December 13 Washington Post's Reliable Source column shows just how feasible this back-stop option is.

Musician Stevie Wonder had missed his commercial air flight on the West Coast that was to take him to Washingon, DC, where his wife, a designer for high-end women's clothes, was presenting a fashion show (ten-percent of the sales went to Katrina victims). Mr. Wonder then whistled up an executive jet that flew him to Washington for $30,000.00 in time to participate in his wife's gala.

The trained liars in DOD's Public Affairs Offices will spin that at this time of huge deficits our nation needs budgetary discipline, and leasing executive jets at up to $30K a pop would pose an undue burden on our taxpayers.

Bounce that argument against this morning's headline, "War Costs May Hit Half a Trillion Dollars," and tell the family of Corporal Joseph P. Bier, USMC, that the wealthiest country on the face of this globe cannot afford to send him home "first class," with all the dignity his sacrifice warrants. (Corporal Bier, age 22, of Centralia, Washington, was KIA by an IED in Ramadi on December 7, 2005, while serving with 2d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment.)

The issue is not money, although the spinners will try to present it in those terms.

The issue is does anyone in a position to make a difference care about how our fallen warriors return home "on their shields" -- with the dignity befitting their service and sacrifice, or as "air freight" to please DOD bean counters?

SFTT President Roger Charles is an Annapolis graduate, a retired USMC Lt. Col. who commanded an infantry platoon in I Corps during the Vietnam War, is the winner of the prestigious Peabody Award for news coverage, and was a protégée's of the late Col. David H. Hackworth. Rog can be contacted at sfttpres@aol.com . Please send comments to DWFeedback@yahoo.com .