“Good point, but I would also ask why the hell U.S. military personnel are being transported to a combat zone through an ‘effing civilian airport.”
Exactly. Especially since we have a HUGE SECURE EFFING AIRBASE at RAMSTEIN.
And yes, I am in Germany.
(I believe the powers that be became, shall we say...COMPLACENT?)
Because that is how contracted services work. The military contracts out virtually everything these days. Troop transport outside of theater, food service, et al.
When I went to Desert Storm/Southern Watch, we went through Philadelphia, Shannon, Ireland (1st time) and Frankfurt, Germany (not Rhein-Main 2nd time).