U.S. Army Reserve Brig. Gen. Alexander I. Kozlov told CNMI Congressman Gregorio C. Sablan that soldiers from Saipan and American Samoa were placed together on a chartered flight which was delayed due to safety and mechanical issues.
“The flight was delayed due to safety and mechanical issues and Fort Hood personnel did the best they could to get our soldiers home as soon as possible. The time allotted for returning soldiers to reach their home station is six days. Because the delay was only four days, this did not impact any of the soldiers’ terminal leave,” Kozlov told Sablan.
Sablan made the inquiry on behalf of Torres who last month raised questions on how local troops are treated compared to their counterparts from Hawaii and Guam.
In his letter to Sablan, Torres said there seemed to be significant differences in the way the local soldiers were treated compared to those from Guam and Hawaii.
Kozlov said the soldiers’ payroll was submitted on time but there had been an automation issue which did not accept the payrolls from Company E Saipan and Company D Oahu.
“This…issue had an impact not only on this command but also on all reserve units which submitted its pay during this timeframe. During this period, we provided our rear detachment officers for both Oahu and Saipan and the Family Programs Office with the names of the soldiers who were impacted to contact their families to see if they would need any assistance,” the U.S. Army Reserve commander said.
“We did not receive any requests for advance pay for our soldiers in Saipan and Oahu,” he added.
