In a telephone interview on Monday, he said he learned that the troops from Hawaii, Samoa and Guam under the same command were already home.
“The soldiers from the CNMI are stranded in their Texas headquarters when they should have been home and the reason for the delay is the negligence of their officer-in-charge,” he said.
Torres, R-Saipan, said he is not pleased with the delay.
“The CNMI unit should have been home by now because they have finished their duty,” he said.
The mechanical problems of the charter plane the soldiers were supposed to be boarding is not an excuse, he added.
“If there are mechanical problems, they could charter another plane for them to get home. It’s a flimsy excuse.”
Torres said troops from Guam arrived home on Saturday morning.
The 70 CNMI members of the Echo Company were scheduled to arrive on Friday evening but it was postponed to 1 p.m. on Sunday “due to last minute arrangements.”
Military Veterans Affairs Office Director Ruth Coleman told the Variety on Sunday that mechanical problems on chartered plane caused the second delay.
The CNMI soldiers had been deployed to Kuwait in July last year and were flown to the U.S. mainland on Aug. 13 after they completed their one-year assignment.
