State Department fires back at accusations of ‘empty planes’ rescuing Americans from conflict zones
The State Department's account of its evacuation efforts is at odds with on-the-ground reports from private rescue teams who helped extract U.S. citizens from conflict zones during the opening days...
By Fox News · Fox News
The State Department's account of its evacuation efforts is at odds with on-the-ground reports from private rescue teams who helped extract U.S. citizens from conflict zones during the opening days of the U.S.-Iran conflict. Bryan Stern, founder and CEO of Grey Bull Rescue, a nonprofit evacuation service, is contesting claims that the State Department offered assistance to every American who asked for it, asserting instead that thousands of U.S. citizens were left trapped by missiles, bombs and security threats crowding airspace in the region. "It’s not for lack of effort. Our State Department colleagues are tremendous. But their process doesn’t work. There is also no one — there's no job specialty," Stern told Fox News Digital, noting a lack of a dedicated government position for handling evacuations. The contrasting assertions raise questions about the logistical efficiency of American rescue efforts while prompting calls from lawmakers for more specialization to get U.S. citizens out of conflict zones in the future. VETERAN-LED MISSION EVACUATES AMERICANS FROM ISRAEL AS BIDEN'S 'WEAKENED' FOREIGN POLICY BLAMED FOR RISK Stern believes slow-moving bureaucracy is preventing the government from fully utilizing its rescue options. As one data point, Stern pointed to a video sent to Fox News Digital depicting a mostly empty flight from Israel to Florida near the start of the conflict. A source, who recorded the video, confirmed they had been evacuated by the State Department from Israel on flight LY1017 from Tel Aviv to Miami, Florida, on March 8 — a point at which Stern said Grey Bull Rescue was being flooded with hundreds of evacuation requests. In response to inquiries about the video, State Department officials did not address why they had only booked a handful of seats. While the government sometimes purchases individual tickets on a commercial flight for evacuations, they rarely buy the entire aircraft’s capacity, sources familiar with the Department’s evacuatio…