Reid seeks benefits for CIA’s secret pilots

Suzanne Struglinski

Monday, May 3, 2004 | 10:30 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Former employees of Air America, an airline secretly owned by the Central Intelligence Agency during the Cold War, could receive retirement and other federal benefits if a new bill works through Congress.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., introduced a bill Friday that would recognize the former airline as a government-owned corporation, entitling employees to benefits granted to other federal employees. Previous lawsuits to get the benefits were turned down because the airline was not listed as a government company.

The CIA owned and operated Air America from 1950 to 1976 to fly non-combat missions to China, Korea, Laos and Vietnam, except many employees did not know they were working for the government at the time. Employees were hired under contracts that did not show the true ownership of the company.

"The last helicopters rescuing personnel from the rooftops of Saigon in 1975 were operated by these AAM pilots," Reid said in a statement. "These are American heroes, many of whom were killed in action while flying dangerous missions for the CIA. They deserve to be recognized as such and at a minimum receive the same benefits that other federal employees receive."

There are between 400 and 500 former Air America employees with an estimated 30 living in Nevada, according to Reid's office.