Patriots team plane does it again, delivers troops home from Africa (Video)
The New England Patriots team plane played the role of hero again ahead of Fourth of July weekend.
As first reported by KELOLAND Media in South Dakota last Thursday, the Patriots’ plane transported troops home from the Horn of Africa, where they’d been stationed since August 2020. The South Dakota National Guard said at that time that 190 troops would be deployed.
This wasn’t an emergency move, thought. It was planned. Patriots PR director Stacey James confirmed that the U.S. Department of Defense is using the Patriots’ planes to “transport troops” during the summer, when it is not needed for the football team.
The delivery of the troops back to Sioux Falls is the latest example of the Patriots’ plane playing a big role in arenas outside professional sports. It famously delivered 1.2 million N95 facemasks from China to healthcare workers in the U.S. during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic last March. The plane also recently delivered an estimated 500,000 vaccines to El Salvador.
Here’s a video of the plane arriving in Sioux Falls, via “Only in Boston” on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/OnlyInBOS/status/1412373262105931778
As reported by WVLT in Knoxville, Tenn., the Patriots plane was spotted arriving at the McGhee Tyson Airport on Monday. James told WVLT the same details about the Dept. of Defense using the Patriots’ planes for charter purposes.
The DOD and other clients of the Patriots’ charter service have a few more weeks until the football team reconvenes in Foxborough to get ready for the 2021 season. New England is scheduled to head to Philadelphia for a preseason game against the Eagles on August 19.
MORE: Patriots Plane Delivers Vaccines To El Salvador
Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @mattydsays. You can also email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
