According to a report from Politico, military officers making extended stays at Donald Trump’s struggling Scottish golf resort are being lavished with extra attention, including being awarded a co-called “Pride Pin” to commemorate their stay.
As part of their continuing investigation on military flight crews being housed at the Turnberry golf course, the reports also states that crews are not just staying over for one night, but may spend days at the resort playing golf while the government picks up the tab.
High-ranking officers, Politico reports, can expect “a version of its ‘Pride Pin,’ a lapel pin featuring the property’s iconic lighthouse — an honor reserved for VIPs — upon their arrival, according to a resort staffer familiar with the practice.”
The report notes that, contrary to earlier reports, stays are not limited to one-night stays.
“Air Force crews on layovers from Prestwick Airport have become a major facet of the life of the resort,” Politico reports. “It also revealed that, rather than being restricted to single-night refueling stops, some visits last multiple nights, expanding the known dimensions of the relationship between the president’s luxury resort and the U.S. military.”
While staying at the resort, military crews are also encouraged to use the golf course – for a fee – with Politico noting that stopovers appear to increase during the slow season for the resort.
“In at least one instance earlier this year, a crew was laid up for multiple nights while their plane underwent repairs, allowing them to hit the links on Turnberry’s world-class course and purchase mementos from the pro shop, where a child’s golf shirt runs 55 British pounds, about $68 at the current exchange rate,” the report states. “While crews were spotted here this summer, one longtime staffer said that they more frequently show up in the winter low season, and stay at the lodges — more spacious, freestanding structures downhill of the main hotel, which looks out over the seashore.”
“While staying at Turnberry, the crews mostly stay on resort grounds. Aside from servers at the Balkenna Tea Room, a mile from the resort, who said they had served uniformed service members of unknown nationality within the past week, staffers at the handful of establishments in the resort’s vicinity said they were unaware of a regular military presence there,” Politico reports.
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