3 contractors rescued in Colombia, return to U.S. Published July 3, 2008 SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) -- Three military contractors held captive by the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia were rescued by the Colombian military and returned to the U.S. July 2. Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell, all employees of the Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp., spent five years in captivity, making them the longest-held American hostages in the world at the time. They were captured in February of 2003 after their drug-surveillance plane went down in the jungles of southern Colombia. The men were flown directly to the U.S. aboard a C-17 Globemaster III, which landed at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, shortly before midnight. From there, they were taken by helicopter to Brooke Army Medical Center to undergo tests and treatment. The C-17 is from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., and its crews is from various bases including Pope AFB, N.C., and Charleston AFB, S.C. Twelve others were rescued along with the Americans, including 11 Colombian police and soldiers and Ingrid Betancourt, a former Colombian presidential candidate. Comment on this story (comments may be published on Air Force Link) View the comments/letters page