Military: Freed American hostages in good shape

The three U.S. military contractors--Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell--had been held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia since their drug-surveillance plane went down in the jungle in February 2003.

They were among 15 hostages, including former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and 11 members of the Colombian security services, rescued by Colombian forces in a daring mission Wednesday.

"I will tell you that they greeted me with a strong handshake and clear eyes and an incredible smile," said Maj. Gen. Keith Huber, commanding general of U.S. Army South, which is responsible for Army operations in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The men, employees of a Northrop Grumman Corp. subsidiary, arrived in the U.S. late Wednesday. They were then taken to Brooke Army Medical Center at San Antonio's Fort Sam Houston to undergo tests.

Eric Atkisson, a spokesman for U.S. Army South, said the former hostages would not speak publicly Thursday.

The men's families were arriving in San Antonio throughout the day, said Katie Lamb, a Northrop Grumman spokeswoman. Stansell had already seen his son Kyle and daughter Lauren, as well as his father and stepmother, Huber said.

"So on the tail end of their first private reunion in five years and five months, I can tell you that it made us all very proud that there were children there who were thrilled to see their parent and there were parents there who were overwhelmed with seeing their son back safe," Huber said.

He said Howes--whose birthday is Friday--and Gonsalves were also to reunite with their families Thursday.

The men are undergoing what Huber said is a reintegration process and are in the second phase, which typically lasts two to four days, he said.