FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas (AP) – Three U.S. hostages rescued from Colombian rebels after more than five years in captivity are in good condition and undergoing the transition back to normal life, military officials said Thursday.

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.

Healthy greeting

“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.

After a rescue operation, 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.

The men’s families were arriving in San Antonio throughout the day Thursday, said Katie Lamb, a Northrop Grumman spokeswoman.

Huber said one of the men, Stansell, has already seen his two children and his mother and father.

He said the other two men were to reunite with their families on Thursday.

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

“The purpose is to provide a transition back to normal life after the strains of captivity,” Huber said.

Huber said the men’s participation in the reintegration process is voluntary because they are not members of the military.

Asked about possible disease, Col. Jackie Hayes, the hospital’s chief of pulmonary and critical care, would not discuss specific conditions the men might have.

“I’m happy to report that they are all in very good physical condition, very strong,” Hayes said.

U.S. Ambassador William Brownfield had said Wednesday that two of the three men were suffering from the jungle malady leishmaniasis and “looking forward to modern medical treatment.”

AP-ES-07-03-08 1727EDT