You could fly in noe and release them when you pop. It would look just like throwing a football. Their momentum would carry them all the way to the town. Meanwhile, you could have already turned to rtb. A fire and forget troop pod.
Actually, you gave me an idea for another use. If there is a building or two still left when the P-38 with the troop pods come in, they can drop the pods on the remaining buildings. This way the kinetic energy of the pods will be sufficient enough to take out the remaining building and the troops can pop out and run to the map room, albeit on shaky and unsteady legs.
The more I think about it, the more this game needs it. On the plus side, it would only take HiTech and gang about an hour or so to create the new art assets and models, it can't be that hard.
ack-ack