Free Republic

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's activation of the California National Guard to bolster airline security began seamlessly at some airports on Friday, appeared haphazard at others and was rejected at Oakland International - one of three airports the governor said was most important to protect. With 640 activated troops, the Guard's first airport deployment since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was to begin costing about $128,000 a day in anti-terror funding. The scattershot nature of the deployment was evident throughout the state, with troops helping ease long lines at security checkpoints in Southern California but being relegated to distant fields in San...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2005 – More than 11,000 Army and Air National Guard members and 7,200 active-duty troops, mostly Navy, are supporting hurricane relief operations along the Gulf Coast, and 10,000 more National Guard troops are expected to join the effort within the next 48 hours, Defense Department officials said today. Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, told Pentagon reporters today the additional troops, who hail from 13 states outside the region, will be evenly divided between the hardest-hit states, Mississippi and Louisiana. There, he said, they will augment forces already on the ground...