Posted on: Friday, March 8, 2002
National Guard airport role extended
• State seeks federal aid for harbor security
By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer
The now-familiar sight of Hawai'i National Guard troops at major airports around the state will remain a familiar sight for an extra two months with the Transportation Security Administration's request for a national extension of the military guard duty.
Following Sept. 11, more than 150 part-time Army and Air Guard troops were called to full-time duty to provide added security at seven Hawai'i airports. That number increased to about 200 during the holidays.
The Guard was expected to discontinue the mission March 28 in Hawai'i, but a phased withdrawal now has been pushed back to May 31 across the nation so federalized security screeners and directors can be put in place.
Army Secretary Thomas White in January asked Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta to relieve the Guard of its security role.
But Maj. Gen. Raymond Rees, vice chief of the National Guard Bureau, said the transportation agency needed an extension.
"The Transportation Security Administration is presently unable to assume the security duties being performed by the National Guard," Rees said in a memo.
Hawai'i Guard spokesman Maj. Chuck Anthony said the majority of Guard members posted at airports here volunteered to be placed on active duty.
President Bush called on the Guard shortly after Sept. 11. Governors stationed about 6,000 troops at more than 400 commercial airports. The number rose to about 9,000 during the busy Thanksgiving and Christmas travel holidays. The federal government has covered the operation's $270 million cost.
Approximately 460 Hawai'i Air Guard and 240 Army Guard troops have been activated for homeland defense or Operation Enduring Freedom.
Guard troops were rushed to Honolulu International Airport on Sept. 11 to provide bolstered security. Since Oct. 7, Guard members have been posted at airports in Lihu'e, Kaua'i; Kahului, Maui; Hilo and Kona on the Big Island; and on Lana'i and Moloka'i.
Kim Murakawa, a spokeswoman for Gov. Ben Cayetano, said yesterday that the governor supports the extended use of the Guard for airport security.
Anthony said a small percentage of Guard troops were activated for airport duty because of expertise in areas such as law enforcement and communications. But the majority volunteered for active duty, and the Guard received more applications than it had slots to fill.
Some may have been students who decided to take a semester off. Others had to notify employers they needed the time off. Anthony suspects some are workers displaced from hotel and tourism jobs that dried up after Sept. 11, "but we don't have any definitive figures," he said.
"Some people probably would be more than happy to stay on for a couple of extra months," Anthony said. "Others may have employers who would like them to return to their civilian jobs."
The extension, meanwhile, should not affect the 15 days of annual summer training and evaluations Army Guard troops typically go through as a unit, Anthony added.
"As long as it goes to approximately 31 May, I don't think it will have any impact at all on Army Guard operations," Anthony said.
With the rotation of troops, Guard members have been able to perform regular one-weekend-a-month drills, Anthony said.
The new Transportation Security Administration is hiring directors to run security at each airport and more than 30,000 federal employees to screen passengers and luggage.
The hiring of screeners has been delayed by efforts to create a standardized test, said Federal Aviation Administration Pacific representative Tweet Coleman.
"I talked to Washington (officials) two days ago, and they said it will be the last part of April or beginning of May before applications become available," she said.
Coleman said 800 people will be hired for federal airport security jobs. Slightly less than 600 people perform security screening jobs now.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
