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--> --> Oregon mobilizes military as U.S. begins bombing PORTLAND (AP) - Residents shouldn't be surprised to see a buildup of military troops protecting the state, officials say. This fall has seen the greatest mobilization of military troops to protect Oregon since World War II. U.S. Army soldiers guard bunkers of nerve gas near Umatilla. Radar operators south of Astoria sweep the sky for suspicious aircraft. Coast Guard reservists have abandoned some search and rescue posts to monitor ports for signs of terrorists. And pilots occasionally patrol overhead in F-15 fighter jets, capable of blasting from the sky just about any airplane that flies. This is the way things stand in Oregon one month after terrorists crashed airliners into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. "In 32 years with the Guard, I don't recall anything like this," said Col. Mike Caldwell, deputy director of state affairs for the Oregon National Guard. The last comparable deployment occurred after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, said Dick Matthews of the Oregon Historical Society. With all Oregon National Guard units already deployed overseas in that conflict, residents were organized into a "state guard" to stand sentry against an invasion. "It was composed of men too old to serve in the active armed services, mostly World War I vets," Matthews said. "They did things like guard bridges, docks and other strategic points." Others scanned the skies, looking for enemy aircraft, and enforced blackouts. The recent mobilizations are different, said Maj. Gen. Alexander Burgin, commander of the Oregon National Guard. This time the enemy are unknown terrorists, and the threat could come from anywhere. "We've never seen anything along the lines of `homeland security'" -- the name given the new, coordinated effort to thwart terrorism before it happens, Burgin said. "We've never thought along the lines we're thinking now." Until now, Americans felt secure inside the nation's borders. "Now the threat is obvious because we've been attacked in our homeland," said retired Gen. Merrill McPeak, former U.S. Air Force chief of staff, who lives in Lake Oswego. Oregon, along with the rest of the country, should get used to a new level of security, much of it handled by the military, Burgin said. "Homeland defense will take on a life of its own," he predicted. McPeak had a similar assessment. "We can't just respond for one day or this week or this month," he said. "This is going to be something that will likely involve generations of Oregonians." Although Oregon Guard units have done frequent duty in dangerous places such as Bosnia and Kuwait, they're better known around the state for pitching in when forest fires or floods get too big for regular crews to handle. The military's low profile in Oregon changed quickly as the focus shifted from civil assistance to armed protection. The change is most visible at airports, where soldiers dressed in camouflage fatigues keep an eye on travelers as they pass through security gates. In Oregon, their weapons are limited to 9 mm pistols. Elsewhere in the country, the troops carry M-16 rifles. Pilots with the 142nd Fighter Wing of the Oregon Air National Guard have flown missions over Northern Turkey and Iraq. But they're no less serious about their missions over Oregon, said Col. Garry Dean, who commands the Portland-based unit. "It's a different kind of pride, a different kind of feeling," Dean said. "My pilots are saying, `No, you're not going to come and attack this area. If you do, we're ready to do our job.'" Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing