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Soldiers at airport might carry weapons The governor will decide whether Guard troops at Oregon airports, including Medford's, will be armed By MELISSA MARTIN Oregon National Guard members taking their military presence to the Medford airport this week could pack handguns after all, said the chief of the Oregon Military Department. Guard members will take a police weapons training course before they are sent to their assigned airports, said Maj. Gen. Alexander Burgin. "If the airport wants it and the governor approves it, they can strap on a weapon right away," Burgin said. Medford airport manager Bern Case said he plans to request armed guards. "We're definitely going to express our desire," Case said. "If everybody else in the country is carrying arms and our state isn't, it's like saying, 'Come and get us.' " Whether the troops carry weapons is up to Gov. John Kitzhaber, who serves as commander in chief of Oregon's 8,000 National Guard members and 2,000 Air Guard members. "Currently, the guard members are not armed, and the decision to do that was made last Friday," said Jon Coney, spokesman for the governor. "It's still an open question, and we'll wait and see what the governor decides." Kitzhaber authorized the National Guard last week to deploy 48 unarmed soldiers and airman to assist the Federal Aviation Administration in protecting Oregon airports. He is one of 17 governors who responded quickly to the federal mandate to use soldiers to keep airports secure. The governor and FAA officials met first with the state's largest airport authority, the Port of Portland, to discuss whether the airport needed or wanted its 21 assigned soldiers to carry weapons. "They didn't need additional personnel to carry firearms but to watch checkpoints to make sure no contraband is going through the system and to check people," Burgin said. By placing unarmed soldiers at the Portland airport, it sped up the process and allowed guard members to be on site quickly, he said. But now that National Guard officials have had more time to travel the state and ask managers at smaller airports what their needs are, Burgin decided to train the 28 remaining soldiers and airmen to carry and use a weapon in the same way a police officer would. The soldiers won't be toting M-16s, but will likely carry a 9mm handgun that fits in a hip holster. "If the (airport manager) requests the troops be armed to meet a specific need," Burgin said, "I can go to the governor, take him the recommendation and the (guard member) can carry the weapon without having to get additional law enforcement training." At the Eugene airport, managers were not asked whether they needed or wanted armed guards, said Diana Bell, airport office manager. She said they would monitor the situation and make recommendations later, if necessary. In Pendleton, armed guards wouldn't do any good unless the FAA allows soldiers to do the job that police officers are doing now, said airport manager Larry Dalrymple. "We're required to have law enforcement officers working with airport security during peak hours," Dalrymple said, noting that if business picks up, police protection could cost his small airport more money. Airports can't use the National Guard troops wherever they want or need to use them, he said. The soldiers' assignments include screening, conflict resolution, evaluating passengers and others at checkpoints and the safe handling of dangerous or deadly items. At Medford, the six Oregon National Guard members will likely be from local battalions. "We tried to assign Klamath Falls and Medford to people in that area so they could go home at night after working their shift," Burgin said. Medford, Eugene and Redmond will each get six soldiers while Klamath Falls, North Bend and Pendleton will get three. The FAA determined the numbers based on information about checkpoints at the nation's 420 airports. Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.