California Deploys Guard to Protect Airports

For the first time in four years, California National Guard troops were to be deployed to airports throughout the state -- including San Francisco International possibly Oakland International -- as officials remain on heightened alert following a foiled terror plot involving U.S.-bound airplanes from Britain.

The list of airports to receive troops kept growing Thursday, and National Guard spokesman Maj. Jon Siepmann said he expects it to expand in days to come.

The original plan called for about 300 troops to be deployed to the Oakland, San Francisco and Los Angeles airports, which were selected for their high volume of international flights.

Officials had added San Diego International Airport to the list by Thursday afternoon and had boosted the number of troops to 500, Siepmann said.

He said he expects the number to grow as airportscontinue to request additional security.

But Fred Lau, federal security director at Oakland International Airport, said Thursday that he was not sure Oakland needed Guard troops.

"I certainly appreciate the offer, but I have too much respect for the National Guard to just bring them here without a very specific purpose or mission," Lau said.

Lau said he wanted more input from local law enforcement officials before deciding if Guard troops would be needed. Late Thursday, airport spokeswoman Rosemary Barnes said she was not sure if troops would arrive later that night, although she said they could arrive today.

The Oakland airport does not receive direct international flights from Europe but does receive flights from Canada and Mexico. Officials said Oakland was among the first selected for troops because it qualifies as a "category 1" airport based on its volume of international traffic. The Los Angeles and San Francisco airports are higher-traffic, "category X" airports.

San Francisco Airport duty manager Dennis Neves said about 100 National Guard troops were expected to arrive about 10 p.m. Thursday and would help control access to the airport at entry points such as rental car parking lots and the Air Train center.

He said after Homeland Security declared an orange alert, the airport brought in additional police to man security checkpoints and to conduct canine patrols. It also will set up random checks on the roads leading to the airport.

Siepmann said the Guard was receiving additional queries about deploying to airports throughout the state, including those in San Jose, Sacramento, Ontario and Burbank.

"We are definitely exploring that option," said San Jose spokeswoman Joanne Sanfilippo. "We really don't have enough (security) staff at this point to really enforce all the mandates that have come down with the orange alert."

Siepmann surmised that much of the Guard's duties would revolve around secondary gate screening.

Staff writer Todd R. Brown and wire services contributed to this report. Contact Michelle Maitre at.

Siepmann said the deployment would not harm the Guard's ability to respond to natural disasters or man the Mexican border as part of the state's effort to stem illegal immigration.

"I wouldn't refer to this as routine in any respect," Siepmann said, "but in terms of our ability to respond, we've really done fairly well."

Siepmann said about 16,000 members of the Guard are available for emergency response throughout the state and part-time members are being called up to handle the demand from airports.

This is the first deployment of Guard troops to airports since the days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Then, troops pulled out of California airports in May 2002, Siepmann said.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered the deployment as a range of additional security measures that also included bomb-sniffing dogs. The California Highway Patrol was also in a heightened state of alert.

The governor said the National Guard troops would remain at California airports until the threat level returns to yellow.

"I can assure the people of California that we are doing everything to keep the people safe and return our airports to normal operations as quickly as possible," he said.

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