Florida National Guard Troops May Patrol Airports Again

    Oct. 15, 2004
    "A couple of hundred" troops being considered to be sent to state's airports

    Source Associated Press

    ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Florida National Guard troops who patrolled airports after the 2001 terrorist attacks may return to the terminals soon amid concerns that terrorists might try to disrupt the Nov. 2 election.

    Florida Guard officials are drafting plans to dispatch ``at least a couple of hundred'' troops to airports across the state, spokesman Lt. Col. Ron Tittle said Thursday. Officials said there was no specific threat to Florida.

    It was unknown whether other states also were planning to activate Guard troops for airport details. A Pentagon spokesman said he was unfamiliar with the plan.

    Tittle said the planning was prompted by a ``warning order'' received earlier this week from U.S. Northern Command in Colorado, which is responsible for the military's homeland-defense operations.

    It was unclear when, or even whether, the troops would be ordered to the airports.

    Thousands of armed troops who patrolled airports after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks left in May 2002 as increased security from the Transportation Security Administration took over.