Iowa Guard troops to stay on duty for security of airports

Some Iowa National Guard troops who’d anticipated standing down from active duty on March 28 will remain past the end of the month. The guard’s Colonel Robert King says they were called up after the attacks of September eleventh, to add security at eight airports around Iowa.The president authorized keeping them till new federal officers are trained to go to work. The replacements will be federal workers, with the transportation safety administration. Colonel King says fifty-five soldiers have been on duty since October, and he’s hearing soldiers say they enjoy the duty, and also hearing comments from travelers glad to see them on duty. Now their orders are to remain on duty through the month of May.He says what they take back with them is a feeling of doing good, being hand-picked for the duty and being appreciated for what they did. King says the soldiers will go home knowing they helped secure Iowa’s airports and made the skies safer for the traveling public.