Nat'l Guard: No Gun, Will Travel

Josey1

Nat'l Guard: No Gun, Will Travel N.Y.ers like the security, but questionweaponless troops By JENNIFER WEIL and EMILY GESTDaily News Writersundreds of National Guard troops deployed at bridges, tunnels and train stations throughout the city yesterday were unarmed, causing some concern within their ranks and among commuters. National Guard troops have taken on a high-profile - if unarmed - presence in city, including at Penn Station "God forbid anything happens - how are we going to cover our backs?" asked Sgt. Digno DeJesus, 44, a Persian Gulf War veteran and one of two dozen Army National Guard troops on duty at Penn Station yesterday."I don't want to sit around doing nothing without any weapons," added 35-year-old Spec. Anibal Colon.The unarmed soldiers were deployed at the request of the city's Office of Emergency Management, said Maj. Richard Goldenberg, a New York National Guard spokesman."They asked us to help out with a little manpower," Goldenberg said, adding that the Guard is taking direction from the NYPD."We're there to provide more early warning. They asked us to help out with a little manpower. They can't be everywhere at once," Goldenberg said."These are not police officers, these are soldiers who are just to provide extra eyes and ears," added Scott Sandman, a spokesman for the state Division of Military and Naval Affairs.A Shortage of CopsThe only armed National Guard troops have been stationed at the region's airports since Friday.Deputy Mayor Joe Lhota said Guard troops were sent to Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal; the Manhattan, Queensboro and Triborough bridges, and the Midtown and Lincoln tunnels. Until yesterday, Guard soldiers had been deployed mainly at Ground Zero.The soldiers were supposed to be paired with armed police officers, but at some locations yesterday they stood watch alone."There are not enough cops to go around," said Budhram Singh, an Army Guardsman at Penn Station. "If we see anything, we contact the MTA police."Commuters had mixed reactions to the Guard's presence throughout the city."I can't figure out why they're not carrying weapons," said Ronald Green, 40, a construction worker from the Bronx who was waiting for a Penn Station train to a Long Island construction job. "The police officers are carrying weapons. Even if [the troops] know karate, what are they going to do to a guy with a submachine gun?"Training Is QuestionedSome travelers wondered if the soldiers, most of whom have other full-time jobs and train just 38 days a year, were prepared to protect the public."It's a starting point, but I don't know if we're ready," said Victoria Swenson, 56, a real estate broker from East Moriches, L.I. "There needs to be more training than there is," she said.But at Grand Central, where some 25 Guard troops stood watch, 33-year-old Michael Saunders of the Bronx said he felt safer."Just to know that someone could help, it just makes me feel a little more comfortable, even though right now we are at war," Saunders said http://www.nydailynews.com/2001-10-10/News_and_Views/City_Beat/a-127982.asp

Iconoclast

Really, what will it take for these liberal idiots (sorry for the redundancy) in NYC to realize that they are at war with an enemy who does not share their aversion to violence? Of all the things I've heard / read in the last month, this is the most disheartening & stupid. Why don't they paint targets on these Guardsmen while they are at it? DUMB DUMB DUMB B*** S*** x10 to the tenth.

boots62

Arm the Guard, and arm The People!

Andrew Adams

Wait a minute:If they were armed wouldn't some of us claim that they were really to heard us off to the FEMA death camp?

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When you want to dial long distance...AT&T, .223, or Jeremiah 33.3?

v35

Do those National Guardsmen with weapons have them loaded and chambered or are they just signifying?

Free N TX

I am begining to wonder if there are enough weapons to go around. After all the Klintons did to disarm America, did they also ship most of our military rifles off to the U.N. troops abroad, so now we don't have enough to arm our troops at home? Could it be possible that Hillary had a hand in making sure that they would be unarmed, so that if anything happens while they are deployed that she can claim the military is unable to protect America. Then she can call on her buddies at the U. N. to protect us, thereby claiming Pres. Bush is not capable of handleing the situation. (This would be an ace in the hole so to speak, for the next election so she could become Queen. oops, I mean the first female president.) I know that may sound a bit far fetched, but I do not trust that B***H. She is about as under handed and traitorous as a person can get. In the past, she has displayed a total contempt for our military forces. Remember when the Klintons infested the White House, she was the one that did not want the military guards to wear their uniforms while in the White House or around them.