Deployment of National Guard at RDU Delayed

Guard duty is expected to begin on Saturday. However, details are still being worked out at

RDU International

.

Officials there say that it could be next week before Guard members begin patrolling the airport.

Guard members will have to go through RDU security training and orientation before taking up their duties.

Meanwhile, more than 100 members of the North Carolina National Guard are taking part in the

FAA's

two-day training seminar on airport security at Fort Bragg. Their mission is being called Operation Noble Hawk.

During their training, soldiers are being briefed on how to screen passengers and their baggage at the check-in counter and other areas of the airport.

Soldiers and airmen stationed in the airports will be armed with 9mm pistols and M-16 rifles in an effort to make passengers feel safer the next time they board a plane.

The National Guard will be patrolling airports for at least six months or until federal security measures are put in place.

Gov. Mike Easley ordered the troops into duty after the federal government asked states to help tighten airport security. The change came after last month's terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

Troops will be stationed at airports in Charlotte,Raleigh-Durham, Greensboro-Winston-Salem, Asheville, Fayetteville,Hickory, Kinston, Greenville, Wilmington, Jacksonville, New Bernand Moore County.