Port Angeles: Police stationed at airport instead of National Guard

Port Angeles police will replace National Guard troops today to monitor security at William R. Fairchild International Airport.

Beginning at 5 a.m., one police officer will be stationed in the airport’s secured holding area for all flight departures.

The switch from Guard troops to local police is part of a nationwide plan announced last month by the Transportation Security Administration to phase out the National Guard and eventually replace it with law enforcement officers.

The National Guard, which have been a fixture at Fairchild and other airports since shortly after Sept. 11, are expected to be out of all airports by the end of May.