Does anyone else works at an airport? I was back at work today to handling the departing flights that was stuck here since Tuesday. There are no schedule arrivials due until tomorrow, so I decided to check out the main terminal and saw Army National Guards patroling the area with M-16s or M-16 with the M-203 attachment.  I do not know how everyone feels about it.  But down right in my guts, it was f#$king creapy.  It felt like the place was under marital law.

Sounds like to me almost every airport I have ever been to outside the US. Welcome to the real world I guess...

Aviator  [img]www.dredgeearthfirst.com/aviator.gif[/img]

Unless, they constantly ask for your id and sweep you with a metal detector.  This is the real scary world.

Flew out of Rome 3 weeks ago...a dozen seriously equipped SWAT-looking types walking around our end of the terminal. Happened to look up above the check-in counter and ... get this ...
Royal Saudi AND El Al offices are right above us on the 2nd floor.  Aviator, you are spot on, in my experience, for the last 20 years.

Compared to Frankfurt, Heathrow, Madrid, an assault rifle or subgun isn't out of place at all.  Its suprising at first, but it sure seems like a solid show of security presence.

Most airports I have been to in Europe have continuous armed patrols in the terminals.  I am not sure if they are police, military or simply security.  They usually dress para-military (combat boots, BDUs, berets), carry MP5s and are often quite young (20-25).  Many are women, and many I saw were actually quite pretty.

I had no problem with them and apparently most other people there don't either.  

PS speaking of Rome, one thing that did make me wonder a bit was the machine-gun position that the Italians had put in (and manned) near the Turkish embassy.  This was two years ago and everywhere I went Turkish embassies had lots of trouble.