Troopers begin patrolling Logan with machine guns BOSTON (AP) =97 An elite state police unit armed with submachine guns began= =20 patrolling Logan International Airport at full strength for the first time= =20 on Thursday in a move airport officials said would bring peace of mind to=20 the traveling public. Officials said the special Anti-Terrorism unit is the= =20 first permanent security force stationed at a U.S. airport to be armed with= =20 submachine guns. "It's a deterrent and I think it's a comfort for the=20 travelers," said Phil Orlandella, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Port=20 Authority, which operates Logan. National Guard soldiers deployed=20 temporarily at Logan after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks toted the=20 weapons. The two planes that destroyed the World Trade Center took off from= =20 Logan. The guns are MP-5's with 30-round clips and a two-round burst=20 capacity, meaning two shots are fired automatically with one push of the=20 trigger. The guns, designed for accuracy indoors, have noise suppressor=20 units to minimize alarm among travelers if they're used. Members of the state police troop stationed at Logan received intensive=20 training to become certified on the use of the MP-5's, including live-fire= =20 drills, night firing and special tactics. The unit will conduct security=20 sweeps, roadblocks, intelligence gathering and passenger behavior pattern=20 recognition, a procedure developed by Israeli airport security forces to=20 identify potentially dangerous passengers. It will also act as a rapid=20 response team to terrorist incidents and other high-risk situations. Since= =20 the Sept. 11 attacks, Logan has aggressively pursued security improvements,= =20 becoming the first in country to have an in-line baggage screen plan=20 approved by the Transportation Security Administration and to use several=20 forms of high-tech security technology. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Mas Site: www.tntisland.com/tntrecords/mas2003/ Site of the Week: http://www.carib-link.net/naparima/naps.html TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************