http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/a/2002/05/10/state1607EDT0119.DTL
PAUL GLADER, Associated Press Writer Friday, May 10, 2002 )2002 Associated Press 13:07 PDT SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ... Friday marked the end of insomnia for Young, Brett Brendix and the rest of the Moon Dogs, a troop of reservists who worked from midnight to noon for the past six months. Gov. Gray Davis authorized posting 800 troops at 30 California airports to boost security following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "We're ready to go," said Brendix, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the 12 soldiers on the night shift at SFO. Brendix said he hasn't slept well during the day, and is looking forward to being closer to his family in Sacramento. "My wife told me she can't wait until I can be home to help with family responsibilities again," said Brendix, a father of two. "She's had to be both mom and dad, and it's been pretty tough on her." ... At Sacramento International Airport, 50 members of the National Guard who have been staffing security checkpoints since Oct. 12 were feted at a ceremony to thank them early Friday morning. "It was a successful mission and the soldiers and airmen were proud to serve," said National Guard spokeswoman Denise Varner. "But they are happy to go back to their lives." ... "The threat is still there," said National Guard Col. Terry Knight. "Has anyone done anything yet? No." Guardswoman Alexsandra Serda, 19, said travelers weren't always pleased with the presence of armed guards standing watch with guns. She said on her first day on the job at the San Francisco airport, an elderly woman shoved a soldier after airport staff took away her two butter knives. "A lot of the old ladies tend to get rowdy," she said. Guards said the job was sometimes boring as they stood watching and waiting with their M-16s in hand. Defusing tempers of frustrated passengers was the most common action they saw. But passengers said Friday they will miss the guards. "I hate to see them leave," said Hugh McCullough of Cincinnati, returning from a cruise with his wife, Donna. "I feel more comfortable with them than with the rent-a-cops they will be getting."
