North Olympic Peninsula law-enforcement units and the Coast Guard remained on alert Sunday as the U.S. and Britain began military strikes on
Sunday said they had not increased measures already in place since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
Coast Guard units in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound areas have been on alert since Sept. 11.
I strongly support President Bush’s decision to strike terrorist bases and military facilities in Afghanistan,” Gov. Gary Locke said in a statement. “Washington state stands ready to support the President and the nation in every way possible.”
Locke has already obeyed a presidential directive to stage National Guard troops at airports — including Fairchild International Airport in Port Angeles — to augment security personnel.
Guardsmen took posts at Fairchild on Saturday.
“Our emergency management folks are already in a heightened state of alert and have been since the 11th of September,” said Locke spokeswoman Dana Middleton.
Several ships based in Washington state had been deployed in support of military action in the Middle East, including the carrier USS Carl Vinson and cruiser USS Sacramento, both based at Bremerton, and the Everett-based USS Ingraham, KOMO-TV reported.
This full report appears in today’s Peninsula Daily News, on sale in Clallam and Jefferson counties. Click onto “Subscribe” to order the PDN delivered to your home or office.
