DENVER -- New federal plans announced on Thursday to step up security at airports is translating into a long wait during the passenger screening process and increased national guard involvement in the state's airports.

Gov. Bill Owens called up as many as 200 National Guard troops to protect 17 Colorado airports, including Denver International Airport. The soldiers moved to positions at DIA early Friday.

"These are fully armed combat soldiers. This is really one case where the United States is catching up to the rest of the world," Owens said.

"We're going to use National Guard troops. It may take a day or two, but the governor fully supports President Bush," the governor's spokesman, Dick Wadhams, said Thursday.

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Owens said the soldiers would be in place at DIA and the Colorado Springs Airport immediately but other Colorado airports would receive troops next week.

The other airports that handle commercial flights include Fort Collins-Loveland, Pueblo, Grand Junction, Durango, Cortez, Steamboat Springs, Gunnison, Montrose, Telluride, Eagle County, Aspen and Alamosa.

The cost of using the Colorado National Guard for four to six months, or however long it will take for the federal government to train airport security guards, will be picked up by the Department of Transportation, according to National Guard officials.

Troops will be stationed at security checkpoints in airports around the state, armed with M-16 rifles and 9mm pistols, and will have the authority to detain passengers and shoot if necessary.

Maj. Gen. Mason Whitney, head of the Colorado National Guard, said that the soldiers would not go through luggage. He said the soldiers will be there to respond to any trouble.

The soldiers will report to law enforcement and airport security, and will be under state control. Other guard units in Colorado have been called up as part of a federal call-up.

Units called included the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 169th Field Artillery along the Front Range.

Bush called on governors Thursday to use the troops, and said that the nation needs confidence-boosting measures to convince the American public it is safe to fly.

Bush made that announcement in front of thousands of airline workers at Chicago's O'Hare International airport.

Bush's long-term plan would put the federal government in charge of airport security, though checkpoints would still be manned by private guards.

He also wants to dramatically increase the number of armed marshals in the sky, and spend $500 million strengthening cockpit doors and putting surveillance devices in the passenger cabin.

But since it could take months to implement the new security measure, Bush asked the nation's governors to help with securing their state's airports.

Terrorists hijacked four airplanes Sept. 11, crashing two into the World Trade Center in New York and one into the Pentagon outside Washington. A fourth crashed in Pennsylvania, apparently after passengers struggled with the hijackers. U.S. air travel has dropped sharply since the attacks.

New Regulations For Security Screening

On Thursday morning, the FAA implemented new regulations on passenger screening operations at airports across the country. Those new requirements have caused long lines and waits of two hours at security checkpoints at DIA, 7NEWS reported.

The new procedures include:

• Anyone who sets off the magnetometer must be both hand-wanded and patted down.
• All laptop computers must be removed from cases and x-rayed.
• All carry-on bags must be individually x-rayed and cleared.

If you plan on traveling, DIA strongly encourages you to:

• Arrive at DIA no later than four hours before your flight is scheduled to depart.
• Be prepared for a two-hour minimum wait for passenger security screening.
• Eliminate carry-on baggage (check all your bags).
• Remove from your person all metal (jewelry, watches, belts, coins, pens, etc.) and electronic devices (cell phones, pagers and PDAs) prior to walking through the magnetometers.
• Remove laptop computer from case prior to reaching screening point.

As an incentive, an express lane will be added to each security screening point beginning on Friday for passengers with no carry-on baggage. A purse or briefcase will be permitted, but no laptops, DIA officials said.

"We have enjoyed the public's cooperation and patience throughout this national ordeal and continue to ask for the understanding of travelers," Denver Mayor Wellington Webb said. "These security measures are necessary in order to ensure the safety of the nation's air transportation system and to rebuild the confidence of the travelling public."