by Sue Orsen
How many people in your neighborhood today are wearing authentic army fatigues and dog tags?
Since October 1^st, 2001, our military man in Victoria has been arriving at Victoria City Offices on Rose Street in his army duds.  Those duds, issued to him by the U.S. Army, consist of camouflage pants, camo shirt, beige t-shirt, black combat boots, and black socks.
His dog tags, those metal identification tags worn on a chain around his neck, bear his name, blood type, social security number, and religious preference.  In other words, Victoria's most visible military man belongs to the United States Army in ways both visible and invisible.

In the wake of September 11^th, Steve Sarvi, administrator of the City of Victoria, was called into active duty as a member of the United States National Guard.  His assignment is the Minneapolis and St. Paul International Airport.
"We are a security force augmenting the existing security," said Steve.  "Our job is to make sure they do their job."
He pulls six days on and two days off at the airport.  It's ongoing.  "Our orders are for six months," he said.  "I'm hoping it's a nice long boring six months.  I'm hoping it's for less.  The nice thing is, I'm here.  I'm not in Pakistan.  I do get back to my home every night, when my kids are home from school.  When I get a break at the airport, I call them.  I'm doing the best I can."
Steve and his wife Barb have three children - Daniel, 10, Mary Kate, 7, and Nathan, 3.  They live in Watertown where Steve is mayor as well as husband and father.  It's a 12 to 14-hour round trip between his home in Watertown and his military assignment at the airport.   It doesn't take a math wizard to determine there are not enough hours in a day for him to give full time dedication to anything except the U.S. Army.
He stops for a few hours at Victoria City Offices in his comings and goings to give direction to staff and confer with councilmembers.  He stops at his home long enough to greet his family and catch some sleep.
What does Steve tell his kids?  "They were really scared at first," he said.  "I was, too, when I got the call.  They were calling up units to go overseas ...
"I tell them my job is to help make it safe for people to fly.  I tell them I've got a weapon to protect myself and good people, and that bad people better stay away from us.  I told them they'd be able to see me almost every day."
The average person might recoil at the thought of carrying or using a weapon, even in a time of war, but a military man is braver.  Even so, a War on Terror is a new term and a new time.
Said Steve, "This is the first time in my National Guard position that I've been issued live ammunition in a civilian situation - in an airport full of thousands of people."
The army isn't foolish in this regard, however.  "We've trained relentlessly on when and how to use our weapons," he said, "but we haven't even gotten into a verbal confrontation with anyone.  People in general are being nice."
Might it be related to Minnesota Nice?  "People at the airport are from all over the nation and the world," he replied, "not just from Minnesota."
So people are still flying today?  "Yes, but the airport is no longer crowded," he said.  "There are fewer flyers today.  Northwest Airlines is still shocked ...
"But lines can be long, depending on the day.  My advice would be to leave as early as possible for your flight.  If you are carrying a laptop computer, for example, you've got to get it out, open it up, and turn it on.  It's time consuming.  Later flights are generally better, after four o'clock.  Fridays are bad."
So airport procedures have changed?  "They're changing all the time," said the military man.  "We are learning from other airports.  We are always learning and upgrading.  Before September 11^th, box cutters and knives were legal.  Corkscrews are a big thing now.  You can't have them.  People are still forgetful of what they have in their suitcases.  They can't carry pocketknives anymore."
Steve said that, like in government, the lowest bidder gets the contract for airport security.  "You don't have highly paid people working in airport security," he said.  "Now they're starting to pay people better."
Who is in charge of hiring security people at the airports?  "Northwest Airlines contracts for security at the International Airport," said Steve.  "At the Hubert H. Humphrey terminal, it's Sun Country's contract and it's with a different company."
Security has become important from the lowest to the highest levels in our nation today.  The creation of a new Department for Homeland Security at the national level attests to this.  Steve sees his position at the airport becoming federalized, as a long term solution.
"I understand they're working on that very hard in Washington," he said.  "They're working on federalizing security employees."
Does Steve agree with such a move to give government an even greater role in people's lives?  "Yes, I do in this instance," he replied.  "Security is so specialized.  It's one thing to check people who might be bringing beer into a concert illegally.  It's another thing to check people for guns or bombs coming onto an airplane.  Weapons can be split up into many different components and configurations.  People can get devious.  The government could pay for this specialized security through a surcharge on the airline tickets."

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