Guardsmen to Be Posted at All Airports by Oct. 19

California National Guard troops armed with M-16 assault rifles will be stationed at Los Angeles and San Francisco international airports by Friday, and as many as 1,000 state troops will be at all of the state’s 31 commercial airports by mid-October, Gov. Gray Davis said Tuesday.

Davis, traveling by commercial airliner for the fifth time since Thursday, announced the steps after stepping off a Southwest Airlines flight at Sacramento International Airport. The governor said he has scrapped plans by his security detail to lease a private jet to fly him across the state.

“Flying has never been safer since Sept. 11,” Davis said. “We’ve taken every precaution we can to assure the traveling public they are as safe as they’ve ever been.”

Standing in front of 16 National Guard troops, the governor urged Californians, “Take a trip. Spend some money. Enjoy yourself.”

Davis called out the National Guard in response to a request from President Bush to all governors. Davis estimates that 600 to 1,000 troops will be called on to work at California’s airports, with roughly 100 at LAX and 75 to 80 at San Francisco. The governor said the citizen soldiers will be at Sacramento and Oakland international airports by Oct. 12 and at all airports by Oct. 19, after they have undergone 16 hours of special training.

Jerry Snyder, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration in Los Angeles, said the training will be mostly classroom work. Once in place, the guardsmen will get an additional 40 hours of on-the-job training, he said.

The guardsmen will remain on duty for four to six months, giving the federal government time to bolster regular airport security. Although the guardsmen will have the power to detain and arrest people, their primary duty is to serve as backups to private airport security guards and police officers. Davis said he believes the presence of soldiers in fatigues and carrying weapons will give passengers a heightened sense of security.

“The Guard is not only an additional security presence,” Davis said. “It is also a symbol of the changes that have occurred at airports to enhance passenger safety.”

Times staff writers Eric Malnic and Peter Y. Hong contributed to this report.