MISSILES ARE BEING SHIPPED THROUGH AREA

Cape Girardeau has become a way station for National Guard troops moving missiles from a Rock Island, Ill., military depot to a base near Texarkana, Texas.

About 570 National Guard troops are involved, with each group of soldiers serving two weeks.

The operation is expected to last four weeks. It began around May 15 and should end by June 11, said Capt. Curt Chronister of Columbus, Ga., a member of the Georgia National Guard.

The operation is being conducted by units of the Georgia National Guard with the assistance of Guard troops from Wisconsin and Missouri.

The majority of the military vehicles involved in the moving operation are from Georgia, Chronister said.

For security reasons, he wouldn't disclose how many missiles for multilaunch rocket systems are being transported through Southeast Missouri nor the names of the military bases involved.

But he said each truck carries eight missiles. Each missile weighs 4,500 pounds, which includes the packaging around it.

The operation counts as a training exercise for National Guard troops. It is part of Golden Cargo, the nation's 10-year-old program for moving munitions and other military equipment as a result of base closings.

As part of this mission, a command office has been set up at the Holiday Inn.

Trucks carrying the rockets travel during the day. They stop for the night at Cape Girardeau, the halfway point on the journey. The trucks are parked for the night at a quarry near Neelys Landing.

Chronister said the site is heavily guarded.

No missiles will be moved through the region this weekend.

"We are not hauling over the Memorial Weekend," he said. He said it is a safety precaution designed to avoid any accidents over the holiday weekend when the highways are heavily traveled.

Chronister said each missile carries an explosive charge, but there is little danger to the public.

"You can't shoot it with a normal rifle and make it go off," he said. "These missiles are not going to hurt anybody."