SPRINGFIELD - Twenty security guards at National Guard posts across Illinois are jobless today after being laid off in favor of a large security company.

Ed Svoboda of Mount Zion is among them. He worked for four years as a guard for the post at Decatur Airport and his last day of work was Wednesday.

The posts are now guarded by employees of Securitas, a company with roots in Sweden that offers security services across the U.S. and Europe.

A spokeswoman for the state Department of Military Affairs said the 20 guards laid off Wednesday were not trained to carry weapons and therefore didn't meet required standards.

But Svoboda argued that most of those laid off, including himself, are military veterans and could handle the job as well as Securitas personnel.

"They're performing the exact same function we've always performed," he said.

Military Affairs spokeswoman Alicia Tate-Nadeau said Securitas was hired earlier this year, long before the layoffs were announced in early October. She said the layoffs were necessary because of training issues and a drop off in federal funding of $1.1 million.

"This was not a decision that was taken lightly," Tate-Nadeau said. "These people are part of our family."

She said that the state was working to find jobs for those laid off.

Svoboda and others met with local elected officials to try to prevent losing their jobs. State Rep. Bill Mitchell, R-Forsyth, said he thinks the issue can be resolved. State Rep. Bob Flider, D-Mount Zion, said he didn't know why military veterans couldn't be trained to carry weapons.

"That should just boggle anyone's mind," Flider said.

Svoboda said he worried that security could suffer because he and his coworkers had more experience locally.

"We know the building inside and out," he said.