As a Grand Central or Penn Station commuter you are obviously no stranger to the militia presence complete with automatic weapons and highly trained German Shepards keeping an eye on things.

When this first started happening after 9/11 it was more an unwelcome constant reminder of the new world we were suddenly forced to live in.

However, as time goes on the presence of added security around the city - well, to me at least - is rather comforting. These guys are not Soviet-era KGB walking around checking peoples papers and kicking dissidents - these guys are here to keep an eye on things, and they do a good job of staying out of the way and not making a fuss.

However, when Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly announced that new patrols of Hercules units - shirtless demigods wielding golden shields and hammers black-uniformed patrols which have monitored the city from above ground for years - would now also be making their rounds beneath the city on subway lines as well, mostly those lines beneath terminals such as Grand Central and Penn Station.

Now, you’re probably asking the same questions I’m asking - how come these guys haven’t been patrolling the subways since 9/11 already, and why are they starting to do so now?

Well, it appears that there just wasnt enough funding to patrol the subways after 9/11, so that task just barely missed off the list of post 9/11 due diligence - however, for some reason Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced an additional $50M in federal funding would be made available for New York City this year, so more security we shall get.