National Guard will start leaving border next month
BY JAMES GILBERT, SUN STAFF WRITER
The National Guard will be ending its two-year mission to secure the U.S.-Mexico border sometime next month, according to Yuma sector Border Patrol officials.
"They were only slated for a two-year commitment and they have fulfilled that commitment," said Yuma sector Border Patrol spokesman Eric Anderson. "Through those two years we have gained the manpower and we have gained everything else we needed to get control of our border."
He added that, "we don't call (the border) managed yet, but we do feel we have control. And that we are getting a very tight grip on this area."
The mission, Operation Jump Start, which began in June 2006 was designed to give the Border Patrol time to hire thousands of additional agents and build hundreds of miles of border fence. Anderson said in 2005, the year before Operation Jump Start began, the Yuma sector only had about 570 agents. Now, he said, they have well over 800 agents.
"We don't have an official date yet, but it will be sometime next month," Anderson said. "They won't pack up everything and leave one day. It will be a slow withdraw."
While Anderson did not know how many National Guard soldiers were still assigned to the Yuma sector, he said those who are still here are primarily operating what are called Entry Identification Team Sites.
"What they are doing is watching the border for us in places where we can still use their presence as a deterrent," Anderson said. "Here in Yuma they worked very well with us as a team."
Anderson credits the National Guard in helping to deter and detect illegal crossings along the Yuma-Mexico border, saying apprehensions have dropped nearly 80 percent the past two years.
"We are catching about 10 people a day now compared to up to 800 a day prior to the National Guard's arrival," Anderson said. "That is an amazing number and it has come from them being here and all their help."
While their border-mission is yet to end, Anderson said the National Guard will be leaving behind a legacy in Yuma. And that legacy, he said, is the more than 40 miles of fencing that Guard soldiers designed and built.
"The guard is leaving, but the fence isn't," Anderson said. "Before they got here we only had about eight miles of fence in the Yuma sector. Now we have over 53 miles."
Fencing in the Yuma sector begins at the U.S. Port of Entry at Andrade, about a mile on each side. It starts again at County 21-1/2 Street and goes south along the river to the International Boundary.
It picks up again at the International Boundary and extends about 48 miles east.
Anderson added that it will be business as usual for the agency once the Guard's mission finally does come to an end.
"We are going to be doing the same job we have always done," Anderson said. "We are going to go out there and patrol the border just like we always have."
During their mission, National Guard troops watched the border from observation posts, flew aircraft and built roads, fences and vehicle barriers. They also helped with paperwork to free up more agents for field duty.
Phased down from a peak of more than 6,000 Guard members last year there are only about 2,600 soldiers remaining along the borders in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas.
But the Guard's effectiveness may also mean there is a chance their mission could continue. According to an article that appeared in Thursday's edition of The Arizona Republic, there is an effort brewing by the governors of the four border states to keep the Guard in place.
That same article reported the Guard's mission will end on July 15.
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James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.
http://www.yumasun.com/news/border_42285___article.html/month_national.html
BY JAMES GILBERT, SUN STAFF WRITER
The National Guard will be ending its two-year mission to secure the U.S.-Mexico border sometime next month, according to Yuma sector Border Patrol officials.
"They were only slated for a two-year commitment and they have fulfilled that commitment," said Yuma sector Border Patrol spokesman Eric Anderson. "Through those two years we have gained the manpower and we have gained everything else we needed to get control of our border."
He added that, "we don't call (the border) managed yet, but we do feel we have control. And that we are getting a very tight grip on this area."
The mission, Operation Jump Start, which began in June 2006 was designed to give the Border Patrol time to hire thousands of additional agents and build hundreds of miles of border fence. Anderson said in 2005, the year before Operation Jump Start began, the Yuma sector only had about 570 agents. Now, he said, they have well over 800 agents.
"We don't have an official date yet, but it will be sometime next month," Anderson said. "They won't pack up everything and leave one day. It will be a slow withdraw."
While Anderson did not know how many National Guard soldiers were still assigned to the Yuma sector, he said those who are still here are primarily operating what are called Entry Identification Team Sites.
"What they are doing is watching the border for us in places where we can still use their presence as a deterrent," Anderson said. "Here in Yuma they worked very well with us as a team."
Anderson credits the National Guard in helping to deter and detect illegal crossings along the Yuma-Mexico border, saying apprehensions have dropped nearly 80 percent the past two years.
"We are catching about 10 people a day now compared to up to 800 a day prior to the National Guard's arrival," Anderson said. "That is an amazing number and it has come from them being here and all their help."
While their border-mission is yet to end, Anderson said the National Guard will be leaving behind a legacy in Yuma. And that legacy, he said, is the more than 40 miles of fencing that Guard soldiers designed and built.
"The guard is leaving, but the fence isn't," Anderson said. "Before they got here we only had about eight miles of fence in the Yuma sector. Now we have over 53 miles."
Fencing in the Yuma sector begins at the U.S. Port of Entry at Andrade, about a mile on each side. It starts again at County 21-1/2 Street and goes south along the river to the International Boundary.
It picks up again at the International Boundary and extends about 48 miles east.
Anderson added that it will be business as usual for the agency once the Guard's mission finally does come to an end.
"We are going to be doing the same job we have always done," Anderson said. "We are going to go out there and patrol the border just like we always have."
During their mission, National Guard troops watched the border from observation posts, flew aircraft and built roads, fences and vehicle barriers. They also helped with paperwork to free up more agents for field duty.
Phased down from a peak of more than 6,000 Guard members last year there are only about 2,600 soldiers remaining along the borders in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas.
But the Guard's effectiveness may also mean there is a chance their mission could continue. According to an article that appeared in Thursday's edition of The Arizona Republic, there is an effort brewing by the governors of the four border states to keep the Guard in place.
That same article reported the Guard's mission will end on July 15.
---
James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.
http://www.yumasun.com/news/border_42285___article.html/month_national.html