North Dakota Guard aviators serving on Southwest border

BISMARCK, ND, UNITED STATES

10.16.2013

Courtesy Story

North Dakota National Guard Public Affairs

BISMARCK, N.D. - Three North Dakota Army National Guard aviators have begun a yearlong mission supporting U.S. Customs and Border Protection on the Southwest Border Mission. The soldiers left this month for Harlingen, Texas, where they were joined by a soldier from the Michigan Army National Guard for the counter-narcotic mission.

All four soldiers in the UH-72A Lakota helicopter crew serve in the 1st Battalion, 112th Aviation Regiment (Security and Support), which has detachments in both North Dakota and Michigan.

Members of the North Dakota Guard have been serving on regular rotations for the Southwest Border Mission since February 2012. North Dakota's support role began in Arizona, where Guardsmen served on one- to three-month rotations. In January 2013, they transitioned to Texas and continued the rotations. After a few-month break from the border, North Dakota Guardsmen have returned to Texas, this time ready to take on the mission for a year straight.

"Our aircrews have done a phenomenal job on the border in the past, confiscating large amounts of drugs and weapons," said Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk, North Dakota adjutant general. "This mission is just another way that our Guardsmen serve and protect our nation. I wish our Guardsmen well as they dedicate the next year of their lives to this important, valuable mission."

The Southwest Border Mission also supports the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as the National Guard contributes to the multi-layered effort to target illicit networks of trafficking in people, drugs, illegal weapons and money.

In the past year and a half, North Dakota Guardsmen have contributed to seizing tens of thousands of pounds of drugs and apprehending hundreds of people as well as conducting search and rescue missions, when needed.

In addition to this deployment to the Southwest Border, the North Dakota National Guard has about 200 soldiers deployed to Washington, D.C., to provide air defense support to the National Capital Region. About 20 other Guardsmen are serving overseas, nearly half of whom are expected home from Afghanistan in the next couple of weeks.

• Date Taken: 10.16.2013
• Date Posted: 10.16.2013 16:49
• Story ID: 115246
• Location: BISMARCK, ND, US