Photo By Master Sgt. Jim Greenhill | Border Patrol agents observe Arizona National Guard soldiers training for Operation...... read more read more
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NOGALES, Ariz. -- National Guard troops are training this week to take up positions along the U.S. border with Mexico here and elsewhere in the four Southwest border states.
A year-long federal mission calls for up to 1,200 National Guard citizen-soldiers and –Airmen to support Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement here and in California, New Mexico and Texas.
The majority of the guard members will support the Border Patrol with entry identification teams and support ICE with criminal investigative analysts for one year.
Arizona’s contribution to the federal mission is Operation Copper Cactus.
“Arizona is uniquely situated as a border state to support CBP directly,” said Army 1st Lt. Valentine Castillo, Arizona National Guard public affairs officer. “The soldiers are accustomed to living here, especially in the summer months.”
This week’s training for the entry identification teams includes how to handle encounters with anyone, who approaches their observation posts.
EITs monitor the border from strategic observation points with state-of-the-art surveillance and detection tactics and technology in support of local law enforcement.
“They act as extra eyes and ears for the Border Patrol,” Castillo said.
EIT sites here in Nogales are on high ground from which soldiers can monitor miles of border with surveillance equipment, sending observations to the Border Patrol and freeing up agents for other duties.
The criminal investigative analysts will assist ICE agents in reducing the flow of illegal bulk currency and weapons from the United States to Mexico.
Because of the severe climate on the border, where temperatures frequently exceed 100 degrees, the Arizona soldiers are also receiving combat lifesaver training.
Phoenix, about 180 miles north of here, has more days above 100 degrees than any other metropolitan area in the continental United States. “We’re going through combat lifesaver training to be prepared for heat-related injuries,” Castillo said.
For many of the soldiers, the course is a refresher of training they have already received. Many of them have deployed for previous domestic missions and also wear a patch on their right arm, symbolizing experience in a combat environment.
“They are all volunteers,” Castillo said. “Morale is high. They’re ready to finish [the training] and support Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.”
At various undisclosed locations around the state, soldiers are also training in radio operations, environmental awareness, the use of specialized surveillance equipment and qualifying on their weapons, which like physical fitness tests, is an annual requirement for all Army troops.
“The National Guard has been providing Southwest border support for a number of years through our counterdrug … program,” said Army Maj. Gen. Peter Aylward, who is coordinating the four-state operation at the National Guard Bureau. “Today we have more than 360 folks providing that kind of support. For this new mission … we’ll ramp up as part of a phased, deliberate operation to as many as 1,200.”
The National Guard successfully supported the border security mission during Operation Jump Start from 2006 to 2008.
“The National Guard historically has always performed well,” Aylward said. “This is a very important mission for this nation that’s an intensification of earlier efforts that began in 1993. This is just another chapter of a great initiative.”
With nearly 470,000 guard members in the 54 states and territories and the District of Columbia, the National Guard is uniquely suited to support homeland defense operations, to include border security missions.
| Date Taken: | 08.27.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 08.27.2010 06:44 |
| Story ID: | 55244 |
| Location: | NOGALES, AZ, US |
| Web Views: | 452 |
| Downloads: | 5 |
This work, Operation Copper Cactus: Arizona Guard prepares for border mission, by MSG Jim Greenhill, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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