Courtesy Photo | Students from the Executive Leadership Development Program (ELDP) stop along the U.S....... read more read more
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Guardsmen welcomed the Executive Leadership Development Program for a day of training along the border here April 12.
In cooperation with Customs and Border Protection, Arizona Guardsmen provided training to the group at entry identification team sites, explaining day-to-day operations and joint efforts in securing the border.
“We have seen a lot of distinguished visitors come out to the EIT sites. Some in this group may be future leaders affecting policy. Hopefully today’s training will give them a better view of these types of operations to help them make good decisions in the future,” said Airman First Class Pina. First names of all service members quoted in this story are excluded for operational security.
Customs and Border Protection hosted the day of training for the 53 students participating in the program. The students saw first-hand how Border Patrol and the Arizona National Guard work together to secure the border. The day of training consisted of visiting the Customs and Border Protection Nogales Station, a border tour and immersion training at multiple EIT sites.
Staff Sgt. HadjiBabai met and welcomed the group to his EIT site. He proudly pointed out to the students that he was part of a unique group of Guardsmen organic to Arizona in supporting the border patrol mission.
“It’s great to see that they have an interest in what is going here along the border,” said HadjiBabai.
With such a large group touring and training, accommodations made by CBP allowed the group to split into two teams, affording them an opportunity to visit urban and rural terrain areas along the border.
The first few stops along the border tour focused on EIT site operations. While there, citizen-soldiers and airmen provided the students a briefing on the duty schedule, communicating and logging observations, identifying and monitoring high traffic areas and an explanation of equipment used such as binoculars and hand-held radios.
“The soldiers and airmen that are here were very professional. I appreciate the time they took to share with us the things that they see and do out here at the EIT sites. I appreciate their commitment and passion,” said Karen Milner, student from Fort Campbell, Ky.
Along the way to each EIT site, CBP provided a rolling tour that included a stop near the new bollard fencing. Different kinds of fencing are used depending on the physical situation, and this tour provided a visual understanding of the challenges faced in monitoring urban and rural terrain areas with different types of fencing in place. Guardsmen have been supporting CBP by providing observations of these challenging areas since August 2010.
“What an operation! This is as close to homeland security that I think we can get; seeing what is going on here at the border,” said Milner.
According to the ELDP website, the Department of Defense program is an aggressive hands-on training immersion program designed to expose the Department’s future leaders to the joint and interagency perspective. It provides hands-on training in the field, giving participants of the program an appreciation for the challenges that the war fighters face on a daily basis in support of carrying out the mission of the Department.
So far, the group has been to the Demilitarized Zone in Korea, trained with forces in Hawaii, participated in airborne and ranger training and fired a variety of weapons.
Karen Kessler, director for the ELDP, states that most of their training has been service centric, focusing on how the services operate independently and why they train to the doctrine they have. It has also focused on the missions supporting our homeland overseas, such as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“This is the first time we have given the students a true exposure and experience to the real front line which is right here on our own homeland. Understanding the role of border patrol in defending our homeland security, how our Guardsmen are playing a role in that defense by standing guard at the EIT sites at the border, is an eye opener. Students will go back and tell the story that the National Guard plays in Arizona and how they operate in that joint environment with CBP,” said Kessler.
Barry Fetzer, student from Cherry Point, N. C., said that media attention focusing on national interest overseas sometimes overshadows joint efforts to protect our borders. Standing with citizen-soldiers and airmen at the EIT sites is an experience he says he won’t forget.
“The one thing I will take away from this experience is the importance of collaboration in order to protect our nation’s borders. What CBP and the Arizona National Guard are doing is so important to the defense of our nation. There are people willing to sacrifice everything to come across the fence they are defending,” said Fetzer.
The ELDP group thanked every soldier and airmen at the sites they visited. Some of the students also coined Guardsmen as a way of showing their appreciation for the service and sacrifices Guardsmen are making.
“There are so many great men and women who sacrifice so much. They don’t do it for the money. They do it because they have a passion, are dedicated and patriotic to the point that this is their way of serving their country. [The students in the ELDP program] need to understand that when they get back to their cubicle or desk or where ever they may sit, they need to remember that every decision they make in one way, shape, or form impacts our men and women in uniform,” said Kessler.
The group training with the National Guard was part of a week-long event that included visits to the High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program in Tucson, Project Challenge in Phoenix, and the Army National Guard’s Western Area Aviation Training Site in Marana.
| Date Taken: | 04.12.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 04.22.2011 19:05 |
| Story ID: | 69202 |
| Location: | NOGALES, AZ, US |
| Web Views: | 162 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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