By Staff Sgt. Benjamin Cossel
196th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
NOGALES, Ariz.-As winter gave release to spring's awakening in Ohio, Airmen
of the Camp Perry and Mansfield, Ohio-based 200th Rapid Engineers Deployable
Heavy Operations Repair Squadron, Engineers were already getting
their first taste of summer on this hot, May afternoon at a stretch of the
U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona.
Along with National Guard units from around the country, the Ohio element is
participating in Operation Jump Start , a two-year,
presidentially-mandated mission placing National Guard Soldiers and Airmen
alongside agents of the Texas, California, New Mexico and Arizona U.S.
Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol.
"A RED HORSE unit is uniquely qualified for this type of mission," said Air
Force Col. Michael Skomrock of Beavercreek, Ohio, and commander of the 200th.
"Our primary focus is construction with some consideration toward
maintenance."
In line with their capabilities, the squadron is assigned to Task Force
Diamondback, the engineering component of OJS-Arizona, responsible for
building roads, permanent and temporary vehicle barriers, and stretches of
primary and secondary fence in Arizona.
"We're covering six rotations of two weeks each with approximately 40 Airmen
on each rotation," Skomrock said.
Operation Jump Start began in mid-2006 when President George W. Bush
announced the operation from a podium in Yuma, Ariz. Since that time, the
200th has been a staunch supporter of the mission, sending Airmen to Arizona
for their annual training on three separate occasions. As Skomrock explained,
OJS provides his Airmen with mission-essential training.
"The work we're doing out here is the same sort of stuff we did in the desert
(Iraq) in '02 and '05," Skomrock said. "But we've got a lot of younger Airmen
now that haven't had the opportunity to do this sort of work yet. So this has
been a great training opportunity that will help prepare us for future
deployments."
While in Arizona, the squadron will focus their efforts on road construction
along the border. In many areas, roads tracing the border are nothing more
than rough-cut dirt patches exposed to the ravages of monsoon rains and
floods as well as the unrelenting desert sun.
"When we were out here last year, there were patches of roads that were
particularly bad; (U.S. Border Patrol) agents couldn't go more than 10-15
miles per hour down them. With the work that's been done by units like ours,
agents can hit 60 miles per hour, increasing their response time," Skomrock
said.
For Sandusky, Ohio-resident, Chief Master Sgt. Richard Bressler, the unit's
senior enlisted Airman and operations manager, this deployment to the
Southwest border is his second. In the time between his stints in Arizona,
he's seen a world of change.
"Supporting the Border Patrol out here as we have for the last two years,
we've enhanced the security of our nation's border," Bressler said. "It's
just incredible the amount of work we've invested in our border and the
impact that work has had."
Bressler said what's impressed him the most during his time working on OJS-a
sentiment his Airmen have repeated time and again-is the relationship between
the National Guard and the U.S. Border Patrol.
"One of the most significant things I'll take away from this mission is the
appreciation of the Guard from the Border Patrol," he said. "And trust me,
it's a feeling that's mutual; working with them has been great. Between us
all, we've increased the security of our nation and it's something I'm
definitely proud to be a part of."