Operation Jump Start :the National Guard on the southwest border, 2006-2008 /by Michael D. Doubler. PDF
Preview Operation Jump Start :the National Guard on the southwest border, 2006-2008 /by Michael D. Doubler.
D 12.2:J 95/2 The National Guard on the Southwest Border START 2006-2008 By Michael D. Doubler IK S . v Jump Operation Start: The National Guard on the Southwest Border, 2006-2008 by Michael D. Doubler UBS. National Guard Bureau Office of Public Affairs Historical Services Division Prepared for National Guard Bureau by Doubler Enterprises and Issues Management Solutions, LLC IAW National Guard contract #W9133L-08-F-0085 The National Guard on the Southwest Border $$ i FOREWORD v CHAPTER ONE 1 CHAPTER TWO 15 CHAPTER THREE 35 CHAPTER FOUR 65 Glossary 74 Notes 76 Appendix- State Participation in Operation Jump Start 79 Appendix- Map 80 About the Author 81 The National Guard onthe SouthwestBorder ^j| iii FOREWORD Since 1636, the National Guard has preserved the lives and protected the property of theAmerican people. Following the attacks ofSeptember 11, 2001, the National Guard has become an even more essential part ofthe nation’s homeland security efforts. As the events ofthe global waron terrorism continue to unfold, the defense oftheAmerican homeland remains the National Guard’s top priority. Operation Jump Start: The National Guardon the SouthwestBorder, 2006-2008 recounts a unique chapter in the Guard’s continuing efforts to keepAmerica’s borders secure. Starting in June 2006, and lasting forovertwo years, as many as 6,000 National Guard men and women at any one time participated in the Operation inArizona, California, New Mexico and Texas, not to close the nation’s borderwith Mexico but to make it more secure for legal immigration and commerce. Guard members did not serve in a direct law enforcement role, but rather provided vital reinforcementto the U.S. Border Patrol. Their missions included engineering, aviation, entry identification teams and a wide range oftechnical, logistical and administrative support. Atotal ofover 30,000 citizen-soldiers and airmen from across the nation served in the Southwest. By the time Operation Jump Startended in July 2008, criminal activities ofall types had declined along the border, and physical improvements by Guard engineers along the international boundary line seemed certain to reduce illegal activities forthe foreseeable future. Operation Jump Start exhibited unprecedented cooperation and teamwork among federal agencies engaged in protecting the homeland. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Border Patrol and the National Guard created a cooperative, operational environment thatwill endure as an example to otheragencies ofhowto do things right. The spirit of selfless service and professionalism was especially evident on the border itselfwhere citizen- soldiers and airmen worked shoulder-to-shoulderwith Border Patrol agents. Within the National Guard,jointness was evident in the creation ofJoint Task Forces in each ofthe four border states that served as command and control headquarters, and in the increased levels ofintegration and cooperation undertaken by theAir National Guard in ground based domestic missions. Operation Jump Start: The National Guardon the SouthwestBorder, 2006-2008 is an informative and educational account ofthe National Guard’s role in protecting the nation’s Southwest border. May it inspire all ofus in the National Guard to continue to stand watch overour nation, as we have for nearly400 years. H STEVEN BLUM Lieutenant General, U.S. Army National Guard and GuardsmenpatrolasandduneinsouthernArizonalooking forcross-borderraidersfromMexico, 1916.NationalGuard EducationalFoundation the border in such a manner. Awild, confused melee soon ensued in the dark with most illegal immigrants successfully evading their captors. A night-vision camera recorded the entire episode CHAPTER OWE as reinforcements arrived to help detain as many illegals as possible. Border Patrol agents called The National Guard and the human wave crossings “banzai attacks,” an Homeland Security effective tactic they were simply unable to counter or stop completely. By early 2006, similar crossings On a dark night in April 2006, over one hundred and even more violent and illegal activities were individuals massed along the occurring frequently at other Whenever the south side ofthe borderfence places all along the Southwest nation has been separating San Luis, Mexico, border. Agrowing chorus threatened] by from Yuma, Arizona. Erected external dangers or acrossAmerica had arisen decades earlier from aircraft suddenly plunged demanding that something be runway matting that was surplus into war, the done about illegal immigration National Guard has materiel from the Vietnam War, and the chaotic situation along helped to restore the fence was gapped and the border. security and safety dilapidated in many places by defending the Operation Jump Start (OJS) and in need of repairs. As if homeland. is a name that will always on command, the large group bring to mind a time when suddenly surged across the border, clambering over the National Guard was once again called upon the fence and scrambling through gaps and holes. to preserve the lives and protect the property of On theAmerican side, a small contingent of U.S. theAmerican people. Beginning in May 2006, the Border Patrol agents in vehicles stood ready. The Guard was committed along the Southwest border to Yuma site was infamous for surprise, mass crossings help improve security and staunch the flow of illegal at night, but try as it might, the Border Patrol found it immigration. In the following two years, citizen- difficult to apprehend everyone attempting to cross soldiers and airmen from across the nation worked # The National Guard onthe SouthwestBorder 1 in support ofthe U.S. Border Patrol to restore order degree than it had in most previous homeland and improve security. security missions with most efforts performed on the OJS was not the first time the National ground. But, for all that was new and different, OJS Guard has been called upon to bolster homeland proved once again that the National Guard was the security. In fact, from its earliest origins in 1636, very best military force available when it came to the National Guard has always acted to defend defending the nation. local communities, whether by supporting law enforcement or responding to natural disasters. The Mexican Border Whenever the nation has been threatened by Crisis of 1916 external dangers or suddenly plunged into war, the National Guard has helped to restore security and Throughout the twentieth century, the National safety by defending the homeland. In most cases, Guard has frequently acted to defend the nation at the Guard has acted as a bridging mechanism, home. At the very start ofthe century, the role of providing a temporary but effective expedient until the National Guard changed dramatically as citizen- authorities can provide a more permanent solution. soldiers sought increased responsibilities for both While the National Guard’s performance in OJS federal and state missions. The United States was was fully consistent with past homeland security becoming an international power, and senior Guard missions, much was new and different. Selected leaders believed that citizen-soldiers should become Guardsmen went to the border while others fought more recognized as a federal reserve rather than in Afghanistan and Iraq as part ofthe global war clinging exclusively to theirtraditional domestic on terrorism. Guard personnel deployed and missions of law enforcement and disaster response. served under new, joint command arrangements To add weight to the argument, they pointed to the that the states had implemented as part of defense recent Spanish-American War in which citizen- transformation. On the border, an array of new soldiers had distinguished themselves in battle in - technologiesMhmelped with observation, surveillance Puerto Rico and the Philippines. However, real mm and physical security. TheAir National Guard change came with the Militia Act of 1903. The . (ANG) participated in Jump Start to a far greater Guard received federal monies for pay, uniforms and 0 2 OperationJumpStart2006-2008
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