Table Of Content

Facts "You don't know my people - the squalor, the superstitions, the fatalistic sloth that they've wallowed in for generations. You don't know what you're in for if that fleet of brutes ever lands in your lap! Everything will change in this country of yours. They'll swallow you up." -- Jean Raspail, "The Camp of the Saints" Arizona For fiscal year 2000 (1 October 1999 to 30 September 2000), Tucson sector apprehensions totaled 615,504 . For 1999, it was "only" 470,500. The Tucson Sector is comprised of nearly the entire Arizona border. More than half of those apprehended were caught in Cochise County. For fiscal year 2000, the total apprehensions just within Cochise County was 289,200, an average of 790 per day. For 1999, the total was "only" 202,868. The number of criminal alien apprehensions in Cochise County increased over 500 percent from 1995 to 2000. Most criminal aliens are caught while on private property. Cochise County is the number-one crossing point for criminal aliens into our nation, and is being overrun on a daily basis. Chart courtesy of APBNews.com ove ers This past year, the number of criminal aliens caught in Cochise County was three times the county's resident population. Each month, the number of criminal alien border crossers apprehended exceeds the total population of Douglas, Arizona. Ron Sanders, former Sector Chief of the Tucson Sector, estimates that for every one caught, five more get through. This means that over 3 million criminal aliens successfully entered the United States through Arizona in just one year. More than half of that number entered successfully through Cochise County. The town of Douglas, Arizona, in Cochise County, has a population of 15,000. Agua Prieta, directly across the border, has an estimated population of over 180,000. In 1998, the population of Agua Prieta was less than 120,000. The increase has been a result of the town's economic "boom" from new businesses that cater to the new transient population: everyone now knows that Agua Prieta is the easiest place to cross illegally into the USA. The Cochise County Sheriff's office has 54 officers and less than a third of those can be on duty during any one eight-hour shift. As of June 2000, the US Border Patrol claims that it has 1241 officers on duty in the entire Tucson Sector. According to Robert Kile of the US Border Patrol, the number on duty in Cochise County varies between 400 and 500. During any eight-hour patrol shift, however, there can be no more than one-third of that number guarding the border. Texas For fiscal year 2000, the Border Patrol reports that there were 157,178 apprehensions of criminal aliens in the Del Rio sector, about 400 per day, mostly on private property. In FY 1990, there were only 41,337. There was a 280 percent increase from 1990 to 2000! What the heck is going on here? For fiscal year 2000, the total apprehensions just within Maverick County was 81,464, more than half of the sector total. In FY 1990, there were only 8207. That is an 890 percent increase in ten years! In fact, Maverick County is the number one crossing point for criminal aliens in Texas. The Border Patrol estimates that by 2003, Maverick County Texas will surpass Cochise County Arizona to become the number one illegal crossing point on our border. Please Note: Ranch Rescue salutes the valiant efforts of the Border Patrol and the Sheriff's Office of each border county to enforce the law. In no way should any of the above be construed as criticism of these fine officers. We wholeheartedly commend them all for doing the very best that they can in the face of such overwhelming circumstances: The US Border Patrol has to cope with a massive force of violent criminal aliens trying to enter the USA every day, many of whom are willing to murder law enforcement agents to do so. The blood in the above photo is real, from a real Border Patrol agent, in a real Border Patrol vehicle. Please click the above image for more photos, if you have the stomach for it. Photo courtesy of American Patrol. The issue of criminal border crossing is one that must ultimately be addressed and settled by our elected officials. That's what we elected them for and that's what we pay them for. The issue of criminal trespass on private property is one that must be addressed and settled by the private property owner. Either the government must keep the criminals off of private property, or it falls to the property owner to do so. The People "Elected officials aren't going to help ranchers keep trespassers off of our land any more than they are going to help us repair a torn-down fence. We aren't going to tell them how to sit around and dicker over politics and they aren't going to tell us how to round up our horses. Like my Grandad used to say, 'That dawg don't hunt'." --Jack Foote The most vocal and publicly recognizable of the landowners around Cochise County, Arizona has to be Roger Barnett. Roger Barnett tending his ranch near Douglas, Arizona (photo courtesy of Jack Kurtz and Benjamin Park) His Cross Rail Ranch stretches out over 22,000 acres, starting just a few miles outside of Douglas. With the help of his 2 brothers, he has personally apprehended and turned over to law enforcement over 2000 criminal trespassers on his ranch in the past 4 years. He has been interviewed by the major newspapers, videotaped by network television news, testified before an investigative committee of the US Senate, petitioned the governor and US congressmen of Arizona, been villified as a rascist and "vigilante" by leftist pro-criminal alien activists, and been threatened by both the US State Department and the Mexican government for daring to protect his private property. Mr Barnett carries a firearm with him just to do everyday ranch chores. Since the trespassers e s often travel in large groups, he has to be able to defend himself in the event that the trespassers turn out to be violent. On average, Mr Barnett sees 50 to 100 trespassers crossing his property every day. A rally was held on Mr Barnett's property in May 2000 by the Cochise County Concerned Citizens group. One of our California friends has written a first-hand account. The Mueller family caught one of the trespassers on their ranch and held him for local law enforcement. The trespasser tried to sue the Muellers in federal court, with lawyers paid for by the mexican federal government! That suit has since been dropped. It was only brought in an attempt to drain the financial resources of the Mueller family. Larry and Thelma Vance also live near Douglas. Thick security bars cover their windows and a chain-link fence surrounds their home. Large, growling dogs patrol the inside of their fence. Their dogs have been deliberately poisoned by cross-border criminals twice. One died. The Vances take no risks, since their home is in the center of the busiest corridor for illegal immigration into the United States. The Vances carry 2-way radios to keep in touch, keep a pistol in hand to answer their door, and have the number for the US Border Patrol programmed into their telephone's speed-dial. Scott Talbert stands guard outside his home (Photo courtesy of Jeffrey Scott and the Arizona Daily Star) Scott Talbert's home was burglarized by criminal alien thieves who stole a handgun. It was used less than an hour later in the attempted murder of a US Border Patrol agent. Doris Winkler's home has an armored entrance, to deter the home invasion robberies that have become almost commonplace in Cochise County. Theresa Murray, an 82-year-old widow, also lives behind burglar bars and has a fence topped with razor wire. She, too, always keeps a gun handy, since her home has been broken into more than 30 times. Presidential candidate Pat Buchanan visited Mrs Murray and lamented that "she lives in a maximum security prison in her own home". When asked why she doesn't just simply move away, she replies, "Would you buy my home?" Clothing and Equipment "Take good care of your equipment and it will take good care of you". -- Boy Scout proverb As a result of our collective experience gained durin Operation Raven, we have set a group standard about what clothing and equipment are required and what is optional for Ranch Rescue volunteers. This dress code must be adhered to for all organized Ranch Rescue field missions. Each volunteer must provide their own clothing and equipment, at their own risk and expense. If you have any questions about the following, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator. Clothing One of the objectives of Ranch Rescue is to make a very visible statement about the failure of governmen policies, specifically that those failures have resulted in the massive crime wave in our rural border counties. As such, we do not want to "blend in" in an way, we instead want to stand out as much as possible. Having everyone in the same color of clothing is one way of accomplishing this. This also makes it possible for us to identify our group members at a distance. Work clothing similar to that shown below is now mandatory for all Ranch Rescue volunteers. Whatever clothing you choose should be comfortable and may be of any cut or style, but it must be khaki tan in color. It don't matter if you show up wearing a muu-muu, but it needs to be a solid tan muu-muu. You won't be comfortable for very long working with barbed wire out among the cactus, but hey, whatever floats your boat, pardner. :) See below for suggested sources for the required clothing. You may purchase from our recommended sources or from any other source that you wish. Georgia Outfitters offers suitable khaki tan and camouflage work clothes at very reasonable prices. This is our recommended supplier, but there is no requirement that you purchase through them. We just really appreciate their great service, superior products, and low prices. You may order online from Georgia Outfitters or purchase from any other vendor of your choice. Camouflage clothing of any type or pattern is normally NOT ALLOWED. We do make an exception for rain gear. We would rather have you warm and dry in camouflage than wet and cold without any rain gear at all. Rain gear can be any pattern or color. NOTE: Special exceptions to the "no camo" policy ar made for particular missions, for our Security volunteers only. Each exempted mission will be conducted in the camouflage pattern of that mission's Coordinator's choice. See each mission description for details. Optional: Each volunteer may wear a full-color patch representing the flag of their home state. This patch must be worn above the left breast pocket of the kha tan work shirt. The patch may be embroidered and sewn on, held on with Velcro, heat pressed on, or may be silk-screened onto the shirt fabric. It should b affixed in such a way that it will not come off due to normal physical activities. Patches should not be wor on any camouflage clothing. We HIGHLY recommend a hat to keep the sun off your noggin. This may be either a plain baseball-type cap, cowboy hat, "digger", or a "boonie" style hat, we are plenty flexible on the hats. No logos or printing of After the conclusion of each mission, we will make available fo purchase a "mission patch" as a memento. Wearing of the mission patches during the actual mission is no longer mandatory, but they are still permitted as an optional item for those folks that participated in that particular mission. Wear these with pride on successive misisons, to let folks know which missions you have already been on! Mission patches are available from Ranch Rescue for $5.00 each. After you have completed your first mission, you should attach your mission patch to your khaki tan work shirt centered on the left sleeve, approximately 1/2 inch below the shoulder seam. As you attend more missions, additional Ranch Rescue "mission patches" may be worn centered o the right sleeve for the most recen previous mission, and on the front of the khaki tan work shirt for othe previous missions, centered abov and upon the chest pockets. If you attend enough missions, you may run out of room! any kind are permitted on hats, though. Hard hats may be substituted for soft caps if the work environment, situtation, or safety concerns require it. Hard hats may be of any color or design, since safety is the overriding concern. Boots must be of the lace-up design, with at least four inches of collar height. They may be black, brown, dark green, or khaki tan in color. No other colors are allowed. No atheletic shoes, rubber boots, cowboy boots, or sandals. Recommendation: Get a good set of leather hiking boots in the right color NOW and break them in well before arriving at our next volunteer mission. Make sure that your boots are sturdy enoug to stand up to cactus, sharp rocks, and snakebite. Nothing in life can make you more miserable than blistered feet, so choose your boots carefully. Bring a good set of heavy-duty gloves, suitable for working with barbed wire, if you plan to be on our "Olympic fencing team". Recommendation: the very best work gloves are lined with Kevlar to prevent hand injuries and have a full "cuff" that rides over the wrist. Orange safety vests can be purchased at any variety store. If you are on one of our work crews near a public road, these are mandatory. Wherever you get 'em from, you gotta have these vests if you're working anywhere near the road. Since temperatures can drop at night in the desert, bring a warm coat to keep the chill off. You'll be surprised at how cold it can get at night, since there i not enough moisture in the air to hold in the heat of the day. Bring cold weather clothing and definitely bring rain gear. Ranch Rescue missions have a tradition of getting rained on, even in the desert. We seem to bring the rain with us, for some reason. Color, pattern and design are unimportant, but only bring what can actually keep you warm and dry. Camping Gear Whatever you normally bring for camping out is fine. you don't already have this kind of equipment, consu someone who camps out on a regular basis. We normally have room for RVs and campers, but there never are hookups Tents are fine and so are small trailers Bring a good, warm sleeping bag, though. Plan on using a Coleman stove or something similar for preparing your food, since it is not likely that we will be allowed open fires in our campsite. Drinkable water can be hard to find in the desert, so we will have to bring in our own. Having a few five- gallon water cans with you will make life a lot easier. You must bring at least 2 good canteens with you, totalling at least 1/2 gallon capacity. You will have to carry these with you if you are on any of the repair crews, so bring the kind that can be worn on a belt or carried with a shoulder strap. If you have 2-way radios, bring those. A flashlight is absolutely essential. A map and compass will come i handy. If you have the big bucks to afford a GPS, tha will help a lot. Lastly, try to bring at least one pair of binoculars. There is bound to be a lot of interesting activity to watch and report on. Tools In short, the more the better. Hand tools like hammers, saws, and especially fencing pliers will be needed to get all the repair work done. Hand- operated stretchers and come-alongs will come in handy for stretching wire. Carpenter's tools are good to have, too. Keep in mind that we will be in areas with no public utilities, so power tools are only useful if you can also bring along an electrical generator to power them. If you have questions about particular tools you want to bring along, contact our Volunteer Coordinator for more info. Medical Bring a first aid kit, the bigger the better. We guarantee that you will need it. Include plenty of sunblock, chapstick, sunburn cream, and insect repellent. If you have a medical condition that requires regular prescription medication, make sure that you bring enough to last for your entire stay. If you wear eyeglasses, bring an extra pair. Losing or breaking your only pair will make your stay a lot less enjoyable. Contact lenses might not be a good idea if there is a lot of wind and dust. Security For volunteers that will participate only in repair crew work, firearms are not required, but neither are they prohibited. Any member that wishes to bring their privately-owned firearm is welcome to do so. Ranch Rescue recognizes and fully supports the Second Ammendment to the Constitution as guaranteeing firearms ownership and possession as being a personal, individual, God-given right of all Citizens. We ask you to complete a Ranch Rescue Membership Form before bringing your privately owned firearm, however. For Ranch Rescue members that will particpate in providing volunteer security services, firearms are recommended. Please contact the Rescue Mission Security Coordinator for details. Every volunteer that brings a firearm to a Ranch Rescue mission must first submit a Membership Form and carry their Ranch Rescue membership card on their person at all times. ALICE-type tool belts and other gear are optional and can be in any color, but we think tan looks better. It's also a little cooler in the hot desert climate. You can order from GIGA Inc, 800-388-2448 They have great prices on this stuff. If you have a bit more to spend and prefer the high- speed gear, check out the prices on BlackHawk nylo web gear from the Geared-Up! company. If you want the very, very best custom-made support vest in the world, check out the incredible CLBV products available from FMCO. Absolutely awesome Available in tan, OD green, black, and woodland camouflage pattern.