by Master Sgt. Michael Drake
September 2006
The California National Guard has responded once again in a timely manner to the governor’s call. Just ten short weeks following President Bush’s request for governors to help secure the borders with National Guard troops, Joint Task Force VISTA had formed with more than 1000 Soldiers and Airmen on orders for Operation Jump Start – the SW Border Mission. Nationwide, 6,000 National Guard troops, primarily from the four border states, are being deployed along the Southwest border. The goals are to augment the Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection while an additional 6,000 Border Patrol agents are recruited, trained and deployed for enforcement duties; provide observation teams for entry identification and improve the border infrastructure.
At a late-June press conference along the border, where scores of National Guardsmen were constructing a massive drainage project near the San Ysidro crossing, Governor Schwarzenegger emphasized the conditions he had set in approving the deployment: California National Guard forces would serve in support roles only and not engage in law enforcement activities to include apprehension, custody or transport; the deployed force would consist solely of volunteers; and those who had served overseas in Operations Iraqi Freedom or Enduring Freedom would not be subject to involuntary call-up. The mission would end no later than December 2008 and must not adversely impact the state militia’s ability to respond to other Department of Defense missions or the state’s disaster response capabilities. Finally, while Soldiers and Airmen are serving in a Title 32 status, the mission would be federally funded.
National Guard men and women from across California are reporting to Naval Base San Diego where they undergo processing, receive a series of briefings including a day-long brief from the Border Patrol, and are then given their assignments. The Guard forces are divided between San Diego and El Centro Sectors. Mission sets include, but are not limited to, Entry Identification (observation) Teams; information technology (camera operations and sensor dispatch); maintenance of vehicles, equipment, and facilities; and aviation support in the form of observation and transport. Guardsmen are also building and renovating roads and drainage infrastructure, constructing additional lighting and camera towers, and working on the primary and secondary fences that separate the U.S. and Mexico. National Guard range safety officers are working with Border Patrol agents on the firing range. Others are serving in additional administration and other training scenarios. Training for these missions range from three days to three weeks, depending on the complexity of the assignment and the equipment used.
Soldiers and Airmen are initially serving in either a rotational (short-term) or durational (long-term) basis. Asked if they would extend, well over half have already signed up for a one-year tour. And despite the fact that Operation Iraqi Freedom & Operation Enduring Freedom vets are exempt from involuntary call-up, when a show of hands is called for during the briefings, nearly three fourths indicate they have also recently served overseas.
The South West Border Mission is already one of tremendous public interest and media curiosity. Fifty-six media representatives, coming from as far away as London, attended the July 19 press conference at Brown Field Station where Colonel Kevin Ellsworth, commander of Task Force VISTA, introduced senior staff, outlined the organization structure and briefed media on the mission sets. During the follow-up Questions & Answers, reporters were astounded to learn the task force was comprised entirely of volunteers and that their participation in the border mission would not preclude them from being called upon for other deployments overseas.
Media then toured various construction sites including Echo One, site of the governor’s press conference one month earlier, where the drainage project is nearing completion, as well as Whiskey Eight where an earth-moving project will raise the border fence and another set of massive gates, known as King Kong gates, are to be installed. An additional scope truck was staged at Arnie’s Point to demonstrate the equipment that guard members will be manning as another set of “eyes and ears on the border.” It was a scene of frenetic activity as reporters swarmed Soldiers and Airmen for interviews, gathered B-roll footage and did stand-ups overlooking Tijuana and an extended view of the primary and secondary fence separating the U.S. and Mexico in the background.
Meanwhile, additional orders are being cut, troops continue to report to San Diego and then deploy in yet another mission in the war on terror. Without exception, individuals indicate it’s a great mission, and an essential one to help secure and maintain operational control of our borders. For many it’s not just a question of national defense, but also a matter of public safety to close off the corridor used for smuggling drugs, contraband, and terrorist weapons.
As one individual put it, “We’re serving in the tradition of America’s earliest citizen Soldiers – those who left their farms and families and responded to their nation’s call in a time of need.”
The Minuteman portrayed in the logo of the California National Guard serves as a reminder of the dedication and patriotism that was prevalent then, and continues even today in a tradition of service that goes back three hundred and seventy years.