260 National Guard troops along California-Mexico border
Sept. 1, 2010
Updated: 10:28 a.m.
260 National Guard troops along California-Mexico border
BY CINDY CARCAMO
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Touted as the additional eyes and ears that are desperately needed, more than 200 National Guard troops completed their deployment this week along California's U.S.-Mexico border.
The deployment of 260 soldiers and airmen in California is part of a federal effort to secure the border. The mission is to send a total of 1,200 troops to four U.S.-Mexico border states: Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and California.
The troop swell is part of the effort by President Barack Obama's administration to secure the southwest border that has long been the stage for the illegal trafficking of human beings, guns and drugs.
National Guard soldiers from the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base and infantry regimens throughout Orange County are already at the Mexican border in California.
California National Guard Spc. Jose Rincon, who belongs to the 1st Battalion, 160th Infantry Regiment in Santa Ana, said he is proud to answer his president's call to secure the border.
"I believe that we should secure the border," said Rincon, who is part of the command staff in operations. "I serve where I'm needed. I like being here – serving my country, serving my state. I haven't had much of an opportunity to serve in the homeland. I've spent a lot of time overseas."
Rincon, who volunteered to serve a one-year deployment at the border, recently finished a stint in Iraq.
However, this isn't his first time along the U.S.-Mexico border. He served in a similar border mission from 2006 to 2008. That time he worked with an Entry Identification Team, observing the border fence and helping border patrol track people who illegally crossed the border.
Most of those deployed in California are tasked with this sort of work, spotting crossers and other illegal activity. The point is to help free up Border Patrol agents who can then focus on going after those who are spotted, said California National Guard Maj. Kimberly Holman. About 15 soldiers are working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials as criminal analysts.
Soldiers on the field are strategically placed as far north as Camp Pendleton and as far east as Campo, Holman said.
Britt Craig, a Mission Viejo resident who is a Campo Minuteman and regularly travels to the area, said he was once critical of the deployment but now supports it.
"I've seen what they've actually done and they are doing the things Border Patrol needs – more observers," Craig said. "They're doing observation posts on the hilltops. They're trained and have more communication capability, using Army communications. It's freeing up a lot of a lot of agents along the border. The way they are doing it is pretty good."
The effort is a step in the right direction, but it's not a permanent solution, Craig said.
"They need a barrier," he said. "They need a real physical barrier so that people can't cross. Once you get away from Tijuana, anyone can cross the border any way they want to. The only thing keeping them from crossing is the active physical presence of border patrol chasing them off the fence."
Contact the writer: 714-796-7924 or ccarcamo@ocregister.com
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