Thread: Guard toops on border to be cut in half

Published: 07.24.2007

Guard toops on border to be cut in half
By Brady McCombs
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
The number of National Guard troops along the Arizona-Mexico border will be trimmed in half by the end of next month.

As the presidentially-mandated Operation Jumpstart mission begins its second year in support of the U.S. Border Patrol, the number of troops are being reduced as planned. They’ll be trimmed from 6,000 to 3,000 nationally and from 2,400 to 1,200 in Arizona, said National Guard capt. Kristine Munn. The pullout began July 1 and is scheduled to be completed by Sept. 1.

Since arriving in June 2006, National Guard soldiers have helped free up agents to patrol by manning radios and control rooms, and repairing vehicles, roads and fences. They have also provided extra eyes and ears on the border with observatory posts called entrance identification teams stationed along the border on hills or peaks.

The federal government has spent $899,416 on the mission in fiscal years 2006-07, said Lt. Col. Mike Milord, a spokesman for the National Guard Bureau in Virginia. It is scheduled to run through the end of fiscal year 2008, which ends in September 2008.
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/printDS/193216

We should be INCREASING the number of troops.

Originally Posted by pjr40

We should be INCREASING the number of troops.

Agreed.