National Guard battalion heading to Mexican border
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National Guard battalion heading to Mexican border
By ERIC NEWHOUSE
4/12/07
The first wave of soldiers from the Montana National Guard's 189th General Support Aviation Battalion departs today for Las Cruces, N.M., to help patrol the Mexican border.
"This will be the first of three 21-day rotations utilizing the same aircraft, but switching out the soldiers," said Maj. Garth Scott.
One company of soldiers, about 20 aviators and support personnel, will be flying four UH-60 helicopters in support of Operation Jump Start, which helps the Border Patrol control illegal immigration.
Two other CH-47 Chinook helicopters will accompany the Blackhawks to Utah for gunnery practice, then return to Montana, said Lt. Col. Frank Little.
The UH-60 Blackhawks destined for border patrol duty can carry up to 12 fully outfitted ready soldiers.
"This is an operations mission, not training," Little said. He added that those deployed will be seasoned aviators.
Among them will be Sgt. Daryl Reichling, a civilian plumber at Malmstrom Air Force Base, with about 1,900 hours of flight time, including 800 hours of combat flight.
"For nine months, I flew border patrol for the United Nations along Croatia, Bulgaria and Serbia," said Reichling, who was also deployed to Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2003-2005. Reichling was with the Illinois National Guard for 18 years before moving to Montana last summer.
"Our aviation unit will be doing general operations, hauling personnel, troops and equipment," Scott said. "They'll also be doing recon" to search out illegal border crossings.
The group's mission is to increase deterrence and strengthen border security capabilities, Scott said.
"We will be providing essential air movement operations and supporting the ground units of Operation Jump Start," said 1st Lt. Clayton Scotson, the Alpha Company platoon leader.
Besides increasing border security, the stateside deployment provides experience for the troops.
"We only have five of the crew chiefs left that were with us in Iraq (in 2004-2005), so we're training up a whole new group of young kids," said Staff Sgt. Wayne Ingraham of Helena. "It's a good learning experience for them to get out of town and fly and maintain their aircraft."
While the prospect of deployment may have deterred recruiting in some areas, that doesn't seem to have been the case in Montana, Little said.
"We're at more than 100 percent of our assigned strength, which tells me that people are joining the National Guard," he said.
"I think people today appreciate having a real job to do instead of just training for one," Little said.
Reach Tribune Projects Editor Eric Newhouse at 791-1485, 800-438-6600 or enewhousegreatfallstribune.com
