Veteran Bob Martin bought a plot of land in the Big Bend Sector to use as a forward operating base, where he patrols the border on his own terms. “FOB Harmony,” as he’s called the base, is one of several that exist along the border

December 17, 2015
By SASHA von OLDERSHAUSEN

Citing safety concerns, the veteran we interviewed for this article asked that we do not use his real name. A pseudonym has been used instead.

PRESIDIO – As the saying goes: “Once a Marine, always a Marine.” But Bob Martin, a 60-year-old veteran U.S. Marine, is redefining the expression. In 2012, Martin established FOB Harmony, a 40-acre forward operating base in West Texas’s Big Bend Sector, where he has made it his personal mission to patrol the U.S.-Mexico border.

Martin established the base in memory of U.S. Marine and Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, whose murder exposed a botched sting operation led by the United States Bureau of Alochol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), known as “Operation Fast and Furious.” Under this controversial border security strategy, the ATF purposely allowed the sale of firearms to illegal straw buyers in an effort to track the guns to Mexican drug cartel leaders.

“The ATF wanted everyone to believe that they were going to track down Mexican cartel. But once you sell a gun to someone there’s no way of tracking it. One of those firearms was the murder weapon that killed Brian Terry” Martin said. “That’s our federal government. That’s the way they work.”

Martin has all sorts of opinions concerning the so-called failures of the U.S. government—don’t even get him started on Obamacare—but that’s not his main concern. “As military personnel, we take an oath to defend the constitution and the people within,” he said. “We care about defending this nation and this people.”

And so, he’s taken that constitution into his own hands. His mission: “…to aid and assist the U.S. Border Patrol, county sheriffs and border governors against the rash of incursions that are occurring by not only the typical illegal alien in search for work, but especially those Other Than Mexicans (OTMs) that are crawling across our borders to do harm to our nation and our citizens,” the FOB Harmony Facebook page stated.

Although FOB Harmony has existed for only a few years, Martin’s border pursuit traces back to 2005, which is when he started joining up with different groups along the border – from Laredo to Ft. Hancock – with similar agendas.

There are many others like him along the border—self-proclaimed militiamen who carry out unsanctioned reconnaissance operations under the guise of national security. And in recent months, with the upsurge of illegal immigration from Mexico, reports of these volunteer militia groups have also increased.

But Martin takes great pains to distinguish what he does from some of these other operations—which he characterizes as a bunch of gun-toting “knuckleheads,” eager to exact vigilante justice. “You have other groups that call themselves militia, but they don’t have the training and discipline for doing what you do. They get their camouflage and AR15 rifles, and they think they’re John Wayne but they don’t have a clue what they’re doing,” he said. “That’s why a lot of people are skeptical about it.”

And indeed, following reports of the emergence of these border militia groups have been reports of criminal activities associated with them. Earlier this year, Kevin “KC” Massey, a member of the militia group known as “Rusty’s Rangers,” was found guilty on four counts of felon in possession of a firearm, according to a San Antonio Express-News article.

The difference between these kinds of militia operations and what he does, Martin says, is simple: “The legitimate ones are in communication with the law enforcement and Border Patrol. The ones that aren’t legitimate aren’t communicating with their law enforcement.”

In fact, Martin said, most of what he does is just that—communication. “Mostly we just get our night vision equipment, we go out there and in most cases, the first thing I do is make a phone call to the Border Patrol. I give them a location of what I see and where I see it,” he said. “We get in touch with the county sheriff; we’ll get in touch with law enforcement personnel.”

But Martin also added that collaborating with law enforcement could be hit or miss. “It’s a 50-50 shot. Sometimes it’s a friendly response; sometimes we’ll be able to communicate real well. Our own border patrol station called me just the other day to ask about a couple Guatemalans that they lost track of,” he said.

But the CBP would beg to differ. In response to a query regarding any alleged collaboration between U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and these private militias, CBP representative William Brooks said, “U.S. Customs and Border Protection does not support any private individual or group taking border security matters into their own hands.”

Brooks added, “Such an action can have disastrous personal and public safety consequences.”

Presidio County Deputy Chief Joel Nuñez confirmed that he has received calls from Martin, who has reported suspicious activity along the border, in the past. “There is a vet in the Presidio area who comes up to us with information,” Nuñez said. “But it’s not really as a coordinated effort. We listen to him just like we listen to any citizen who is concerned and tells us what they see.”

Nuñez added that he hadn’t encountered any militia groups in the Presidio area like the ones he had heard of on the Arizona border. As far as he could tell, Martin is the first of his kind to the Big Bend. But he might not be the last.

After all, Martin’s mission is to spread the ideology. On the FOB Harmony Facebook page, he wrote: “My long term vision is to see other fellow veterans alike do the very same, to purchase or lease more border properties both north and south, and establish their FOBs to use as staging areas to support, or prepare and launch border operations in support of our U.S. Border Patrol and County Sheriffs along our nation’s borders.”

Last month, the CBP issued a statement about a recent increase in the number of unaccompanied children and family units apprehended along the southern border. According to the statement, the Big Bend Sector saw a more than 500 percent increase in both in the past year, which just might be reason enough for other veterans like Martin to join arms.

But with regard to the recent influx of migrants crossing the border, Martin said his purpose is not to judge; it is simply to protect the border from appreciable threat. “I had a guy walk straight up to where I live, and he was cornered by one of my pitbulls,” Martin said. “The poor guy said he escaped from the Mexican cartel. He was dehydrated. I’m nine miles deep from the river, and he shows up with an empty gallon jug. He needed to rest, relax, and get himself together. I made sure he didn’t have any dangerous weapons, showed him a map, and sent him on his way.”

Still, assessing that threat is entirely subjective. Martin said, “If you’re a threat I’ll know it. If you’re somebody trying to come in and make a better life, that’s not my judgment call. That’s really not my call.”

http://bigbendnow.com/2015/12/vetera...his-own-hands/