Military, law agency border task force to get new leader
By Chris Roberts / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 06/10/2008 02:10:22 AM MDT


During the 21 months Brig. Gen. Anthony Ierardi has commanded Joint Task Force-North, the agency's activities have included watching Mexican drug cartels. For the future, Ierardi believes there will be a need for more analysts to interpret the stream of intelligence on potential threats to the nation.
Ierardi will hand control of the task force to Col. Sean B. MacFarland today during a ceremony at Fort Bliss. Sometime this month, Ierardi will head to Afghanistan where his responsibilities will include training and equipping Afghan military and national security forces.

As commander of JTF-North, Ierardi ran an agency that finds appropriate military resources to fill civilian law enforcement requests for assistance. Task force officials are particularly interested in missions that create training opportunities for deploying military while supporting local, state and federal law enforcement, Ierardi said.

"We performed, last year, 60 missions in support of law enforcement," he said, adding that the task force performed about the same number last year. "I believe we contributed to their missions and we did it in a way that conforms to law and to policy."

By that, Ierardi means they collected no information on U.S. persons and they didn't violate the Posse Comitatus Act, which prevents military units from direct participation in law enforcement actions such as making arrests.

All have been missions to stop transnational narcotics trafficking, and, on his watch, none have



involved terrorists or materials related to terrorism, Ierardi said.
Nonetheless, "we have to keep our ear to the ground," he added.

On the Southwest border, the task force has provided "assessments for the type of drug trafficking organizations that would operate in a particular area and how their actions would change over time," Ierardi said. They have watched Mexican drug cartels in an effort "to understand the organizations' lines of communication," he said, declining to provide any further detail.

The task force helped out the U.S. Border Patrol on a recent mission. A Fort Hood combat aviation brigade, which was preparing to deploy, flew night reconnaissance missions over New Mexico from Biggs Army Airfield, Ierardi said. Air They were identifying drug traffickers' smuggling routes, he said. That information was relayed on the spot to waiting Border Patrol agents.

"They were flying at this (low) altitude at night over a desert environment," Ierardi said. "They have to communicate and resupply themselves just they way they will have to when they're deployed."

The one thing he would like to see -- if he had unlimited resources -- would be more analysts.

"It would set us up for greater enduring contributions," Ierardi said.

Chris Roberts may be reached at chrisr@elpasotimes.com;546-6136.







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