Mr. P
VIP Member
From a National Guardsman now on the border...On another form I visit.
********************************************
I was in a briefing yesterday where the Yuma station chief addressed his "troops" (Border Patrol agents). The station chief is essentially equivalent to a military battalion commander, in charge of about 500 agents. He sees all the intelligence reports for the sector he supervises, of course.
Yesterday he reported that he'd gone back and looked at the 2005 alien numbers and compared them to the same 2006 period (July 29 - September 15). Apprehensions and entries are down a full 80%! He gave the National Guard presence here complete credit for the drop.
He explained how the Guard presence provides a two-fold advantage here. The first is the obvious deterrent effect of having teams of four soldiers visibly stationed every quarter or half mile along the border. There's no effort to conceal the observation posts, hoping that high profile deployments of armed soldiers will basically scare away the less-dedicated Mexicans.
The second advantage is that, by strategically placing the Guard teams, the station chief is able to funnel determined border crossers (usually led by human smugglers - "coyotes") into certain routes. Along these routes, teams of well-armed Border Patrol agents, often led by Special Response Team members, await the movement of aliens. When the groups come through these areas, the agents pounce and arrest them. Smugglers are held and prosecuted rather than immediately deported.
This makes border crossing much more difficult. This has led to an unfortunate upsurge in violence here on the border, as the coyotes get angry that the livelihood is being seriously affected. Several agents have been pelted (some in the head) by large groups of rock throwers. One agent recently shot and killed a Mexican who hit him on the head with a large rock (good job, agent!). There have been a few "banzai charges," where very large groups of aliens attempt to overwhelm a smaller number of agents. The smugglers in vehicles are more willing to make a run for it, leading to things like the big rollover crash a few weeks ago, that killed 11 aliens.
Lastly, the coyotes are becoming more and more willing to shoot it out with agents. Fortunately, BP training is excellent and the agents have good weapons. BP agents in the southwest are really the last of the old-time gunslingers, and fortunately the smugglers are mainly unskilled rabble. The Guardsmen who directly replaced agents in non-enforcement jobs, have also contributed to this effort, since the station chief now has more agents on each shift he can deploy for these interdiction efforts.
Anyway, it's good that the Guard is making a difference and able to really help our brothers and sisters in the Border Patrol, and by extension, America.
__________________
********************************************
I was in a briefing yesterday where the Yuma station chief addressed his "troops" (Border Patrol agents). The station chief is essentially equivalent to a military battalion commander, in charge of about 500 agents. He sees all the intelligence reports for the sector he supervises, of course.
Yesterday he reported that he'd gone back and looked at the 2005 alien numbers and compared them to the same 2006 period (July 29 - September 15). Apprehensions and entries are down a full 80%! He gave the National Guard presence here complete credit for the drop.
He explained how the Guard presence provides a two-fold advantage here. The first is the obvious deterrent effect of having teams of four soldiers visibly stationed every quarter or half mile along the border. There's no effort to conceal the observation posts, hoping that high profile deployments of armed soldiers will basically scare away the less-dedicated Mexicans.
The second advantage is that, by strategically placing the Guard teams, the station chief is able to funnel determined border crossers (usually led by human smugglers - "coyotes") into certain routes. Along these routes, teams of well-armed Border Patrol agents, often led by Special Response Team members, await the movement of aliens. When the groups come through these areas, the agents pounce and arrest them. Smugglers are held and prosecuted rather than immediately deported.
This makes border crossing much more difficult. This has led to an unfortunate upsurge in violence here on the border, as the coyotes get angry that the livelihood is being seriously affected. Several agents have been pelted (some in the head) by large groups of rock throwers. One agent recently shot and killed a Mexican who hit him on the head with a large rock (good job, agent!). There have been a few "banzai charges," where very large groups of aliens attempt to overwhelm a smaller number of agents. The smugglers in vehicles are more willing to make a run for it, leading to things like the big rollover crash a few weeks ago, that killed 11 aliens.
Lastly, the coyotes are becoming more and more willing to shoot it out with agents. Fortunately, BP training is excellent and the agents have good weapons. BP agents in the southwest are really the last of the old-time gunslingers, and fortunately the smugglers are mainly unskilled rabble. The Guardsmen who directly replaced agents in non-enforcement jobs, have also contributed to this effort, since the station chief now has more agents on each shift he can deploy for these interdiction efforts.
Anyway, it's good that the Guard is making a difference and able to really help our brothers and sisters in the Border Patrol, and by extension, America.
__________________
