Garrison Commander Col. Jonathan Hunter has said he wants to put more of an emphasis in controlling the illegal immigrant traffic on the post.
Environmental protection officers like Reilly and Baughman are game wardens for the fort's more than 70,000 acres and keep an eye out for environmental damage, some linked to the movement of illegal immigrants, Weddell said. The section has six soldiers, three on each of the day and "dark" shifts.
Most of the illegal foot traffic occurs during the night operations, he said.
Baughman was looking for signs of illegal traffic when he heard two-way radio talk in Spanish in Huachuca Canyon, Reilly said.
"I sent him to check the road, to brush it," he said.
Brushing a road is to eliminate any signs of any previous foot traffic so the area can be checked later for new footprints - an indication that illegal immigrants may have passed by the area.
Knowing an area was brushed and when gives him and others in the section an indication of when there may have been foot traffic in a place where there should not be any, Reilly said.
As for hearing conversations, the soldier said illegal immigrants use small two-way radios to communicate while moving.
When Baughman called him and told him of what he heard, Reilly went to Reservoir Hill. Just before 7 p.m. Friday, he saw a group of about 50 illegal immigrants through a night scope in Huachuca Canyon, not far from family housing areas on the fort.
He called the Border Patrol for assistance because of the large number of illegal immigrants.
"I don't call them (the Border Patrol) until I'm sure how large the group is and what direction they are traveling," the sergeant said.
A seven-year Army veteran, the 28-year-old Californian said the job is physically challenging. Weddell said soldiers who want to be a member of the special section have to compete and besides being in the best physical condition they have to have common sense and be aggressive.
"They have to be self-starters," he added.
Reilly said walking around in dangerous terrain at night requires a person who is sure-footed.
Tracking of the group consumed almost a regular eight-hour shift. For Reilly, Baughman and the Border Patrol agents, the shift would last much longer.
An eight-hour shift can sometimes double.
On many occasions, Reilly has been called to provide assistance, even through he is technically off duty. The calls are hard on his wife and three children, but they understand his job.
"To me, it's all about the mission. Whatever the mission needs to get done, I'll do," Reilly said.
While the operation was called an interception, it had overtones of a military ambush. A trap was prepared for a hopefully unaware enemy.
When a pair of Border Patrol scope operators passed the word the trap was in the wrong place, Weddell said it is the ability of his soldiers and the agents to change emphasis and quickly get to an area to complete the operation.
It is an example of why the joint operations between the military and the federal agency are successful, Weddell said.
The rapid redeployment still surprised the illegal immigrants, even though some were able to flee.
Reilly continued to give radio updates to Weddell as he headed for the illegal immigrants.
"Twenty minutes to ETA (estimated time of arrival at the new area)," the soldier said.
Then a call came.
"We're about 10 minutes out (from the group of illegal immigrants)," Reilly said.
Reilly, Baughman and the agents then hid, waiting for the arrival of a Border Patrol helicopter to illuminate the area.
As the chopper arrived from the fort's Libby Army Airfield, a light from the aircraft changed part of the mountainous terrain from night to day.
Reilly's mike open, the sounds of the pursuers and the pursued could be heard around him. Illegal immigrants were told to stop, sit and given other directions.
Weddell said there has been a lot of preparation in the partnership between the MPs and the Border Patrol. They have trained together and have a better understanding of each other's responsibilities.
During operations, "adrenaline is 10 percent of your activity and success is how you use the other 90 percent," the major said.
There was a lot of bottled up adrenaline Saturday morning.
Moving closer to the action, Weddell, who initially stayed back so as not give away the possible location of his soldiers and the Border Patrol agents, got to the area as the helicopter's spotlight moved from one area to another.
The soldiers and agents turned their flashlights on and tracked down illegal immigrants.
One of the illegal immigrants climbed a tree in hopes of not being spotted. The helicopter was soon directly overhead, its light shining on the young man like he was on stage playing the most important role in his life.
Reilly was beneath the man, trying to entice him out of the tree. Instead of giving up the futile attempt not be taken, the illegal immigrant swung a fist at the soldier.
"I reached up and pulled him out of the tree," Reilly said.
That man ended up with his hands tied behind his back, a fate that two others received for struggling.
Soon, a dozen illegal immigrants were brought down to a rocky rock and made to sit down.
Two more joined the group, and then one by one the number of illegal immigrants grew until 22 men and three women were in custody.
Each illegal immigrant was searched. Lighters and tweezers were taken away from them.
When an illegal immigrant pulled money from his pocket, he was told to put the money back in his pocket.
"We don't touch money," Reilly said.
The illegal immigrants in the group were warmly dressed, many of them wearing similar jackets.
"I wonder whose their outfitter," a Border Patrol agent said.
As searches in the hilly terrain continued for others, the 25 illegal immigrants who were caught walked about a half mile to where a Border Patrol bus waited to take them to the agency's Naco Station for processing and treatment - a man fell and the right side of his face was bloody.
As the illegal immigrants arrived at the bus parked near Fort Huachuca's historic cemetery, not far from the Bonnie Blink family housing area, the looks on their faces ranged from sadness to bitterness. There was anger in some eyes, and tears in others.
For Reilly, the operation was a success.
The adrenaline rush gone, the hot sweat on Reilly's face turned cold in the early morning air, the temperature reading 37 degrees Fahrenheit.
The heat of the chase was over.
>"The heat of the chase was over."<
But they will do the same thing over and over each coming day; with the same results.
That's the definition of insanity.
What's most absurd about all this; a secure border fence/wall would keep these trespassers out in the first place.
But I guess that makes too much sense, because it would produce a *different* result.
Our federal govt. would rather have all law enforcement officers, border patrol, soldiers, etc. running all over the place chasing illegal alien trespassers, as this story indicates.
Ridiculous.
Arizona “border fence:
Illegal trespassers ready to cross our "secure" barbed-wire fence "border".
