SPOTREP!!
Posted on 04/03/2005 9:37:30 PM PDT by Spiff
Today was Sunday, the Sabbath, so I was not supposed to be involved with Minuteman Project activities. This evening at about 5pm I decided to take the family for a ride in the area that the project was operating. I headed south of my house and didn't get a mile before I saw my first Minuteman Project patrol area. They were stationed just off of the main highway on a dirt frontage road and near some culverts where illegal aliens are often seen.
I passed the first group to see another just a few hundred yards up the highway on the same frontage road. The other side of the highway included some residential properties. I went a little further and saw the same thing. I saw an easy way to get onto the frontage road and turned around and pulled onto it. I came across a group that consisted of a guy from Arizona and a couple from Georgia. The husband was an older guy that I had seen the previous two days on an oxygen tank. His wife was younger and had a nasty cut just above her chin. She said that they had just seen and reported a group of 5 illegals trying to move through their area. Upon seeing them she promptly tripped and slammed her chin on the ground.
Casey Wian from CNN - Lou Dobbs Tonight - was there interviewing the couple. I took a quick picture and left.
I went a little further South and saw another group. I stopped to talk to them too. There was a black guy and a white guy and a gray dog. They were being interviewed by a reporter from the Orange County Register.
About that time my camera's batteries gave out. When I left the house the battery meter said it was full, but suddenly it was dead. I hate this digital camera, it does that ALL the time.
I went home and retrieved batteries and called one of my friends who has spoken to Casey Wian many times. She wanted to meet back at the location where I had seen him. I went back and the CNN crew had already left.
My friend showed up with a bunch of other people. Now that the Georgia woman with the cut on her chin wasn't on camera being interviewed we talked to her. Her chin was now badly swollen and turning black and blue. A medically trained woman looked closer at the injury and said that she needed to report to the medic. I volunteered to drive her the ten miles to the medic's location while her husband continued monitoring his assigned area.
We headed towards the head shed and when the highway turned East we saw a number of flashing blues and reds and bright white lines down by the San Pedro River. I wanted to check out what was going on but had to get this woman to the medic.
I went to the campground where the headshed is located, showed my badge, and was directed to one of the buildings. I found the comms room and they took her in to the medic. He said he would assess her and let us know what needed to be done. I told her I would return and left.
I travelled toward the flashing lights and got as close as I could. I couldn't find the road that lead to the San Pedro River area where the vehicles were. I got close enough to see what looked like fire dept. vehicles to include a water tanker. I remembered seeing smoke in that general area when I first left the house. I didn't see any Border Patrol vehicles and determined that this was probably a response to the brushfire I'd seen earlier.
I went back to the head shed and checked on the Georgia woman. She was almost done with the assessment by the medic. I walked around a bit to see what else I could see. Not much to report - maps, comms, a bulletin board with some info on it, people hanging out and talking. I did get a picture of the Culpepper flag flying out front.
The finished assessing the woman and said that she required stitches and needed to be transported to the E.R. in Sierra Vista. I drove her back to her husband and they were going to follow me the 15 miles to the hospital in town. I had to drop my family off so I had them wait at the post office until I could do that.
Once I returned they had realized that they had left their hotel roommate in the field without a ride back to town. They had be give them directions to the hospital so that they could pick him up and then drive in to town themselves.
There was tons of media watching the most visible patrol groups like those along the highway today. They did catch groups of 4 to 5 illegal aliens a few times today, nothing like the numbers we normally see around here. There was an earlier injury but I couldn't get any info about it.
One of the Minuteman Projects patrol points was established across the street from a friend of mine who lives at the base of a canyon a few miles north of the border. This person used to be a die-hard, anti-gun, open borders liberal. She moved out into the canyon and started having problems with illegals. Load vehicles would brazenly pull into her driveway and yard and a driver would step out and wave a flag. Suddenly, dozens of illegals would swarm out of the bushes across the street, into her yard and driveway, and then into the vehicles. This would happen every night just before dark. I was informed about the problem and went to work getting something done to help her. The Border Patrol apprehended 50 illegals in her yard last week. She allowed the Minuteman Project to set up a patrol station in her yard. She has armed herself and is becoming quite outspoken about the border situation. Nothing like a dose of reality to turn a liberal into a conservative real quick. She's on her way.
I heard a number of the Minuteman Project airplanes flying around my house today. Since I live in a medium to high illegal traffic area they were patrolling near my house. I'm still working on getting on some of the planes to help out. I found out that they are looking for volunteers who know the area and some of the high traffic illegal alien areas to help the pilots patrol those areas. I can certainly help there and will be getting with the right people tomorrow to volunteer.
I've got a handful of pics I snapped today, but not much. I won't be reporting every day as I can't be involved every day. I work full time and must attend to that and family requirements. I'll get with the MMP when I can, help out here and there, and I do plan to do some patrols and will report my experiences later.
ping
These guys are the true patriots. Thanks for the post.
SPOTREP!!
Good job all. BTTT!
Georgia woman (with injury on chin) being interviewed by CNN crew.
Casey Wian from CNN - Lou Dobbs Tonight
Members of a Minuteman Project patrol being interviewed by Orange County Register.
Minuteman Project Comm Center.
Culpepper flag flying in front of Minuteman Project head shed. Yes, there was also an U.S. flag flying, just not pictured.
Minuteman Project campers with a beautiful Arizona sunset behind them.
Thanks for the up-close report, Spiff. Keep 'em coming! All of you are heroes to us.
I for one really appreciate it.
L
Wish I could be there - you guys are doing a great job!
Hoping the Georgia lady is OK. Thank you for the report.
Great report and pics, Spiff! Thanks!
Your reports are great! Thanks for sharing.
As far as the aerial surveillance effort you need to hook up with Hank (former FReeper JB), who's part of that effort. I can't believe so many of you live mere miles apart and don't coordinate.
Thanks again for the great photos. They truly enhance your already vivid written accounts.
JB and I talk all the time. He's the vice president of the Republican Club I'm the President of and he works in the same building where I work.
Great report! Sounds like "duty driver" is a much needed and important function!
Congratulations paisano, on becoming a U.S. citizen!
Uh, I'm not an expert -- but if someone wanted to cross into the U.S., wouldn't they just do the sensible thing and go to another part of the border?
Calling herself a 'Legal Observer,' Kristen Dillon uses the roof of her group's van as a perch to monitor the activity of Minuteman Project volunteers along the U.S./Mexico border west of Douglass, Arizona April 3, 2005. Minuteman volunteers are manning observation posts around the clock for the month of April along the border in the eastern part of Arizona to bring attention to the number of illegal immigrants coming north from Mexico. The Legal Observers, who are affiliated with the American Civil Liberties Union, are concerned that Minuteman Project volunteers, some of whom are armed, could harm illegal immigrants. REUTERS/Fred Greaves
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.