Posted on 05/24/2006 10:13:08 AM PDT by IrishMike
WASHINGTON The first wave of about 800 National Guard soldiers will head to the U.S-Mexico border next week, including planners and leadership personnel who will stay longer than the planned 21-day missions, the National Guard chief told lawmakers Wednesday.
Lt. Gen. Steven Blum said 200 soldiers are preparing to go to each of the four border states _ California, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico _ around June 1. He said the initial troops will be part of a longer-term force of project managers who will stay on the job over time to provide continuity in the new border program.
The troops represent the launch of President Bush's plan to dispatch up to 6,000 National Guard members to states bordering Mexico to support the Border Patrol and help stem the flow of illegal immigrants across the border.
It was not clear whether the initial influx of Guard members would come from the four border states or from other units across the country. Blum said the Guard troop that will be deployed longer than three weeks are volunteers.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
*****The border patrol will probably be ordered to disclose the location of our troops.*****
Let's just leave that to Geraldo... =P
The ACLU will do that for them...
The rank and file in the USBP probably hate the fact that this information is being shared with the Mexican government...
6000 pairs of eyes...
You Get It!!!
You know what seems odd to me is the fact that the Federal Government is trying to act like their in charge of the Guard. It tells the Guard what it can and cannot do. The President acts or at least the media gives people the impression that the President is "ordering" the Guard to the border when he is really only recommending to the governors to use their own state militias. The States need no permission from the federal government to use their own National Guard forces when the Guard is not actively called into the service of the Federal Government yet the Senate tries to make a power grab/good soundbyte by passing an amendment authorizing the border states to use the Guard and telling the guard what it can and cannot do. If the Senate wants to act like its in charge of the Guard it can follow the Constitutional rules and federalize the guard by calling it into the ACTIVE service of the Union then they can set the rules and the President can command them. Until then the states call the ALL of the shots with respect to what the Guard does.
In other words, oppose the squish Senate bill to be voted on tomorrow and support the House bill.
That and the getting physical control of the border.
I suspect there will be more people typing KP rosters than actually on the border doing any work.
Except that the Feds are likely funding this call up of the Guard. Therefore, the Senate is authorizing money for this purpose.
It doesn't. My son's entire Guard unit hasn't been deployed yet. They're slated for Afghanistan in 2007. I seem to remember Rumsfeld saying only 5% of the US military personnel is deployed in the ME. Whatever the numbers, the vast majority is stateside.
BTW my son's unit would LOVE to be deployed on the border. They see border defense as exactly the reason the Guard exists.
Except that the Feds are likely funding this call up of the Guard. Therefore, the Senate is authorizing money for this purpose.
This may be the ultimate definition of "too little, too late".
...UN sanctions?
So what is the truth? The troops will have small arms, and later will have air support on call, according to what I heard on NPR.
The report also said that the h=guards main purpose was for road, bridge and fence construction.
The guard will be shot at by drug runners and maverick detachments of the Mexican army who support the drug runners. that is when we will have a border war.
If Fox were smart, he would get his military cleaned up before the US has further cause to annex the Northern tier of Mexican states, the US has cause to do that now because of the illegal alien traffic of millions across its border.
"Okay, now what's gonna happen when the first American Guard personnel is shot? You KNOW it's gonna happen."
You're probably right about that. Then the media will keep a body count, like in the Iraq war, and report every death in detail.
MSM "QUAGMIRE!!!!"
Pelosi will demand we surrender to the drug dealers.(just like the senate)
no authority, no guns, and NO BULLETS!
Uniform National Guardsman to illegals running in the dessert "Hellow and weeeelcome to walmart."
Bush sent 200,000 troops to guard Iraqi borders in quick order. He is sending only 6000 to guard our own borders and it is taking weeks. Meantime . . . . . illegal aliens are streaming across the border.
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.