Pentagon Says It Now Has Money for 256 More Miles of Border Wall

National Review ^ | May 8, 2019 | Mairead McArdle

[BeauBo]

The Pentagon said Wednesday that it has enough funding to build 256 more miles of border wall in the near future, and will start construction at a rate of about a half mile a day over the next six months. Acting Secretary of Defense Pat Shanahan said in testimony to the Senate Defense Appropriations subcommittee. “How you will see this materialize in the next six months is that about 63 additional new miles of wall will come online, so about a half a mile a day will be produced.”

[NorthMountain]

That’s certainly not going to go in as fast as railroad tracks.

[BeauBo]

“what is there, something like 500 miles?”

President Trump inherited about 650 miles of barrier that Border Patrol maintained on their books. More than half of that is vehicle barrier, that anyone can walk through.

Border Patrol strongly wants see-through bollard barrier (call it fence), for several compelling reasons. Bigger barriers and multiple barriers are important in cities, but outside the cities, detection and response are relatively more important.

There are new technology programs rolling out too, without much press, but which will have strong effects.

I have no update on recruiting. Last I heard they were still behind goal. There is a new rapid hiring process, if you know any young men who need a good job.

[9YearLurker]

Detection and response has them already on our soil and is far more manpower intensive. I want 1800 miles of fence, with as much of it as possible with 30’ fences and a solid road, as well as loads of concertina wire in between. Let border patrol catch any attempted crossers suspended between the two fences, above ground, with tech detection and truck patrol.

Seeing how they can climb over even the tall fences now with rope ladders is just sickening.

[bgill]

Drop in the bucket. But at least we get a drop. Of course, they’ll just wander down a few miles to come in same as always.

[Revolutionary]

A significant portion of old fence has been replaced by the new good fence. One of the reasons Ann C. kept whining. But the old fence was in the most critical areas. Now we are building new miles of fence.

[BeauBo]

“Seeing how they can climb over even the tall fences now with rope ladders is just sickening.”

Any obstacle can be mechanically overcome, given enough opportunity (Mt Everest is my favorite example). Critics will say, if you build a 30 foot wall, they will build a 31 foot ladder.

The doctrine of the the Army’s Combat Engineers, is that any obstacle must be kept under observation, to maintain its effectiveness. By that, they mean both being monitored, and being subject to fire, to prevent the enemy from having the time to needed to breach the obstacle. The Border patrol equivalent to placing an area under fire, is their ability to intercept and arrest.

The basic border calculus, is: Intercept time = Detection time + Disappearing time.

A see through barrier improves detection time - cameras can stare deep into Mexico, for anyone approaching the barrier. With solid barrier, often the earliest opportunity to detect, is when a head pops over the top of the wall.

In urban areas, illegals can sometimes disappear in just one minute - hopping into a car, running into a shopping mall, or jumping through back yards. In some rural areas, they have to walk for days, but response time to intercept is also longer.

So in rural areas, detection and response capability become more important. In fact, if your detection and response is good enough, you don’t really need a barrier at all in many places, if all it does is slow down crossers with ropes and ladders for a few minutes.

The new bollards provide a strong obstacle - even a big truck with a suicide driver cannot ram through. With anti-climb plate on top, and concertina on the American side, the great bulk of climbers (even with ladders and ropes) are deterred.

But in addition to the obstacle, they are wired with sensors and alarms that form a continuous “linear detection system”, or tripwire of sorts, that is very difficult to cross undetected. They also generally include good roads for to improved response times. That is why Border Patrol likes to call it “Wall System”. Not only does it reduce the number of crossers, it also improves detection and response.

[BeauBo]

“Drop in the bucket.(256 more miles)”

The Trump Program prioritizes the highest traffic areas first, So the earliest miles have the biggest impacts.

For example, out of the first 40 miles from the 2017 appropriation, there was 14 miles for a “replacement” 18 foot primary barrier in San Diego. When the caravan went there last year, they were completely deterred/defeated by new 18 foot bollard barrier, and had to move to where the new bollards were not yet installed. There, masses of riot police and tear gas were required around the clock. Since then, that whole primary barrier is complete, and a second run of mighty 30 foot bollards (secondary barrier) is going up behind the first.

The area in between the primary and secondary barriers, at least 150 feet wide, is being transformed - cleared of vegetation, getting stadium lighting, complete monitoring by fixed cameras (which will be monitored by AI software, as well as humans) and embedded with alarm/sensor systems, that will bring detection to basically 100%. High speed, all weather patrol road will extend the entire length of that urban area “enforcement zone”, as will both barriers, where before there were gaps (over 1 1/2 miles in the secondary barrier). There are also other powerful new technology programs fielding there at the same time.

Although it is only 1 1/2 mile of “new” barrier, and 26 1/2 miles of “replacement” barrier, it will totally transform the biggest urban area along the border - effectively shutting it tight by Christmas this year.

As they work down the carefully analyzed priority list, a few hundred miles makes a really big effect - most of the total effect. Basically, it will button up most of the border cities and Rio Grande Valley, where most traffic passes. The Rio Grande Valley and Laredo are the main battle in securing the border (about 150 miles worth) - the rest is relatively much easier, cheaper and faster.

The total plan for “Full Operational Control” of the Border, is for 1,100 miles of such strong barrier, thousands more full time positions, and several large technology programs.

With the money identified this year ($8.1 billion) the President should be able to get about 500 miles built or on contract before the election (about 300 built/200 contracted). If he gets the $8.7 billion he is requesting next year (which would be a miracle), there would be hundreds of more miles on contract - a bigger and much more effective package than the Bush-era Secure Fence Act, which was previously the biggest ever.

Because of the emergency declaration and the extra money from that, this is no longer playing small ball, but is seriously laying on enough top of the line barrier to really address the problem.