A U.S. Army National Guard soldier, a member of an entry identification team, watches the U.S./Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz., on Jan. 17, 2007. National Guard soldiers and airmen participating in operation Jump Start are acting as the eyes and ears for the Border Patrol in securing the border. DoD photo by Sgt. Jim Greenhill, U.S. Army. (Released)

By Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill
National Guard Bureau

ARLINGTON, Va. — National Guard troops in four states are in training today as they prepare to join colleagues already supporting Border Patrol agents on the nation’s Southwest border.

“The National Guard has been providing Southwest border support for a number of years through our Counterdrug … program,” said Army Maj. Gen. Peter Aylward, who is coordinating the latest operation at the National Guard Bureau. “Today we have more than 360 folks providing that kind of support. For this new mission, we have 150 folks, and we’ll ramp up as part of a phased, deliberate operation to as many as 1,200.”

These Guardsmen will support Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.

By Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill
National Guard Bureau

WASHINGTON – Starting Aug. 1, up to 1,200 National Guard troops will deploy to the Southwest border with Mexico, the chief of the National Guard Bureau said in a joint announcement with Obama administration officials at the Pentagon here today.

“We’re very pleased to be in support of our interagency partners,” Air Force Gen. Craig McKinley said. The 1,200 troops will support Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.

“We’ll make sure that all our Soldiers and Airmen are well-qualified, well-integrated and well-briefed on the mission,” McKinley said.

“We are pleased because along the Southwest border we have had an integration effort of counternarcotics for over two decades, with 300 of our National Guard men and women already working with our interagency partners,” he said, referring to the National Guard’s Counterdrug Program.

The National Guard Counterdrug Program supports local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, community-based organizations and combatant commanders in the fight against illicit drugs and transnational threats to the homeland, Guard officials said.

“The National Guard is there to support the efforts of law enforcement, not to have a direct law enforcement role,” Alan Bersin, commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, said at the Pentagon briefing. “The National Guard has done that extremely well in the past, and we trust they’ll do so again on this occasion.”

The cost of the deployment of the 1,200 is to be split equally between the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security.

The largest number of troops – 524 – is slated to deploy in Arizona. Meanwhile, an estimated 250 will deploy in Texas, 224 in California and 72 in New Mexico. Additional troops from these states will also serve in command and control or support positions.

The deployment is expected to peak in October and in June, 2011, when CBP anticipates hiring an additional 1,000 agents.

The majority of the Guardmembers will support the Border Patrol with entry identification teams and support ICE with criminal investigative analysts, Defense officials said.

The criminal investigative analysts will assist ICE agents in reducing the flow of illegal bulk currency and weapons from the United States to Mexico.

The National Guardmembers are expected to be volunteers and McKinley said no overseas deployments are affected.

An entry identification team consisting of U.S. Army Soldiers from the National Guard man a post on Johnson Mountain in New Mexico June 17, 2006. The team gathers intelligence about illegal immigrants attempting to enter the U.S. from Mexico and relays it to Border Patrol agents. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill) (Released)

By Army Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill
National Guard Bureau

WASHINGTON – About 1,200 National Guard troops will support the Department of Homeland Security in enhancing the security of the nation’s Southwest border, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said here Tuesday.

“President Obama … will deploy more than 1,200 National Guard troops to assist the ongoing efforts to secure the border and combat the cartels,” Napolitano said during remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies about ongoing DHS initiatives and new strategies to bolster border security and enforce immigration laws.

“The National Guard deployments that have worked throughout the last 20 years … has worked in a very, very coordinated fashion, to the point that it increases our capabilities in such a fashion that it puts more … border patrol agents’ boots on the ground,” David Aguilar, deputy commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said during a panel discussion following Napolitano’s remarks.

“Support from the National Guard – but yet a clear division: them not arresting, not engaging in enforcement activities directly attributed to any illegal crossings of either aliens, narcotics or things of that nature – … has worked out very well,” Aguilar said. “The National Guard … will bring us a tremendous amount of capability in securing our borders.”

DHS works with federal, state, local, tribal and Mexican partners to crack down on border-related crime and smuggling while facilitating legitimate travel and commerce.

Obama has requested $500 million in supplemental funds for enhanced border security and law enforcement activities in addition to the deployment of National Guard troops, according to a DHS fact sheet.

Napolitano announced a slew of additional initiatives on Tuesday that include creating new partnerships with state and local law enforcement, building information-sharing capabilities, enhancing technology, prioritizing the arrest and removal of dangerous criminal aliens and expanding unprecedented law enforcement partnerships with Mexico.

The National Guard successfully supported the border security mission during Operation Jump Start from 2006 to 2008.

The latest mission using 1,200 volunteers drawn from the four border states will provide criminal investigative analysis and entry identification teas in support of Customs and Border Protection for one year.

EITs monitor the border from strategic observation points with state-of-the-art surveillance and detection tactics and technology in support of local law enforcement.

The deployment of National Guard troops is part of a multi-layered effort targeting illicit networks trafficking in people, drugs, illegal weapons and money, Guard officials said.

With nearly 470,000 Guardmembers in the 54 states and territories and the District of Columbia, the National Guard is uniquely suited to support homeland defense operations, to include border security missions.