Posted on 07/11/2012 8:53:13 PM PDT by montag813
by John Hill
Stand With Arizona
The border is “safer than ever”. So says DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano. Again and again.
Barack Obama has mocked those who say the border is unsafe: “Maybe they’ll need a moat. Maybe they’ll want alligators in the moat. They’ll never be satisfied.”
But for Texans, the Rio Grande is wide open - thanks to Federal failure to secure it - and is a growing threat to the safety of citizens and law enforcement, on land and water.
In January we chronicled how ranchers in the Rio Grande Valley were stocking up on AK-47s to defend their property and lives from border violence, after months of being outgunned by Mexican cartel gunmen.
Now, to deal with the Federal failure to secure the river and the drug and human smugglers who use it, Texas Department of Public Safety has deployed gunboats on the river, armed with major firepower. DPS now has 4 shallow-water vessels (to soon grow to 6), each armed with six M-240, 30-caliber automatic machine guns that fire 900 rounds per minute.
Each of the boats, equipped with armor-plating, night vision equipment and a small arsenal of weaponry, costs about $580,000.
Troopers patrolling the border say the expense is justified, considering the ruthless nature of their adversaries in the Mexican drug cartels. What they fear, more than anything else, is the prospect of an ambush.
"They’ve got radios, they’ve got their telephones, there’s somebody right here in this abandoned house right here," Lt. Charley Goble says, gesturing to people hanging around on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. "There’s somebody there now. They’re watching what we’re doing."
Several times last year and again this past March, Texas DPS and Rangers have come under fire from the Mexican side, or from cartel boats right on the river. The cartels have grown increasingly bold and are more heavily armed every few months, as the battle continues to intensify.
In the Rio Grande Valley, in addition to the ranchers arming with AK's, several Afghan nationals were also detained this past February, as border crossing traffic from potential terrorists, as well as human smugglers shifts to Texas in the wake of Arizona's crackdown. Texas has become a "hot zone" for escalating border dangers.
Meanwhile, in D.C., Obama and Big Sis say "What Me Worry?" as Texas deals with the abject failure that is this administration border insecurity.
We need new leadership in Washington that will get the job done. But until then, Texas' finest are on the job, and we salute them.
Full video coverage below...
JOIN THE FIGHT ON FACEBOOK
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER
Put wheels on them and drive um into Dallas, Houston, etc.
Target rich environments.
I hear we have state of the art bean bag shooting technology.
My father was an armorer when he was in Europe during WWII. He worked on Quad-50’s and Bofors.
I could see Quad-50’s on such a boat with a few anti-tank weapons for good measure.
http://www.rt66.com/~korteng/SmallArms/PrincipalWeapons.htm
“Quad .50: A half-track mounting four .50s capable of being fired as a unit. Developed as an anti-aircraft weapon, as an antipersonnel weapon it was capable of hurling an immense amount of fire into hillsides and valleys against advancing infantry, or long-range harassing fire against enemy movement routes at night. Firing as many as 100,000 rounds a day, the Quad .50 could go over hills like a vacuum cleaner, sucking them devoid of life.”
The Germans had something similar, a `Werbel’ (Whirlwind’)? and used it a lot after they lost control of the air.
That’d work!
I was thinking of something the Marines used— 4 recoilless rifles? An Ontos(?) That might be even better for cartel caravan work.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontos
—
Blast from the back of the recoil-less rifles is not insignificant.
“...armed with six M-240, 30-caliber automatic machine guns that fire 900 rounds per minute.”
Thus providing the illusion of security. Does anyone here actually believe that the State of Texas would be authorized to use those guns?
It seems to me the government is going out of it’s way to provoke the decent citizens of the United States so it can declare open season on them.
I can honestly say that I think there’s some credence to the idea city ops in Iraq an Afghanistan were mere practice for what at least some government officials knew was coming, if they could just arrange it.
They’ve sure been working overtime on it.
Well, it will roast your body hair and light the cigar in your mouth!
Border INsecurity? The folks on those boats did not look INsecure to me.
BTW: Texans, God speed...
The decent citizens out here are right behind you.
Mexico is going to push it’s luck too far one of these days and it could result in a two way fight across the border for a change.
Good, maybe the residents of the four border states will get it through their thick skulls that the feds are actively endorsing an open border policy with mexico. Repel the invaders, and pay no heed to the feds. They refuse to do their job as mandated by the Constitution, so they can go f@!$ off, we’ll take care of the problem. They made their bed, now they can lay in it. It’s out of their hands now. America is for the people, by the people, and the people can look out after themselves.
Bofors twin mount like the AA mounts on WWII USN ships.
I wonder if they will tell us when they bag their first illegal crosser.
I say they should put sharks with frickin’ laser beams on their heads in the Rio Grande River.
Rick Perry sucks.
Someone on FR told me so. /s
NG Units are under the command of the state, unless federalized for a national emergency. NG Guard units ARE the Army. They have ALL the Army’s current equipment, plus armories full of all kinds of interesting stuff, including I am sure, a Thompson or two.
“Heavily-Armed Texas Gunboats Now Patrolling the Rio Grande”
Git Ur Dun!!!!!!!!!!!
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.