Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

AP NewsBreak: Guard Stint to Last 2 Years (at least two years with no clear end date)
The AP via Yahoo! News ^ | May 19, 2006 | Aaron C. Davis

Posted on 05/19/2006 7:50:15 PM PDT by new yorker 77

President Bush's planned deployment of National Guard troops to the Mexican border would last at least two years with no clear end date, according to a Pentagon memo obtained Friday by The Associated Press.

The one-page "initial guidance" memo to National Guard leaders in border states does not address the estimated cost of the mission or when soldiers would be deployed. But high-ranking officials in the California National Guard said they were told Friday that deployments would not begin before early June.

While the military document makes clear the troops would remain under the command of their governors, it also indicates a high degree of federal control over operations. It states that the National Guard Bureau's Army and Air Directories "will serve as the states' focal points for force-planning, training, organizing and equipping their forces."

Guardsmen in "all other states, territories and the District of Columbia" will serve a supportive role, according to the memo.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has not yet decided whether to commit troops to the mission, led a conference call with the governors of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to discuss the memo.

"There still remains a lot of unanswered questions that the governor is concerned about," Adam Mandelsohn, Schwarzenegger's communications director. "Most specifically, the outstanding funding issues and whether there is a commitment to the two-year time frame," he said.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano said they would support the deployment of National Guard troops to the border, while New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat, has been more critical of the plan.

A spokeswoman for Perry said the governors agreed to send a letter asking the Bush administration to clarify issues such as funding, rotation and troop levels that would be stationed in each of the states.

The president outlined the plan Monday night as part of a national address on curbing illegal immigration, pledging to gain control of the border and give up to 12 million illegal immigrants a chance at citizenship.

He proposed deploying 6,000 troops at a time to the border in two-week rotations. The deployments would be temporary, he said, until enough Border Patrol agents were hired to secure the mission. He asked Congress to add 6,000 more Border Patrol agents by the end of his presidency.

The White House also said the troops would be financed with part of the $1.9 billion requested from Congress this year to supplement border enforcement.

The memo sent Friday to Guard leaders went further, stating that units would remain in a "federally funded" mission for "up to one year, with a force reduction to 3,000 during the second year."

The document described an "end date" for the mission when the U.S. Border Patrol operation "gains independent operational control of the (southwest border) and National Guard forces are no longer required for this mission."

The memo said the Guard units' missions will focus on "surveillance, reconnaissance, aviation, intelligence, engineering, training, vehicle dismantling, linguistics ... transportation and logistics."

They will not be asked to perform law-enforcement functions, but rather provide "vetted and pre-coordinated support to law enforcement."

___

Associated Press Writers Paul Davenport in Phoenix and Sheila Flynn in Dallas contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.


TOPICS: Breaking News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Arizona; US: California; US: New Mexico; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: assocpressstinks; homebychristmas; nationalguard; southernborder; twowholeyears
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100101-103 last
To: new yorker 77

The US Military should've been put on the border soon after 911. This has been done before during wars...why not the WOT?


101 posted on 05/20/2006 5:34:48 PM PDT by shield (A wise man's heart is at his RIGHT hand; but a fool's heart at his LEFT. Ecc. 10:2)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: org.whodat

6000 people every two weeks is 156,000.

The math is not that difficult. Your 10,000 will be passed with the second round of deployments. Looks like you never served in the National Guard, sun or shade.


102 posted on 05/24/2006 8:28:43 PM PDT by oldbill
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 88 | View Replies]

To: oldbill

I think you need to go back and read the post, I think you are replying to the wrong person. My statement was that I did not think there would ever be 6,000 people there at anyone time, or if there would ever be 6000 there in total. Maybe you put the old in front of bill for a reason.


103 posted on 05/24/2006 8:43:28 PM PDT by org.whodat (Never let the facts get in the way of a good assumption.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 102 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 41-6061-8081-100101-103 last

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.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson