Borderland

I've been off the air for a while. Last time I burdened anyone with my opinions I was urging you to vote in '06. Two weeks later on November 12, 2006, I left Tennesse and headed for Arizona to serve on Operation Jump Start as part of the southwest border security mission. I've been sort of busy over the last 20 months. Since that day, except for three months in the summer of '07, and an occassional long weekend home, I've been in southern Arizona. I spent the first eight months on post in perhaps the most desolate land in our country, sometimes within rock throwing distance of Mexico. The last nine months I've been working as the enlisted liason between the Tucson Station Border Patrol and the National Guard. In that environment, I was witness to the fruits of labor produced by our guardsmen and the most under rated and under appreciated federal agents of the US government. I'm not giving away any "guvment" secrets when I tell you this, but I imagine you'll be shocked non the less. Over the last twelve months, the Tucson sector, which covers a 150 mile stretch of border from Douglas Arizona, to Smugglers Canyon, 10 miles west of Sasabe, was responsible for the apprehension of over 250,000 illegal entrants, and the confiscation of over $500,000,000 (yes that one half billion with a B) dollars worth of narcotics. Keep in mind, that 150 miles of mostly rugged desert comprises only about 8% of our 1800 mile border. The vast majority of the illegal entrants were caught in groups ranging from 5 or 10 (but rarely larger than twenty) and a significant portion of the drugs was carried across the border on the backs of "mules" (the two legged kind) in burlap bags that usually weighed around 50 pounds. Over that twelve month period, both illegal entrants and the confiscation of narcotics has dropped by between 15 and 40 percent, (depending on which report you read).

Today, June 11th, 2008, the national guard support of Customs and Border Protection ended in Tucson Sector after nearly two years of service. The promised 10,000 new Border Patrol agents are still only about 2/3rds hired, trained, and in the field. Tucson sector received 175 of those new agents. Beginning tomorrow, oh...about 100 to 120 of them will have to be recalled from the border where they were busy arresting illegal entrants and drug smugglers, to take over the support jobs the army and air guardsmen (and women) were filling.

I write this column because right now, all anyone in the news talks about is gas reaching $4 a gallon, who Senator Obama will pick as a VP running mate and Senator McCain....well, just trying to keep in the news so he won't be forgotten. And while they talk about what Obama heard in church or how many lobbyist McCain has on his staff, the Tucson Sector border patrol agents apprehend somewhere around 7,000 illegals a week.

But our border is secure, right? It must be. When was the last time either of the Senators running for president mentioned border security or illegal immigration? When was the last time they, or anyone in the news, said "boo" about half a billion dollars worth of confiscated drugs? Every night I pray that when I wake up, today will be the day these two Senators, and the government they represent, will finally quit playing politics long enough to actually start really dealing with the invasion still taking place on our southern border. That...and engery independance, fighting and winning the war on terror, containing Iran, and oh....a hundred other things besides, who's too old or who doesn't have enough experience, or blah blah blah blah blah......

Because if they don't...if they don't, come November 2012, (if you can afford the gas to drive yourself to the polls or aren't hiding in your basement because Ahmadinejad finally has his bomb) you may need to take Spanish language class to read the ballot.

Now I lay me down to sleep....