The blue-tinged intensity of the welding gun lights up the masked face of Army Pfc. Ramsey Victor, a combat engineer with the Texas Army National Guard’s Company A, 172nd Brigade Engineer Battalion, as he welds together parts of a distress beacon while on duty at the U.S. Border Patrol facility in McAllen, Texas. Placed in the desert along the Texas-Mexico border, the beacons are a potential lifeline for those who may have crossed the border illegally and find themselves in need of water or medical attention. Activating the beacon summons Border Patrol agents, and help to the area. Guard members have been working in a variety of infrastructure support functions to Border Patrol, including welding and monitoring surveillance cameras in high-traffic border crossing areas.
The early morning light hung low, cascading over the trucks and other equipment parked behind the fence at the U.S. Border Patrol facility in McAllen, Texas. A handful of birds flew past, dots against the broad Texas sky, as murmurs of activity came from the far end of the parking lot. An industrial fan hummed monotonously from a row of open-air canopies – doing what it could to beat back the burgeoning heat of the day – when the still, morning serenity was suddenly broken by the screaming whine of a high-rpm electric motor and the unmistakable noise of metal being grinded.
Victor is one of the more than 2,000 National Guard troops currently serving along the Southwest border. His duties working with Border Patrol include welding and constructing items such as distress beacons and mounts for surveillance cameras used along the border. For Victor, building the distress beacons has been rewarding as their “final purpose is to save a life.”
“They have me welding,” said Army Pfc. Ramsey Victor, a combat engineer with the Texas Army National Guard’s Company A, 172nd Brigade Engineer Battalion, describing his job under the canopy. Welding prep means grinding away any rust, paint or other items to get to bare metal.
Victor, and other Soldiers from his unit, were busy grinding, welding and taking care of other similar tasks in support of Border Patrol as part of Operation Guardian Support.
“[We’re] doing whatever they need,” said Victor. “Building the [distress] beacons, camera boxes, trailers – whatever they need.”
The distress beacons are especially important, said Victor. Placed throughout the desert along the Texas border with Mexico, the beacons act as a potential lifeline for those who may have crossed the border illegally and now find themselves in need of water or medical attention.
“What these distress beacons do is there’s a button on there, there’s a medical flag,” said Victor. “Press the button and then Border Patrol comes with medical assistance, food, water.”
For Victor, who added that temperatures in southwest Texas can easily reach above 110 degrees, providing that internal support, like constructing the beacons, has been a worthwhile undertaking.
“I feel good building these beacons,” he said. “That way there’s a chance [those who need it] can get medical attention and survive. The final purpose is to save a life.”
With Soldiers like Victor providing that behind-the-lines support, agents previously doing those tasks are freed up to return to law enforcement duties along the border.
“Us being here allows for more of the agents to be out in the field and securing the country,” said Army Sgt. Delaccye Blake, a combat engineer with B Company, 172nd BSB, also on duty at the McAllen Border Patrol station.
For Blake, Victor and other Soldiers, their daily duties also include items such as property accountability, gate security operations at Border Patrol facilities and other tasks.
Army Pfc. Alex Vu, a combat engineer with Co. A, 172nd BEB, grinds a piece of metal while constructing a distress beacon at the McAllen, Texas, Border Patrol station.
“We have a lot of missions we’re conducting within the stations,” said Army 1st Lt. David Aguilar, a platoon leader with the Texas Army Guard’s Company A, 3rd Battalion, 141st Infantry Regiment, whose platoon works out of the Weslaco, Texas, Border Patrol station. “Some are camera operators, others are helping provide maintenance of Border Patrol vehicles.”
For Aguilar, each of those roles is one piece to a larger mission.
“Each role is equally important,” he said. “The whole thing comes down to homeland security.”
Though it often makes for busy days.
“We’ll be working on a project and then suddenly we’re bombarded with [other] projects that Border Patrol needs done right away,” said Victor. “It’s like a rush of tasks, but we manage to make it happen.”
For others, the overall tasks and duties they perform in support of Border Patrol are steadily focused on quiet observation.
“I operate cameras to scan around certain areas [along the border] and keep eyes on agents to make sure they’re safe while out in the field,” said Army Cpl. Scott Engels, with the Arizona Army National Guard’s 222nd Transportation Company, describing his duties as a camera operator working out of the Nogales, Ariz., Border Patrol station.
The cameras also allow Engels, and others, to keep an eye out for activity such as individuals crossing the border illegally or things like cross-border drug smuggling and human trafficking.
For Engels, a former radar operator who retrained to his current military job as a transportation specialist, operating the cameras and other communications equipment is a familiar one.
“They didn’t really have to spend much time training me,” he said. “I just picked it up pretty quickly.”
But for some Soldiers, it took some time adjusting to working with Border Patrol.
“They’re very happy to have us on board, but it’s been a process learning exactly how they run things and getting on the same sheet of music,” said Aguilar, the platoon leader in Texas, adding that for many of his Soldiers, it was just a matter of understanding the mission and the process.
Lit by the radiant glow of computer monitors, Army Cpl. Scott Engels, a truck driver with the Arizona Army National Guard’s 222nd Transportation Company, keeps an eye on live feeds from surveillance cameras along the Arizona - Mexico border while working at the Border Patrol station in Nogales, Ariz. The cameras allow Engels, and others, to watch for illegal border crossings as well as cross-border drug smuggling and human trafficking.
“They were unfamiliar with the types of assignments,” he said. “But, they’ve adjusted and are feeling more confident and comfortable to where Border Patrol is commending them for their service.”
Other Soldiers, however, have a familiar support role. As a chaplain, Army Capt. Stephen Missick provides support directly to the Soldiers and Airmen who are part of Task Force Salerno, the Texas National Guard element providing Border Patrol support. That’s no different than if he were deployed overseas.
“I’ve deployed twice to Iraq,” he said. “Here, we’re home. This mission is in Texas.”
Though the mission is at home in Texas, there are similar challenges as with an overseas deployment.
“There is a difficulty of being away from your family and loved ones for extended periods of time,” Missick said. “That’s part of the challenge when Soldiers are on deployments.”
It’s a big concern, said Missick, who regularly travels throughout the Texas border region to check in on Soldiers.
“I’ve been to every port of entry and every Border Patrol station [where Texas Army Guard members are working] because I think it’s important as a chaplain to have visibility and be where the Soldiers are,” he said. “They can see me and know me in case there are any issues.”
Missick added that morale is high among those Texas Guard members serving along the border.
“Most Soldiers have a positive attitude,” he said. “The morale is very good. I think people are keeping a good attitude.”
Other agreed.
“It’s rewarding,” said Victor, the welder. “It’s tough. It’s not for everybody. But, it’s been rewarding.”