WASHINGTON, The National Guard and the U.S. Border Patrol marked the end of one mission and the continuation of a two-decade partnership at a ceremony here July 11.
The commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which includes the Border Patrol, joined the chief of the Border Patrol and the chief of the National Guard Bureau (NGB) at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center to mark the end of Operation Jump Start (OJS).
"I'm not going to call it the end," said W. Ralph Basham, CBP commissioner. "I'm going to call it the continuation of one of the greatest partnerships that I personally have ever had the pleasure of being involved with."
At its peak, OJS saw up to 6,000 National Guard Citizen-Soldiers and,Airmen assisting the Border Patrol to increase security and vigilance along the nation's southern border, according to NGB officials. OJS began June 15, 2006, and officially ended on July 15.
"Looking out here and seeing a sea of blue and green, it brings a warm feeling to one's heart to know that we're all in the same mission together, in the same fight together," Basham said, calling the end of OJS the close of one chapter in a long, continuing relationship.
OJS gave the Border Patrol National Guard assistance in strengthening border security and fulfilling non-law enforcement duties while up to 6,000 additional agents were hired and trained.
"We can all now admit that we did, in fact, need your help," Basham said, addressing the National Guard. "We needed your help desperately, as a matter of fact, to build a bridge [from] where we were two years ago in June 2006 [to] where we are now."
That sea of blue and green at the Reagan Building reflected a joint environment within and beyond the National Guard: Some of the green was worn by Citizen-Soldiers. The blue was worn by Citizen-Airmen. More green was worn by Border Patrol agents.
The National Guard has provided engineering, counterdrug and other support to CBP for more than 20 years and will continue to do so, leaders in the partnership stressed.
"Within law enforcement, there is one word that we put a lot of weight on," said David V. Aguilar, chief of the Border Patrol. "That is the word 'partner.', Today, I am very, very proud to use that word, with the National Guard, as true partners. ... Today, I am very proud to call every individual that wears the uniform of the National Guard, has ever worn it or will wear it, or is in any way affiliated with the National Guard, our true partners, and for that we truly thank you."
Among many achievements, OJS freed up 581 Border Patrol agents to perform law enforcement duties, a program dubbed Badges Back to the Border. OJS "allowed our Border Patrol to get out there and do the job that they were trained to do," Basham said.
Other highlights:
- More than 29,000 troops from all 54 states and territories participated. Up to 6,000 were on the border at any one time in the first year and up to 3,000 in the second year, as recruitment beefed up the Border Patrol's ranks.
- More than 176,000 undocumented aliens were apprehended. National Guard units weren't involved in any direct law enforcement activities, but Guardmembers provided the support that helped Border Patrol agents execute their missions.
- More than 1,100 vehicles were seized.
- More than 321,000 pounds of marijuana and cocaine were seized.
- Citizen-Soldiers and,Airmen helped rescue 101 undocumented aliens.
- National Guard pilots logged more than 28,000 hours of flight time for aviation assistance.
- More than 19 miles of road, 38 miles of fencing and 96 miles of vehicle border barriers were built and more than 717 miles of road were repaired.
"What these numbers mean is nothing less than a safer America," Aguilar said.
Citizen-Soldiers and,Airmen gave the Border Patrol logistical and administrative support. They operated detection systems, provided communications, analyzed border-related intelligence, built new infrastructure, conducted training and provided additional aviation assets and ground transportation.
"If this country didn't have a National Guard, we'd be scrambling to invent one this morning," said LTG H Steven Blum, the chief of the NGB. "If you think about what your Guard does for you here at home, overseas and every day in every state and territory, it just makes me incredibly proud of what we do."
Aguilar said that when OJS was announced in 2006, some people were skeptical, questioning the mission. Aguilar gave examples. "What are they doing? What are they thinking putting the National Guard on the border? Cannot and could not be done. ... Should not be done., They will never get it done."
Now, Aguilar said he encounters completely different statements. "They have made a world of difference. The border is unlike what it was before., What are they doing leaving the border so soon? Why are they leaving?, What are they thinking?"
Aguilar said it was the success of OJS that changed how people talk about it. "The partnership has worked," he said. "We have made America safer., As we have in the past, the Guard, the Border Patrol, we will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder, guarding and protecting our country."
Blum said OJS will endure as an example of how to do things right. "Operation Jump Start is going to be a model that future leaders will look at, and students of our Constitution will look at, that worked in a very complex, motion-filled, nuanced mission with international implications and national security implications at a time where our nation was nervous and our foreign partners were nervous," he said. "And yet the interagency, intergovernmental, interstate federal system that was envisioned by our Founding Fathers over 232 years ago manifested itself in reality for the last 24 months in the most magnificent display of selfless professionalism."