PEMBINA, N.D. - The North Dakota National Guard has built a blockade at the Canadian port-of-entry here on the nation's northern border.
But, this time, instead of illegal aliens or the narcotics trade, Mother Nature is the target.
The swelling Red River is creeping within 300 feet of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Station.
About 40 Soldiers from the 815th Engineer Company, based out of Edgeley, N.D., arrived on the scene today and installed 3,600 feet of large modular baskets lined with a heavy-duty fabric that hold compacted sand.
These HESCO barriers now ring the Pembina border station, forming an island amid the river flooding. The Soldiers were prepared to install as much as 4,500 feet of the barriers, but arrived to find the job a little less extensive than anticipated.
The barriers, manufactured by HESCO Inc., of Hammond, La., originally were designed for flood and hillside-erosion control, but they also proved effective in Iraq and Afghanistan as a shield against enemy fire.
HESCOs can be installed more quickly than a traditional sandbag levee.
1st Lt. Collin J. Kappenman, of Fargo, N.D., officer in charge of the mission, said "basically, we have brought the manpower and the knowledge to get this done."
Three tractor-trailers were loaded with the HESCO barriers on pallets at the Grand Forks Armed Forced Reserve Center before they were sent north to the border. There, skid-steer loaders made quick work of unloading the cargo.
Soldiers set up the HESCOs as civilian contractors filled them with sand brought in from nearby Cavalier, N.D.
"Today, the Soldiers did exceptionally well, completing our mission and getting the HESCOs set up quickly," said Capt. Trevor Y. Bakalar, commander of the 815th Engineer Company.
The 815th is headquartered in Edgeley, and has detachments in Lisbon, Wishek and Jamestown, N.D.
The dike around the border station was built to protect up to 53 feet, said Jack F. Gerberding, a building manager with General Services Administration. The projected river crest near the border station could be between 52 and 54 feet.
The HESCO barriers will add an additional four feet to the dike system, raising it to 57 feet, which "should give us enough freeboard," he said.
The 815th will have teams poised to respond to any breach in the HESCO dikes that might develop.
"We will stay here until we have finished and then become a quick-reaction force," said Sgt. 1st Class Sam T. Hansen, of Leeds, N.D, a member of the 815th. "From Grand Forks, we will also be able to respond to emergencies in Drayton, Cavalier and Pembina."