ARLINGTON, Va. - Since Aug. 1, 2010, the National Guard has had up to 1,200 Guardmembers deployed to the nation’s Southwest border in support of ongoing operations by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and the Department of Homeland Security.
Tuesday, Army Maj. Gen. Peter Aylward, special assistant to the chief of the National Guard Bureau, presented Chief Eric Odden, associate chief of the Southwest border division, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, with a National Guard heritage painting, thanking him for his role in the interagency partnership during border operations.
“The partnership with the [Guard], and DoD itself has been great over the last 25 years,” said Odden. “This is a relationship that has been built upon trust and hard work, and Maj. Gen. Aylward and his team have worked so hard to ensure that we have everything we need to do our mission.
“This relationship will continue for years, long after I’m gone, and I just really appreciate everything that the Guard has done in support of the mission along the Southwest border.
“Due to the augmented force with the Guard, the apprehensions and seizures of drugs has been huge, and we look forward to more of this in the future.”
Army Maj. Gen. David Harris, the National Guard Bureau’s director of domestic operations, agreed that border operations have been a huge success.
“The interaction between our two agencies has resulted in a strong relationship and has allowed us to provide them with some efficiencies while they increase their own capabilities,” Harris said. “We couldn’t be any happier.
“It’s just another great example of how cooperation between the National Guard and our other agencies can produce good things.”