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PHOTO (left): Naval Amphibious Base Branch Medical Clinic on Coronado Island. Medical
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 1, 2006
Major Jon Siepmann Release # 06-01
Governor Schwarzenegger Directs California National Guard to Support Border
Mission
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced his
intention to sign a memorandum authorizing California National Guard (CNG)
forces to be used in support of the Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
mission to secure the southern border of California.
The memorandum between the governors of the four Border States and the federal
government outlines conditions of this support to include: operational
control, mission parameters, federal reimbursement, Rules for the Use of
Force, and the prohibition against using Guardsmen in a law enforcement role.
The CNG will provide support to the border mission under the command and
direction of Governor Schwarzenegger in a title 32 U.S.C. status. This status
allows the mission to be federally funded but remain under the command and
control of the Governor.
California's Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. William H. Wade said today "Our
Governor has announced his intention to support this mission. We are prepared
to execute his order deliberately and professionally. We appreciate the
Governor's efforts to bring as much clarity to this mission as possible, and
for his continuing support to the Soldiers and Airmen of our National Guard."
Customs and Border Protection has requested National Guard support in eight
general mission areas including: operations, air support, ground
transportation, command and control, base operations, maintenance, civil
engineering, and ports of entry augmentation. Their initial request in
California was for approximately 950 personnel not including the command and
administrative personnel necessary to manage the mission. Based on this
assessment, the CNG has identified the need for as many as 1000 National
Guardsmen to support the mission in California. These forces would not
necessarily all come from the CNG.
Support to CBP under this mission will be a temporary measure to support
border security operations until such time as CBP can increase its own
capabilities. All missions performed by the Guard will be in support of CBP.
The CNG will play no direct role in law enforcement activities such as:
apprehension, detention or transportation of detained persons.
Forces used for this mission will fall under two general categories:
durational forces and rotational forces. Both durational and rotational forces
can come from other states.
Durational forces will be brought on duty for up to a year at a time. These
forces will form the core of the CNG border presence and will be principally
composed of volunteers from the within the CNG.
Rotational forces, which will come from the CNG as well as from other state
National Guards, will perform duty for two to three week periods, and will
perform duties directly applicable to their military specialties.
The mission will be conducted in multiple phases. With the signing of the MOU,
the CNG will move forward from the assessment and preparation phase to the
force buildup phase of the operation. In this stage, initial forces will be
brought on duty to execute detailed mission planning and to build the force
structure necessary to support the mission. Once sufficient forces have been
built up and trained, the sustained operations phase will begin. During
sustained operations, forces will execute missions in support of the border
patrol. The anticipated time frame to begin sustained operations is mid-July
2006. The mission will terminate once CBP has attained significant capacity to
conduct the mission internally, or on December 31, 2008, whichever occurs
first.
The CNG will notify media of opportunities for interviews, tours, embeds and
other events related to the border through the media advisory process. Contact
Maj. Jon Siepmann for additional information.
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As of July, 2007 National Guard soldiers and airmen serving along the southwest border so far have aided in:
• 84,878 illegal alien apprehensions
• 703 vehicle seizures
• 201,110 pounds of marijuana seized
• 4,783 pounds of cocaine seized
• 91 illegal alien rescues
• $60,145 seized
• 428 miles of road repair
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