Note: couple interesting articles
http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20110517/DEPARTMENTS03/105170301/
http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20110517/AGENCY02/105170302/
Note: a full load of bs, but not from Howie this time, but the
guard. As all us old military types know, they can act overnight, IF
they want to. $10M a month?? Someone need to check the books.
Stuff like this maybe why IG's not getting appointed?
WHITE HOUSE MUST ACT QUICKLY TO PREVENT A PULLOUT WITHIN DAYS
Guard set to start leaving AZ border
By Howard Fischer Capitol Media Services | Posted: Thursday, May 19,
2011 12:00 am |
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/border/
article_bd540c4f-6fe5-510d-9e57-48347f86483b.html
PHOENIX - The chief of homeland security may be promising to keep the
Guard on the border beyond June 30.
But officials from the National Guard said Wednesday they have no
such notice. And unless they hear otherwise, they plan to start
removing soldiers within days.
"We have not heard anything," said Capt. Valentine Castillo.
Castillo said the mission, approved last year, is slated to wrap up
on June 30. which requires the "ramp-down" process to start by the
end of the week.
That's also the assessment at the National Guard Bureau in Washington.
"We are on a glide path to end the mission," spokesman Jon Anderson
said.
The moves come a week after the Department of Homeland Security
publicly confirmed it wants to keep the soldiers there through the
end of the federal fiscal year on Sept. 30.
But at this point, that remains little more than a proposal, as the
agency has not yet received the necessary congressional approval to
shift funds to pay the tab. Homeland security officials estimate it
costs about $10 million a month to keep the 1,200 soldiers in place.
Janet Napolitano, the homeland security chief, has boasted of the
success of the yearlong program. Her agency released statistics
saying the soldiers have assisted Customs and Border Protection with
seizing more than 14,000 pounds of drugs as well as providing
information leading to the apprehension of more than 7,000 people
trying to cross the border illegally.
But the pronouncement that the Obama administration wants the
soldiers to stay, at least for three more months, also has political
implications.
It comes as the president, in pronouncing the border more secure than
ever, is pushing Congress to enact what he calls comprehensive
immigration reform. That includes not only revamping how people can
come to work legally in this country but also finding a way to
legitimize the status of about 11 million illegal immigrants already
in the country.
At the same time, the administration is facing calls by some,
including Arizona's two Republican senators, to immediately put 3,000
Guard soldiers just along Arizona's international border. The current
one-year deployment involves only 560 troops.
Castillo said absent specific orders from Washington, the Arizona
National Guard cannot keep soldiers in place on the chance the
mission will be extended. It is logistically impossible to keep all
the troops deployed while awaiting word, and wrapping things up by
June 30 takes time.
"It's a gradual process," he said.
"We have to turn in equipment," Castillo explained. He also said it
takes time to ensure that when the soldiers "come off of orders" that
all the administrative paperwork is in order.
"It's just like when they came on orders," he said, with several
months necessary to get the units out into the field.
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