National Guardsmen overrun by gunmen at Mexican border

[Rogue 9]

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Guardsmen overrun at the Border

12 News
Jan. 4, 2007 02:44 PM

A U.S. Border Patrol entry Identification Team site was overrun Wednesday night along Arizona's border with Mexico.

According to the Border Patrol, an unknown number of gunmen attacked the site in the state's West Desert Region around 11 p.m. The site is manned by National Guardsmen. Those guardsmen were forced to retreat.

The Border Patrol will not say whether shots were fired. However, no Guardsmen were injured in the incident.

The Border Patrol says the incident occurred somewhere along the 120 mile section of the border between Nogales and Lukeville. The area is known as a drug corridor. Last year, 124-thousand pounds of illegal drugs were confiscated in this area.

The Border patrol says the attackers quickly retreated back into Mexico.

[frigidmagi]

I've been told that the National Guardsmen have orders to retreat at once if they come under fire. Which frankly is one of the dumbest orders I have ever heard, what's the point of having them there if they have to run from any group willing to fight back?

[SirNitram]

I've been told that the National Guardsmen have orders to retreat at once if they come under fire. Which frankly is one of the dumbest orders I have ever heard, what's the point of having them there if they have to run from any group willing to fight back?

They're just extra warm bodies to aid the border patrol.

[Cpl Kendall]

I've been told that the National Guardsmen have orders to retreat at once if they come under fire. Which frankly is one of the dumbest orders I have ever heard, what's the point of having them there if they have to run from any group willing to fight back?

It was mentioned on another board I frequent that they are unarmed and are simply there to aid the Border Patrol.

[frigidmagi]

Unarmed troops unable to defend themselves aren't much good on this border if you ask me. Not to mention the higher risk we're putting these men and women in. The border patrol is typically armed when it goes about it's business.

[Cpl Kendall]

Unarmed troops unable to defend themselves aren't much good on this border if you ask me. Not to mention the higher risk we're putting these men and women in. The border patrol is typically armed when it goes about it's business.

I think the US Government is afraid of "militarizing" the border if it arms them. I can't say that I follow the US/Mexico border issue to closely but it seems to me that if your going to deploy troops to the border you may as well arm them and give them an ROE to defend themselves if needed. Or at least pair them up with armed Border Patrol guards.

[frigidmagi]

Well the Mexican-American border is the main entry point of illegal goods/people into the US. Be it drugs, guns, poeple (both free and enslaved) or other goods. Most of it comes over this border. Various criminal groups have invested heavily in keeping their pathways open to the point of buying Mexican Army Formations.

By the way, the Mexican Army is the organization tasked with border patrol, they patrol the border with their guns. The border is militarized, just not on our side (the American) of it. Double Standard much?

[Cpl Kendall]

Well the Mexican-American border is the main entry point of illegal goods/people into the US. Be it drugs, guns, poeple (both free and enslaved) or other goods. Most of it comes over this border. Various criminal groups have invested heavily in keeping their pathways open to the point of buying Mexican Army Formations.

Yes I've heard bits of this before. Sounds like Mexico has a severe criminal problem if they can buy off parts of the Army.

By the way, the Mexican Army is the organization tasked with border patrol, they patrol the border with their guns. The border is militarized, just not on our side (the American) of it. Double Standard much?

I think if you take the solving of the double standard to it's conclusion, that of putting armed US troops on the border you run into the trouble of manpower issues. Aren't the majority of US troops tied up with other things at the moment?

[frigidmagi]

Only if we want to militarized both borders. My stand on the matter is that the Canadian border does not require the deployment of US troops. As for the mexican border, National Guardsmen units are completely able to handle it, in this case we do have the manpower.