By Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services/Arizona Daily Star
National Guard troops will be staying on the Southwest border, at least for a while longer.
Matt Chandler, spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, said the Department of Defense has agreed to a one-year extension of the agreement to provide – and pay for – soldiers to help. The mission had been scheduled to end at the end of the year.
The soldiers, first deployed in 2010, have been in support roles. Many of those stationed in Arizona have been part of “entry identification teams,” posted along the border to report illegal crossings to the Border Patrol.
This extended mission is smaller, involving just 300 soldiers along the border compared with the 1,200 who were first authorized as spotters and to help in Border Patrol and Customs Enforcement offices. But the effort to find border crossers this time continues to shift from the ground to the air.
