BANGOR (AP) – Members of the Maine Air National Guard are serving in Arizona and New Mexico as part of the federal effort to beef up security on the U.S.-Mexico border.

About 30 guardsmen have submitted their names for consideration to serve as part of President Bush’s “Operation Jump Start,” a plan to place National Guard troops in nonenforcement support roles from Texas to California.

The nine airmen who are now serving were deployed at different times and could spend anywhere from two weeks to 60 days on the mission, said Col. Don McCormack, chief of the joint staff for the Maine National Guard.

He expects other Guard members to continue to be deployed through the fall and winter, but said he would be surprised if more than 20 or 25 served at any one time.

“We will be a continual presence down there,” McCormack said.

Eight of the nine guard members who are now deployed are members of the 101st Air Refueling Wing of Bangor. Last month, three airmen from the 265th Combat Communications Squadron of South Portland returned to Maine after serving approximately six weeks on the border.

Bush announced in May that National Guard units from across the country would spend at least a year assisting U.S. Border Patrol agents by building roads and fences and operating surveillance systems to help combat drug trafficking, crime and illegal immigration.

The Maine National Guard plans to send approximately 700 soldiers and airmen to Arizona from April 14 to May 4, during which time they will build roads, fences and lookout stations near the southern border.

The time spent in Arizona will act as the group’s annual training period, guard officials say.

—

Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com

AP-ES-10-11-06 1202EDT

Copy the Story Link