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Alaskan brigade trains by patrolling NM desert

Mar- 3-2005 » Filed Under: 172nd SBCT

Link to Full Article
Chris Roberts, El Paso Times

Soldiers stationed in Alaska, who are used to below-freezing temperatures, are just now finishing a mission that not only provided them invaluable desert training for their coming mission in Iraq but also snared thousands of undocumented immigrants and thousands of pounds of marijuana.

More than 400 soldiers in the U.S. Army's 4th Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, stationed in Wainwright, Alaska, were part of "Operation Bootheel," which paired them with U.S. Border Patrol agents in southwest and south-central New Mexico.

"They're a cav unit, so their job is to observe and track the enemy and then hand the enemy over to an infantry force that takes action," said Austin Skero, field operation supervisor for the U.S. Border Patrol's Lordsburg Station.

That's an important distinction, as federal law prohibits the use of active-duty and reserve military personnel in a direct law enforcement capacity. Militarization of the border has been a hotly debated topic, but Joint Task Force North officials, who organized the collaboration, said the unit never stepped out of its support role.

The Stryker Brigade Combat Team, one of only three in existence, was formed a little more than a year and a half ago. It is in the vanguard as the Army reorganizes into smaller, more-mobile units that can quickly be deployed anywhere in the world.

The unit arrived in Playas, N.M., about two months ago with 21 days of training on the new Strykers -- eight-wheeled vehicles that can be outfitted for many tasks, including command, medical evacuation, infantry transport and combat. The unit has more than 40 of the vehicles.

Thanks to Fred Nelson for the link.


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