Department of Defense

Civil Engineers build Arizona/Mexico borderwall

By Senior Airman Byron Cooper and Capt. Ian Beltran
154th Civil Engineer Squadron

In September, 15 Hawaii Air National Guard members from the 154th Civil Engineer Squadron deployed to Yuma, Ariz. in support of Operation JUMP START. Operation JUMP START is a joint force mission helping civil authorities better secure the U.S.- Mexico border.

The civil engineers, assigned to Task Force Diamond Back, have been tasked to erect 700 miles of steel fence and roadways along the Arizona-Mexico border. The Hawaii contingent, led by Capt. Ian Beltran, teamed up with Air and Army Guard units from Pennsylvania, Arkansas, and Guam.

The specific mission task was to close an 1,800- foot gap of fence on the outskirts of the border town of San Luis by November. The challenge was completing the mission in spite of end of the fiscal year materials and funding shortages.

The shortage of funding did not slow down operations for the engineers. The Hawaii-led team exceeded expectations by completing a 1,800-foot gap in just under a month with reused materials. The prior rotation, twice the size of the Hawaii’s contingent, put up 2,000 feet of fence in a one month period.

Mission broken into functional areas

The operation was first broken into seven different functional areas. The first three included: form builders, who constructed 4 x 8 foot plywood forms used to hold the concrete and uprights of the fence until the concrete cured; engineer assistants or surveyors, who ensured that the two sections of fence would eventually line up and be the same height; and heavy equipment operators, who excavated sand prior to the forms being placed. Staff Sgt. Clint Rodriquez, from the154th’s heavy equipment shop, made a name for himself by excavating over 200 feet of trench in a single day.

The fourth functional area was responsible for setting the forms into sand level and even with the grade of sand. They also secured the forms by driving stakes into the sand every two feet.

The fifth functional area involved having welders weld the uprights together as well as welding the panels onto the finished fence once the concrete cured and the sand was backfilled up to the wall.

The sixth functional area was responsible for putting the uprights into the forms making sure that they
were straight and plumb with the previous upright.

The seventh and final functional area was the concrete/form recovery crew. This crew was responsible for pumping the concrete into the forms and then troweling the finished product smooth. They also ended up recovering and reusing the forms as much as three times due to the shortage of materials.

Temperatures, snakes don’t stop mission

In the first week of being in Arizona, the temperatures in the desert were over 100°F. By early-to-mid-October, temperatures had dropped into the lower 90°F and by then, most of the troops were already acclimated to the weather. Due to the heat the engineers would start work at 6:00 a.m. and usually finish for the day at 3:00 p.m. Many days minor sand storms kicked up but the crew worked right through them. Even running into a couple of rattlesnakes and sidewinders didn’t stop the mission at hand.

– 2006 October – December Pūpūkahi pp. 3

In May, the newly formed 29th Brigade Special Troops Battalion “deployed” in support of the Operation JUMP START mission on the Southwest border in Tucson, Ariz. They conducted surveillance and counter-mobility operations to disrupt and prevent illegal border crossings. Most Soldiers were formed into entry identification teams, while the engineering company cut new roads, rebuilt fences and improved the drainage along the border

– 2007 Annual Report pp. 11

At that same time, the Group also sent 20 members to Arizona to support Operation JUMP START, the mission in support of the U.S. Border Patrol. They were the first Hawaii National Guardsmen to deploy in support of Operation JUMP START.

– 2007 Annual Report pp. 17

Hawaii takes on Southwest border mission

Story and photos by Sgt. 1st Class Stephen M. Lum
117th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

More than 180 Soldiers from the Hawaii Army National Guard’s 29th Brigade Special Troops Battalion spent annual training on the Southwest Border of Arizona supporting Operation JUMP START in May. The Battalion conducted surveillance and countermobility operations to disrupt and prevent illegal border crossings.

Special Troops Soldiers Task Force Tucson entry identification teams (EIT) performed surveillance missions while Task Force Diamondback engineers built roads and fences. The National Guard’s presence frees up U.S. Border Patrol personnel to concentrate on their law enforcement mission.

The new battalion, commanded by Lt. Col. Moses Kaoiwi Jr., is composed of former separate elements of the 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. The units are Headquarters and Headquarter Company (military police, medical, administrative and logistic personnel), Company A (227th Engineers), Company B (229th Military Intelligence) and Company C, the new signal unit.

Engineers work on again

More than 60 engineers from Company A cut new roads, rebuilt fences and improved the drainage in the Tucson sector’s border towns of Nogales and Sierra Vista.

“The roads being cut through the rolling small mountain range well improve access for the border personnel,” said Capt. Auredith T. Tumpap, the Co. A commander, “while the 20-foot pipe walls being erected will replace some of the older aircraft landing ramp walls. Our Hawaii Air Guard engineers were part of a team erecting the Yuma fence line last fall.”

“The mission has given the veterans an opportunity to share their expertise, especially in heavy equipment operation and welding to our newer Soldiers,” said Sgt. 1st Class Ian S. Ross, a member of the unit when it was an engineering battalion more than 30 years ago. “We’re not new to this mission either. We’ve done similar work twice on the Mexican border, south of San Diego, Calif., the last time in 2000.”

Mission differs from Iraqi

‘Most of the battalion Soldiers were divided into 10 EITs supporting Task Force Tucson,” said Kaoiwi. “After two days of briefings and a paintball exercise, the Soldiers were more than ready to go on with the mission. Our observation posts were on clearlyvisible locations on hilltops facing the border. The 24-hour mission uses binoculars and infrared sensors to detect undocumented aliens (UDA) during the day or at night.”

“During one of our construction missions, we spotted a dozen UDAs trying to cross the border,” said Tumpap. “We called in a report while they backtracked into Mexican half of the split city of Nogales.”

“This mission has provided an opportunity for our new battalion to test our mobilization operation in a real world mission,” said Kaoiwi.

– 2007 April – June Pūpūkahi pp. 1 & 8

Southwest border mission success

For three weeks in May, the newly formed 29th Brigade Special Troops Battalion went on its first major mission since the Brigade redeploying from the Persian Gulf, to support the Operation JUMP START (see page 1) in Arizona. The real world mission requires Soldiers to maintain 24-7 entry identification teams at observation posts along the southwest border of Mexico, while our engineers built infrastructure like fences, drainage and roads. The Hawaii Soldier faced real potential hazards and I commend the them for putting in 100 percent effort to in getting the mission done and getting it done well.

– 2007 April – June Pūpūkahi pp. 2

In May, the 298th Engineer Co. supported the Operation JUMP START mission on the southwest border of San Diego, Calif. The engineering company cut new roads, rebuilt fences and improved the drainage along the border. They built infrastructure that supported operations that disrupt and prevent illegal Mexico border crossings.

– 2008 Annual Report pp. 12

The 293rd CBCS also provided NGCE (National Guard Communications Equipment) support to Vigilant Guard 08 in Reno, Nev. and sent personnel to Arizona in support of Operation Jump Start, the National Guard operation supporting civil authorities along the U.S. Mexico border. 297th Air Traffic Control

– 2008 Annual Report pp. 18

Engineers support border mission

Stories and photos by Spc. Matthew H. A. Oda

117^th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

More than 80 Soldiers from the Hawaii Army National Guard’s 230^th Engineer Company helped support California’s Operation JUMP START southwest border mission in April. As part of the President’s Homeland Security initiative, OJS uses National Guard troops to support the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol protection preventing illegal crossing and drug trafficking through the Mexico borders.

The Maui-headquartered engineer unit worked out of San Diego and was attached to Task Force STEEL CASTLE, the California National Guard’s engineering slice of OJS. The Hawaii engineers, who also have a detachment on Oahu and one on Molokai, made the trip on board an Air Force C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft flight. The 230^th also has two Soldiers from the Big Island of Hawaii and one from Lanai.

Three major missions were accomplished

Engineering missions included retrofitting an existing fence, repositioning electrical boxes and making a drainage ditch.

“We modified the angle of the poles,” said Staff Sgt. Jason Jacinto, noncommissioned officer in charge of the fence and electrical box project, “and put clips on galvanized webbed sheeting to reinforce the fence.”

“Each day, we tried to do about thirty fence lines,” said Spc. Richard Galo, a 7-year Guard member from Maui, “which equals about 300 feet a day.”

“It took us about four days to complete our project,” said Galo. “Task Force Steel Castle personnel overseeing the project were impressed with our productivity.”

“Our team also rebuilt the electrical boxes along the fence line,” said Jacinto, a 15-year Guard veteran from Maui. “We raised the boxes a foot above ground to make them visible. We also built concrete platforms around the boxes to protect them from increased damage. TF STEELE CASTLE expectations were about 20 platforms a day, instead, we did 28 of them.”

“My team made a brow ditch on one of the hills by digging a long ditch and coating it with concrete to redirect the water runoff to a culvert,” said Staff Sgt. Lester Delos Reyes, brow ditch project NCOIC, “instead of running down the hills and causing potential damage to the surrounding areas.

We completed the task on Russian Hill in three days (ahead of schedule) even with some Soldiers doing on-the-job-training,” said Delos Reyes, from Molokai. “Many of our new Soldiers are infantrymen retraining as engineers.”

“The only obstacle the 230^th faced was time,” said 1st Sgt. Michael J. Lacno, the engineer’s first sergeant, “given more time, the more we could have accomplished more.

“Things ran very smoothly . . . the leaders took charge,” said Lacno, the 22-year Guard member from Maui. “Our TF STEEL CASTLE host provided the materials and equipment we needed to get the job done. Many of our troops are transitioning from the infantry mission, but the young or inexperienced Soldiers were willing and motivated to learn engineering the . . ” mission.

– 2008 April – June Pūpūkahi pp. 5

Company C, 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation (UH-60 Black Hawk)

Deployed in support of the Operation JUMP START, the southwest border mission, Texas, January 2013 through September 2013.

– 2013 Annual Report pp. 11