July 19, 2006

Sebelius: Kansas National Guard heading to border
Kansas National Guard unit to assist in border security

The first unit of the Kansas National Guard will be deployed to help secure the U.S.-Mexican border, Governor Kathleen Sebelius announced today.

Sebelius said 50 airmen from the 184th Civil Engineering Squadron, based out of Wichita, will take part in Operation Jumpstart, which is designed to improve security along the nation’s southern border.

“It’s Washington’s responsibility to defend our borders, but since we’ve seen precious little action nationally on that front, states like Kansas are stepping up,” Sebelius said.  “I fully support this operation, have authorized our state to participate and know the men and women of the National Guard are ready to help secure our border.”

Sebelius said the Kansas airmen will be doing border-related engineering projects, such as fence construction.

“We’ve seen time and again that the Kansas National Guard is always ready to step up and defend our nation, whether that’s overseas or here at home. The deployment of troops to the border is helping free up Border Patrol agents to intercept people trying to enter our country illegally, and Kansas is proud to answer the call and assist in this effort,” said Sebelius.

Operation Jumpstart is intended to help the Border Patrol increase deterrence and border security capabilities while additional Border Patrol agents are trained at the academy.

National Guard units are assisting the U.S. Border Patrol by providing logistical support, operating surveillance and detection systems, boosting border-related intelligence analysis and conducting training.

 “This mission demonstrates just how versatile our airmen are,” said Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, the adjutant general. “Their engineering skills are second to none and I know they’ll do a first-rate job on this project to support our homeland defense efforts. As with Hurricane Katrina, it’s our duty to support our sister states and our nation in time of need.”

During the deployment, the unit will remain under the Governor’s command as part of her duties as commander-in-chief of the Kansas National Guard.

This type of deployment is expected to last 14 to 21 days.

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