IED Crater Repair in BaghdadBy Lt. Col. Keith Landry and Capt. Cory L. HoeksemaTasked to recon and repair insurgent-created craters, the 92nd Engineer Combat Battalion “Black Diamonds” confront IEDs, anti-personnel mines and enemy fire in one of the war’s more unheralded missions.
Operation Jump Start: National Guard Aids Border Patrol MissionBy Dennis SteeleThe National Guard launched Operation Jump Start this summer to assist the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection—primarily working with its U.S. Border Patrol branch—to support the border protection mission along the United States’ border with Mexico. Designed to bolster the Border Patrol while it expands its ranks by about one-third and while new barriers and technological assets are fielded, the two-year National Guard operation will deploy up to 6,000 troops at any given time in the border areas of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Soldiers are not directly apprehending illegal immigrants; instead, they support the overall protection mission by improving roads, building barriers, providing administrative and maintenance assistance and observing and reporting illegal activity.
CompanyCommand—Building Combat-Ready Teams: Leading our Soldiers to Fight with HonorCompany commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan share their experiences of how they trained and led their soldiers to fight with honor.