Posted on Feb 15, 2019
Border wall: Should the Military be involved, or no?
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Unless you've been under a rock the past few months, then I'm sure you're all aware of the current political climate, our Commander in Chief - President Trump, has declared a national emergency to garner 8 Billion dollars to fund the Border Wall.
I'm naturally curious, political bias aside, what's everyone's stance on the border wall situation in regards to military involvement? Should the military send its engineers? Should they provide security or supplies/equipment? Should we be involved at all? Remember, this isn't a political debate, this is a question, to gather insight on how much do Service Members think we should be involved on a project like this, that's been deemed as a matter of securing our border. LEAVE YOUR POLITICAL AGENDA AT HOME PEOPLE. What's your take, vote, and why?
I'm naturally curious, political bias aside, what's everyone's stance on the border wall situation in regards to military involvement? Should the military send its engineers? Should they provide security or supplies/equipment? Should we be involved at all? Remember, this isn't a political debate, this is a question, to gather insight on how much do Service Members think we should be involved on a project like this, that's been deemed as a matter of securing our border. LEAVE YOUR POLITICAL AGENDA AT HOME PEOPLE. What's your take, vote, and why?
National Security
Engineer
Border Patrol Agent
3P: Security Forces
Posted 6 y ago
Responses: 28
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Sounds like a core mission to me. All other countries maintain their borders often with noticeable heavily armed military presence. By the way there are 31 active National Emergencies in effect. Here is a list. https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/analysis/NEA%20Declarations.pdf
Page not found | Brennan Center for Justice
The Brennan Center for Justice is a non-partisan public policy and law institute that focuses on the fundamental issues of democracy and justice.
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MCPO (Join to see)
Been a lot of places where the countries military secured/patrolled their borders. Why not use ours a bit as well?
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Capt Daniel Goodman
http://www.sgaus.org
Just purely as thoughts I'd had, on the coastal ends of the border, I should certainly think USCG could obviously be used, since they're legal under posse comitatus for law enforcement, plus, they're Homeland, so using them should be no problem...interior to the coasts, there I don't know, though I suppose one could view the Rio Grande as a waterway underwhich they might certainly be usable, by way of legal reasoning...then, too, as I'd sent in here, the state defense forces (SDFs), I know TX has one, certainly, plus, it takes up the bulk of the border length, or, at least a good deal of it, could also certainly be asked to help, as well as the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) and USCG Auxiliary...as I'd said, just some thoughts I'd had...using ARNG or ANG, if they were subordinated to USCG, I could certainly legally envision it, by all means, as well, just another errant thought I'd had as well....
Just purely as thoughts I'd had, on the coastal ends of the border, I should certainly think USCG could obviously be used, since they're legal under posse comitatus for law enforcement, plus, they're Homeland, so using them should be no problem...interior to the coasts, there I don't know, though I suppose one could view the Rio Grande as a waterway underwhich they might certainly be usable, by way of legal reasoning...then, too, as I'd sent in here, the state defense forces (SDFs), I know TX has one, certainly, plus, it takes up the bulk of the border length, or, at least a good deal of it, could also certainly be asked to help, as well as the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) and USCG Auxiliary...as I'd said, just some thoughts I'd had...using ARNG or ANG, if they were subordinated to USCG, I could certainly legally envision it, by all means, as well, just another errant thought I'd had as well....
SGAUS – State Guard Association of the United States
State Guard Association of the United States
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Cpl Edward Conley
Isn't that a slippery slope? I have a cousin that is one of the main Intel guys for the Tucson sector, BP. He has been telling me for the past 15 years they find weapons caches containing automatic weapons, anti-tank weapons, RPGs, and other items associated with a potential military insurgency along with prayer rugs, Korans, and other various Islamic materials. This goes beyond just the simple "Illegal entry" This is actually an enemy incursion.
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MCPO (Join to see)
Capt Gregory Prickett - Militaries around around the world assist in protecting their borders who are NOT at war with each other. Canada, for one, will use their military personnel, at times, to man their border stations (been through quite a few), and we are NOT at war with them, they are NOT enforcing any laws, just securing their border. Many of the Central American countries do the same. Not at war or enforcing laws with surrounding countries, just defending their borders.
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Is the military’s mission to defend America?
Are these ‘caravans’ intending to overwhelm our current border enforcement forces and enter the US? SPC (Join to see)
Are these ‘caravans’ intending to overwhelm our current border enforcement forces and enter the US? SPC (Join to see)
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LTC Eugene Chu
SPC (Join to see) - National Guard previously deployed to southern border in support roles. Border Patrol still performed primary mission duties
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2018/04/08/what-happened-when-bush-obama-sent-troops-to-mexico-border/
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2018/04/08/what-happened-when-bush-obama-sent-troops-to-mexico-border/
What happened when Bush, Obama sent troops to Mexico border
Since he launched his run for president, Donald Trump has said things about immigrants and the U.S.-Mexico border that no other U.S. president has. But now he’s reached directly into his predecessors’ playbook by sending in the National Guard.
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I'll go counterpoint on this. At first blush, protect the border, yada yada yada. Problem is in actually doing it. The military doesn't build large projects, contractors do. So there'd have to be a substantial contract administration organization. That means diverting assets that you use to support military infrastructure and operations to something that doesn't. The only "push" I see would be if a very large chunk of the money comes out of military support, hence the contracts folks follows the money. That would be the double whammy on the MIL side. For stuff like this, you set up temporary contracting offices and staff with term employees, unless your slow-go and set up a long term deal. Many times the positions are finagled to a grade higher to entice the "better" folk. You see a lot of people jumping in because they're late in their career and are bumping up their High 3. That pulls the average skill level down elsewhere. Another Whammy. Stand by for even crappier base support services.
Let's Whammy this more. If DoD is doing the contracting, then the auditing is done by the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA). They are painfully slow in normal times so the impact of being later than ever on the other MIL contracts will be much worse. There'd be significant Executive pressure to set the priority to Wall support.
If the MIL side gets hung with this job, the Army CoE would likely be the where the booger lands. About the only possible positive relating to their programs would be if the wall and workload requirements can be glide sloped to match up to the ebb and flow of their core mission stuff. I doubt it because the Dam/Navigation/Flood Control and Civil Works sides aren't likely to have stuff that would be funded in chunks compatible with the wall stuff.
If another agency like DHS gets it, then they'd be pulling the good talent away from the MIL side. Good people do move around to move up and tend to get all the PCS bennies that goes with it. Bottom line, not a simple question to answer.
Let's Whammy this more. If DoD is doing the contracting, then the auditing is done by the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA). They are painfully slow in normal times so the impact of being later than ever on the other MIL contracts will be much worse. There'd be significant Executive pressure to set the priority to Wall support.
If the MIL side gets hung with this job, the Army CoE would likely be the where the booger lands. About the only possible positive relating to their programs would be if the wall and workload requirements can be glide sloped to match up to the ebb and flow of their core mission stuff. I doubt it because the Dam/Navigation/Flood Control and Civil Works sides aren't likely to have stuff that would be funded in chunks compatible with the wall stuff.
If another agency like DHS gets it, then they'd be pulling the good talent away from the MIL side. Good people do move around to move up and tend to get all the PCS bennies that goes with it. Bottom line, not a simple question to answer.
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