New Mexico Minuteman - Fall 2011

Engineers conduct AT on the border
By 2nd Lt. Ernest B. Carlson IV, 2nd Detachment, 920th Engineer Company
The New Mexico National Guard’s 920th
Engineer Company conducted road and
fence repair missions for the U.S. Border
Patrol as part of their 2011 annual training.
The training began July 11, 2011, and was
composed of three rotations that worked
day in and day out to complete the missions
handed down.
Soldiers from Rio Rancho, Hobbs and
Carlsbad traveled in large convoys with
heavy construction equipment to a small
farm owned by Bill Johnson, who was contracted
to supply the Soldiers of the 920th
with meals and lodging.
The unit had two missions—the fi rst was
to knock out some low water crossings
right on the border road. The second was
to move the border fence to more stable
ground and weld it back in place.
The low water crossings were V-shaped
concrete slabs that were completely ineffective.
The Soldiers installed water culverts
to both raise the road and allow water
to pass without dead-lining the road after
a heavy rain. The 920th rebuilt a total of
seven water crossings.
This accomplishment was an amazing
achievement for the unit due to the fact that
the rock quarry was an hour away from the
project site. The dump truck operators had
a two-and-a-half- to three-hour turnaround
depending on the weather. It was because
of the hustle of the lower enlisted that the
water crossing mission was so successful.
6 NEW MEXICO Minuteman / Fall 2011
The second task was to move the border
fence to more stable ground. The existing
fence had either sunk into the ground over
time or was damaged by individuals determined
to get across with vehicles. The Soldiers
used a HYEX to lift the sections of fence
that resemble Normandy barriers onto the
lip of the border road in order to keep it from
eroding into the ground. Once they set the
fence into place, the Soldiers welded it back
together, while making sure that individuals
trying to break through the fence would have
to redefi ne their dedication if they wished to
be successful in breaching the new fence.
The Border Patrol was pleased with the
completion of both missions.
Maj. Gen. Kenny C. Montoya,
the Adjutant General, Command
Sgt. Maj. Kenneth Adair, the
state command sergeant major,
Col. Mark Arellano, counterdrug
coordinator, and Chief Warrant
Offi cer Lawrence Jiron, director
of information management
and recruit sustainment program
commander, visited the working
sites and boosted the Soldiers’
morale. The Soldiers were briefed
by Montoya and Adair, and a few
Soldiers were awarded coins for
their performances which were
“Beyond the Standard.”