Operation Phalanx (2010-2016)

Operation Phalanx
Date 2010-2016
Location United States-Mexico Border
Participants United States National Guard
Outcome Operation indefinitely shut down by Obama administration.[1]

Operation Phalanx was a United States National Guard program to assist the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the security of the United States-Mexico Border. Beginning in 2010, Phalanx was the successor operation to 2006-2008 program known as Operation Jump Start.[2][3]

In November 2016, DHS indefinitely halted the National Guard's aerial surveillance flights amid protests from U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas,) the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, and Senator John Cornyn, (R-Texas), all of whom are pressing the Obama administration to restart the program in 2017.[1]

Since the beginning of Operation Phalanx in 2010, National Guard airmen flying UH-72 Lakota helicopters have been credited with stopping 64,000 illegal border crossings in the Rio Grande sector of the United States Mexico border, along with an additional 25,000 in the Laredo sector and 21,000 in the Tucson, Arizona area. More than 300,000 pounds of marijuana has also been seized in Phalanx operations.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Jeffrey Rodack (2016-11-30). "Grounded Aerial Surveillance Stopped 110,000 Illegals at Border". Newsmax. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  2. ↑ Army National Guard (ARNG) for STAND-TO! (2011-05-19). "Army National Guard Operation Phalanx". Army National Guard. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  3. ↑ "Border Operations - Texas Military". Retrieved 2016-12-01.
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