WEBVTT

00:00.020 --> 00:01.720
- Thank you, Agent Himey,

00:01.720 --> 00:04.025
and good morning ladies and gentlemen.

00:04.025 --> 00:07.730
I'd like to welcome you
here today to CPB and DoD's

00:07.730 --> 00:10.003
title 10 forces media engagement day.

00:11.290 --> 00:15.580
Today, we're very proud
to show you some of what

00:15.580 --> 00:18.360
the Department of Defense
is doing in support

00:18.360 --> 00:21.660
of our Customs and Border
Protection partners

00:21.660 --> 00:23.680
that we've been working with for the past

00:23.680 --> 00:26.123
eight or nine months that
we've been on this mission.

00:27.560 --> 00:30.790
As many of you know,
we came on this mission

00:32.090 --> 00:35.990
in support of CPB along
the southwest border

00:35.990 --> 00:38.170
in October of 2018.

00:38.170 --> 00:40.340
So, approximately nine months ago.

00:40.340 --> 00:44.180
Today, we have approximately
2,000 service members

00:45.170 --> 00:48.430
supporting the mission
along the southwest border,

00:48.430 --> 00:51.673
and partnering up with
our great CPB partners.

00:52.670 --> 00:56.570
We're here at CPB's request,
make no mistake about it.

00:56.570 --> 01:00.250
CPB, Customs and Border
Protection, is in the lead,

01:00.250 --> 01:01.280
we're in support.

01:01.280 --> 01:03.320
We really looked at ourselves

01:03.320 --> 01:06.050
as a force multiplier for them.

01:06.050 --> 01:09.150
And with the MSE mission,
we're their eyes and ears

01:09.150 --> 01:12.630
from those MSE positions
along the southwest border,

01:12.630 --> 01:15.383
and allowing them to
conduct their mission.

01:17.640 --> 01:19.780
The Department of
Defense, this is not new.

01:19.780 --> 01:22.880
We have a long history of
support along the border,

01:22.880 --> 01:25.490
dating back to the 1990's.

01:25.490 --> 01:28.570
And we are very proud to be
contributing to this very

01:28.570 --> 01:31.853
important and significant
mission here today.

01:33.150 --> 01:36.970
And I'm from Ohio, and for
me growing up, the southwest

01:36.970 --> 01:40.380
border was a faraway place
that, frankly, I didn't know

01:40.380 --> 01:42.500
very much about it, until recently.

01:42.500 --> 01:45.510
Actually, as an adult, didn't
know very much about it.

01:45.510 --> 01:49.970
But when I came into this
role in February of 2019,

01:49.970 --> 01:52.250
obviously I got acquainted
with it real fast.

01:52.250 --> 01:53.390
Second day, I was in the role,

01:53.390 --> 01:55.280
I was down here on the border.

01:55.280 --> 01:59.170
And what I've learned is
our southwest border is big.

01:59.170 --> 02:03.170
We have a large border
here, and it's complex,

02:03.170 --> 02:06.713
it's diverse, it's very challenging.

02:08.010 --> 02:11.350
The geography is tough in
some places, it varies greatly

02:11.350 --> 02:15.550
from, you know, California
in the west, all the way over

02:15.550 --> 02:19.550
here to the Texas sector in the east.

02:19.550 --> 02:22.810
But, I've also gained a
huge amount of respect

02:22.810 --> 02:27.200
for the job that our partners
in the Border Patrol do,

02:27.200 --> 02:31.723
day in and day out for security
along this border here.

02:34.010 --> 02:35.720
And they've been doing
that for a long time,

02:35.720 --> 02:38.030
since, I think, the 1920's.

02:38.030 --> 02:41.710
So, we're relative newcomers
to this particular mission,

02:41.710 --> 02:44.780
but I can't tell you how
much respect that I've gained

02:44.780 --> 02:46.480
for them as partners.

02:46.480 --> 02:48.794
And I know I've spoke to
enough of our soldiers

02:48.794 --> 02:52.173
during my visits to know
they all feel the same way.

02:54.050 --> 02:57.500
This border's big, but Border Security

02:57.500 --> 03:01.710
is also national security,
and everything that I've seen

03:01.710 --> 03:05.230
the past 4 months, as
I've done my circulation

03:05.230 --> 03:08.710
around the border, has
done nothing but reinforce

03:09.750 --> 03:10.583
that.

03:12.320 --> 03:17.320
As we partner with
Customs and Border Patrol,

03:17.540 --> 03:20.697
we're working always with DHS

03:20.697 --> 03:24.200
and CBP to continually assess and reassess

03:24.200 --> 03:26.650
the type of support we're providing.

03:26.650 --> 03:28.240
You know, we want to make sure

03:28.240 --> 03:30.660
that we've got the right
support, the right units

03:30.660 --> 03:32.960
at the right place in the right time

03:32.960 --> 03:36.210
to provide the type of support
that they're requesting,

03:36.210 --> 03:39.000
and it meets CPB's operational needs.

03:39.000 --> 03:42.260
And that's not an easy task,
and a lot of due diligence

03:42.260 --> 03:45.700
and enhanced due diligence
has gone into making sure

03:45.700 --> 03:48.010
that we've got the right units out here

03:48.010 --> 03:50.420
executing a certain type of mission.

03:50.420 --> 03:52.760
An example would be if
it's an engineer type task,

03:52.760 --> 03:54.690
we have an engineer unit doing it.

03:54.690 --> 03:56.350
If it's an aviation type task,

03:56.350 --> 03:59.233
we have an aviation unit doing it, etc.

04:00.840 --> 04:02.730
The results of that type of planning,

04:02.730 --> 04:05.170
and that type of analysis, though,

04:05.170 --> 04:08.623
have been significant
across the past nine months.

04:09.490 --> 04:12.400
In the last nine months,
DoD, the title 10 forces,

04:12.400 --> 04:16.650
have supported CPB by
participating in the hardening

04:16.650 --> 04:20.800
of 36 points of entries,
or ports of entry,

04:20.800 --> 04:24.440
placing 670 miles of concertina wire

04:24.440 --> 04:28.293
to protect approximately
180 miles of border.

04:29.410 --> 04:32.490
Providing aerial, engineer, medical,

04:32.490 --> 04:35.053
and military police support.

04:36.250 --> 04:39.040
We have a crisis response
force, currently,

04:39.040 --> 04:41.540
that provides additional assistance

04:41.540 --> 04:44.790
to CBP on a 48 hour notice.

04:44.790 --> 04:47.630
And, what we're here to see
today, we're currently manning

04:47.630 --> 04:51.900
approximately 150 mobile
surveillance camera vehicles

04:51.900 --> 04:55.833
at various strategic sites
along the southwest border.

05:00.850 --> 05:03.410
In that mission set, the MSE mission set,

05:03.410 --> 05:06.500
we have about 1,200 service members,

05:06.500 --> 05:09.510
soldiers, and U.S. marines, dedicated

05:09.510 --> 05:11.860
to that part of the mission,
serving at approximately

05:11.860 --> 05:15.270
150 of these sites along
the border in California,

05:15.270 --> 05:17.423
Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.

05:18.410 --> 05:21.770
These sites are strategic
sites that provide observation

05:21.770 --> 05:25.090
over known avenues of
approach to our border.

05:25.090 --> 05:28.990
And, to date, our soldiers
and marines have contributed

05:28.990 --> 05:32.840
greatly, in this MSE
mission, and assisted CBP

05:33.958 --> 05:38.170
in over 13,000 apprehensions,
and the seizure of over

05:38.170 --> 05:39.970
3,000 pounds

05:39.970 --> 05:40.853
of marijuana.

05:42.030 --> 05:44.180
And our soldiers are very proud of that.

05:44.180 --> 05:46.690
They're very proud of that contribution

05:46.690 --> 05:48.700
that they've been able to make here.

05:48.700 --> 05:50.210
And the mission that the
soldiers are conducting,

05:50.210 --> 05:53.840
now this is a standard
"observe and report" mission

05:53.840 --> 05:56.870
that our soldiers and
marines are conducting.

05:56.870 --> 05:58.460
And that's a basic military task,

05:58.460 --> 05:59.730
and one that they're well-suited for.

05:59.730 --> 06:02.330
We expect any member of
the service to be able

06:02.330 --> 06:04.360
to conduct basic "observe and report".

06:04.360 --> 06:06.670
See something, and report it,

06:06.670 --> 06:10.540
accurately, effectively,
consistently correct.

06:10.540 --> 06:13.300
And I've received lots of
feedback from our Border Patrol

06:13.300 --> 06:16.080
partners about the success that we've had,

06:16.080 --> 06:17.980
and that our soldiers and
marines have caught on to this

06:17.980 --> 06:20.040
very quickly, and they're
actually quite good at that.

06:20.040 --> 06:22.550
And that's always great to hear,

06:22.550 --> 06:24.300
because we're here to support them.

06:25.530 --> 06:28.540
And their feedback to us about
how we're getting after it

06:28.540 --> 06:33.063
is very important to us as
we go about these duties.

06:34.690 --> 06:36.380
Today, you're going to
have an opportunity to meet

06:36.380 --> 06:38.270
with some of the leaders, and
some of the chain of command

06:38.270 --> 06:41.600
from our mission, from one of
our units that's conducting

06:41.600 --> 06:44.480
this mission here today,
and the soldiers as well as,

06:44.480 --> 06:48.120
see some of the CBP
equipment that is behind us

06:48.120 --> 06:50.053
that we're currently using.

06:51.030 --> 06:53.450
But, I'd like to share with you that

06:55.320 --> 06:57.263
I'm a veteran of three combat tours.

06:59.190 --> 07:01.810
I've seen soldiers and marines
conducting lots of missions

07:01.810 --> 07:03.000
in lots of different places.

07:03.000 --> 07:06.140
But, I'm just as proud of
what our soldiers and marines

07:06.140 --> 07:09.160
are doing here, in this mission set,

07:09.160 --> 07:11.750
the impact that they're having
on the day-to-day basis,

07:11.750 --> 07:14.630
and the partnership,
the great partnership,

07:14.630 --> 07:16.870
that we have established with CBP,

07:16.870 --> 07:19.060
as any mission that I've
ever been involved in

07:19.060 --> 07:20.600
in 29+ years

07:21.600 --> 07:23.010
in the army.

07:23.010 --> 07:26.000
So, with that, I'd like to turn

07:26.000 --> 07:26.833
over,

07:26.833 --> 07:29.100
I think we're gonna get a
chance to go take a look

07:29.100 --> 07:31.180
at some of the equipment,
get some hands on,

07:31.180 --> 07:33.017
talk to the chain of
the command that's here,

07:33.017 --> 07:36.830
and the soldiers, as well
as the CBP representatives,

07:36.830 --> 07:39.740
and so I'd like to turn it
over to the team at this time.

07:39.740 --> 07:40.573
Thank you.