You all knew this was coming: armed troops to Central Africa

[$tevie]

Are we playing Dueling Links? Can I play, too?

Training for the troops began last summer, and deployment began in August. Full-scale operations for the armed troops on the Arizona-Mexico border began Oct. 1, Salazar said. All the National Guard troops deployed in Arizona are volunteers from the Arizona Guard. The soldiers carry firearms and are authorized to defend themselves, if necessary, but do not make arrests. Instead, they serve as additional eyes and ears for law enforcement.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011...rder_N.htm

The deployed troops are armed and trained, but their assignment is strictly hands off*. Most of their work involves sitting in small turret raised about 20 feet above a truck, watching the fields and brush along the Rio Grande River. When they spot something suspicious, they call the Border Patrol to investigate.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/06/...re-months/


* Herein lies the confusion, I'll bet. For example, anonymous residents anticipating their arrival in May 2010 saying that they have "no guns".