Campo Update and editorial: Thanksgiving 2006

Update and editorial: Thanksgiving 2006

On 11/23/06 I took the scenic route down the old
highway from Jacumba to Campo as I usually do. Just
as I did on 11/10/06, I stopped by the MCDC’s new
compound called “Camp Vigilance” to check it out. I
found it locked and deserted on both weekends and none
of their crew observed me or the border.
I rolled up to The Oaks at Campo about noon just as
Weasel and Shaggy were leaving, having finished their
night shift and heading home. I was grateful to
relieve them. Mad Max was on hand to give me a
briefing. Several locals and MMP affiliates brought us
Thanksgiving meals for with we were very grateful.
Thanksgiving night was very active. A large group
crossed and the Border Patrol sent three trucks up on
the power line road behind 138, 139 and 140.
Meanwhile a small group apparently got though by The
Oaks. Max heard them and we tracked their footprints
down the trail west of The Oaks until we lost them in
the brush. Max and I each sat watch in separate
locations on high ground just east of the PCT,
observing the culverts and low lands beyond. The
would-be crossers in Mexico taunted us all night,
hollering and banging the fence.
As we sat on the high ground the vision of the
Border Patrols working the power line roads was a
sight to behold. They were obvious herding a large
group of illegals. Suddenly, I was startled by a
vehicle coming up behind me. It was a large Border
Patrol van heading east at high speed, a sure sign
that a significant number had been captured. I
radioed Max and we met at The Oaks in time to watch
the BP vehicles leaving the area. They waved at us as
we gave them a standing ovation.
I resumed my patrols, alternating between using my
top mounted Go-Light to spotlight the area and my side
light to look for fresh tracks. Periodically Max
would bring Thanksgiving leftovers to my position.
I ended up at my favorite spot (and apparently the
smugglers too) at 139. About 0400 Max, while out on
patrol, brought me pumpkin pie. About fifteen minutes
after he left, someone from behind the fence hollered,
startling at me. At about 0445 I got out of the truck
to stretch and someone else hollered at me, this time
from America, in the area behind 139 where the BP had
been working only hours before. I called the Border
Patrol at Campo and reported it, stating that perhaps
there were still illegals in that area. BP was at my
position within 15 minutes and searched the area to no
avail. When he came back to my position I asked him
what had gone on earlier in the evening. He said they
had caught thirteen illegals, but the two young
coyotes they wanted weren’t with them. I thanked him
for the job he was doing and he returned the
compliment.
As aside, this has always been my experience at
Campo. Without exception the BP always thanks us for
being present. I always ask them if there is anything
we should do or not do and they always say to just
keep doing what we are doing. One officer even
commended me for being armed and said it was dangerous
not to have a weapon as close to the border as we
work. So much for the gun toting vigilante
accusations. The individual BP officers in the field
profess to like us there, and like us there armed.
They enjoy having responsible citizens providing them
with more eyes and ears.
About sun up I walked quietly over the white monument
panel at 139, where I have frequently noted illegals
brazenly coming and going. Through a peephole in the
fence I spied movement under a tarp on the ground.
Payback time. I banged on the fence loudly as they
had done repeatedly through the night. I abruptly
awakened three men who sprang up surprised from
beneath the tarp. I took a picture of one of them
though the hole in the fence and immediately had a
rock thrown at me.
Friday morning a White Bronco drove down the fence
line on the Mexican side from 140 to a hilltop just
west of The Oaks. I took pictures as five men, all
dressed in identical dark blue uniforms got out of the
vehicle several times and walked around toward the
fence. Then they left the area heading south.
Friday afternoon, while patrolling on my motorcycle,
I found a fresh hole under the fence between 139 and
140. It had been dug out from the American side. I
informed a BP agent who was on patrol and then we
plugged the leak.
Friday night I had another Minuteman Thanksgiving
meal, prepared by Ridgerunner. I ate it in the cab of
my truck while observing the 140 area with night
vision, also loaned to me by Ridgerunner. Gadget and
Radar visited me before a thick fog rolled in and
visibility deteriorated. Unable to see, I went back
down to The Oaks where Max and I slept in shifts.
The fog lifted and I resumed my patrol about 0230.
About dawn I went back to the monument panel at 139 to
see if those boys were under the tarp again. They
were there, but they were already awake and peering at
me thought the holes in the fence. I left Campo for
home Saturday morning about 1100.
Now comes the brief opinion piece
I have deployed with the now defunct Friends of the
Border Patrol once, the Border Search and Rescue one
time and in April of 2006 I tried to deploy with the
MCDC. The MCDC muster was in disarray and that is how
I ended up in Campo, where the men put me to work
directly. I am proud to claim affiliation with all of
the groups but especially the men and women who work
the Campo area. They are tireless patriots and
civilian observers, many of whom live on the border
24/7. They work closely with, cooperate with and are
welcomed by the BP. If MCDC actually has the money
and manpower it claims to have in the southern
California area why not organize and help the other
groups? Instead of a large, once a month MCDC dog and
pony show at “Camp Vigilance” which is deserted the
rest of the time, why not stagger the MCDC “musters”
and communicate with the Campo Minutemen and the MMP?
If we put our egos aside and our country first we
could effectively cover and observe the border from
Boundary Peak to Bell Valley! Can’t we all just get
along??
This concludes my report. I will submit this report
and corresponding pictures to the webmaster for
eventual inclusion at

http://www.campominutemen.com

C1
Campo Minuteman