Campo Update 3/16-3/18/07

Campo Update 3/16-3/18/07

I arrived in Campo about noon on Friday 3/16/07. ChechStan was sleeping, having been on watch the entire night before. Max had spent a much-needed week away from the border in LA with Chicago and both were en route back to the border at the time. I made my way down to 141 where Magnum was camped. Ridgerunner was there and I sat down to get a sitrep from the two dedicated civilian observers of our porous southern frontier. While we visited I glanced west down toward the road that goes down into La Gloria canyon.

There was a man in a white shirt running in a crouched position. I pointed him out to the boys, at which point two more “persons of interest” entered our view, also running north. I immediately got on the phone, called the Border Patrol and spoke with an Officer Lopez. He asked for details and as I was telling him that three were spotted in the USA on the west bank of La Gloria heading north, Magnum began counting out more. In total we spotted ten and I reported that to Officer Lopez. Within ten minutes the Border Patrol helicopter was on the scene circling low over the canyon and mere moments later an olive drab Chevy blazer with two national guardsmen was driving down into the canyon. I positioned myself at Weasel’s lookout and spotted what looked to be a red sweater hung in the bushes down in the canyon. I thought to myself, surely its’ some clothing someone dropped and not someone stupid enough to try to hide in the brush in a red sweater! To my amazement a guardsman walked up and extracted three illegals from their “hiding” place, one in a red sweater!


In the meantime a BP pickup had arrived and then we spotted the BP van heading into the canyon, a sure side that a large number had been apprehended. The helicopter flew away and the van speedily left the scene. The guardsmen came up and visited with us for a minute. One man actually asked us why we didn’t detain the illegals! I wish we could!
Then an officer in the pickup came up. I thanked him for a job well done but he replied, “You guys deserve the congratulations! We caught thirteen illegals because of you minutemen! Good job!”


In the meantime the two coyotes had left a man behind in the trees on the east side of La Gloria right by the fence. While he hollered to them for help the two coyotes taunted us from the road in Mexico south of 141. Then a white Nissan pathfinder came and picked them all up.
Max and Chicago arrived shortly after that and Viking showed up as well, so we had good coverage for Friday and Saturday night with the ever-reliable Gadget make his evening appearance on both nights. I plugged a hole under the fence just west of the PCT on Friday evening and the next morning it had been unplugged. The “pit” west of the PCT had also been unwired. Gadget and I wired it back up and I also repaired the fence on the big rock that interrupts the border fence on the west side of La Gloria.

Saturday night some SOS members threw a Bar-B-Que at 139, which is all well and good except for the large campfire, which I (and, I suspect the BLM ranger) have a problem with. A fire is against every minuteman group’s SOP, ruins night vision and is just plain dangerous in the dry brush and breeze. A little common sense please!

One mistake and we will all be run off and made an example of for the less than friendly news media. Our “Good Job”, as the BP agent put it, will all be for naught.

I left for home Sunday morning. I will be back on the border the second week of April.
This concludes my report.

C1