Minuteman National Blog

The Minuteman security border fence is coming along quite nicely on the Hodges ranch in Arizona.

From the Arizona Star:

Minuteman fence rising on border ranch
Rancher pleased with protection of family, land
By Brady McCombs
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 12.10.2006

The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps is backing its big talk with a big fence.

The volunteer border watch organization has financed and coordinated the construction of a 0.9-mile-long, 13-foot-high steel mesh fence east of Naco. So far, about a quarter mile is finished, with poles and holes marking the progress on the rest of the section.

Although the barrier covers only a tiny section of the 362 miles of international border in Arizona and even less of the nearly 2,000 miles of U.S.-Mexico border, the Minuteman organization insists the impact on illegal immigration will be more than just symbolic.

To area residents like Leonel Urcadez, owner of the Gay 90s bar in Naco, the fence being built on private land in an area where few people travel other than Border Patrol agents, is a harmless boondoggle that won''t do anything to stop illegal border crossers.

"What can it possibly do?" said Urcadez. "They''ll just go around it."

Richard Hodges, owner of the 372-acre cattle ranch where the fence is being built, agrees the fence won''t do much to protect the nation.

But it is "going to do an awful lot for me personally, as far as protecting my cows, protecting me and my family," he said. "What it has done is brought so much attention, an awful lot of attention."

The effect will be twofold, said Al Garza, Minuteman Civil Defense Corps national executive director. First, it will force traffic to the east and west and give the Border Patrol an area it won''t have to patrol.

Secondly, it will "let the government know that it''s not as difficult to secure the borders as they lead us to believe," Garza said.

~SNIP~

To read the entire article:

http://www.azstarnet.com/dailystar/159758

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Attention all Arizona Minuteman Civil Defense Corps volunteers. Mark your calendars. A few details have yet to be nailed down but I wanted to give you a heads up on an event we are planning. We have entitled this event "Operation Christmas Stocking" (thanks Pineapple 6) a caravan of Arizona MCDC volunteers to bring Christmas Joy to the men and women of the U.S. National Guard who are standing watch over our U.S. border with Mexico.

Here''s the plan. There are 156 National Guard volunteers at the border near Sasabe, Arizona. The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps will organize a caravan to Sasabe, AZ on Saturday, December 23. We will be delivering Christmas care packages to the troops standing watch. At this time, volunteers from the Michigan National Guard, Tennessee National Guard and North Carolina National Guard are standing watch -156 in all so we need to collect 156 care packages.

Those care packages should include pre-packaged goodies such as cookies, nuts, candy, etc., you know, Christmas goodies. A master sergeant that I have been working with also suggests personal items such as Chap stick, sun block, long underwear, sunglasses, and I guess you could include any other personal items you think may be of benefit to our troops on the border.

If you wish to donate a care package, but cannot join the caravan than please mail your care package to the Scottsdale headquarters address at 6501 Greenway Parkway, Suite 103 - 640 Scottsdale, AZ 85254.

If you wish to join the caravan to Sasabe, plan on meeting at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, December 23rd at the parking lot across from the Chevron Station at the intersection of Highway 86 and 286, the road to Sasabe.
We will then caravan down to Sasabe and take our care packages out to the field to meet National Guard volunteers on post.

Again, plan on meeting in the large parking lot, across from the Chevron Station at the junction of Highway 86 and 286 the road to Sasabe at 11 a.m. on Saturday morning, December 23. You may want to arrive a little early, as we will team up and caravan down to Sasabe which is approximately 45 minutes from the Highway 286 Highway 86 junction. We are scheduled to meet our National Guard tour director at 12 noon in Sasabe on Saturday December the 23rd.

To recap. We need 156 care packages. If you wish to make a care package but cannot attend the border caravan then mail your care package to the Scottsdale headquarters and RSVP to my email address so I can keep count of the packages and keep count of those who will deliver the packages in person.

If you wish to make a care package or even collect care packages from others like neighbors or friends, and wish to join the caravan to meet the National Guard personnel on the border, please RSVP to info@minutemanhq.com.

We will firm up details as we receive them from the National Guard senior personnel.

Thanks,
Chris Simcox
President
Minuteman Civil Defense Corps
Interim Arizona State Director

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