139th Jumps Starts a New Operation

St. Joseph Air National Guard members answer a call for homeland security. That department called upon national guard bases from states throughout the United States, but some states, like California, denied the request for help, citing too many local problems that need the guard`s attention. In Missouri, our local guard is responding. Operation Jump Start--it`s President Bush`s plan to beef up security along the U.S.-Mexican border. The house Armed Services Committee is scheduled to hold field hearings Wednesday in Yuma, Arizona. The focus of the hearings will be security along the border, including deployment of national guard troops. Today the 139th Airlift Wing got a jump start on the operation. President Bush beefs up U.S. borders, building a national guard team to protect the four-state border by the end of the month. Ninety guard members from St. Joseph`s 139th Airlift Wing answered the call of duty, volunteering to call the shots as the lead air unit. "We`re not going to be flying south of the border or running any surveilance or anything like that. We`re just moving equipment, personnel, probably support them with mail once they get mail service set up," Col. Steve Cotter of the 139th says. The volunteer mission means help on more than one border. "Here`s an opportunity for some folks who maybe got laid off from their jobs to go to work," Col. Cotter says. "I don`t have a full-time job, so this gives me the benefit to deploy, see different places and also to make money," Christine Ricke, an aerial port specialist, says. Staff Sergeant Jared Kirk says his civilian job at IVX making animal pharmaceuticals doesn`t earn him the dollars deployment does. "I`m fairly new at IVX and I`ve been here for six years. I`m a staff sergeant, so my pay is considerably more here just because of my time working for the 139th," Kirk says. And, the guard`s trip to Fort Worth, Texas means more good news for the guard. "It`s a great morale boost to be able to help people, especially in this situation compared to a lot of other deployments I`ve been on," Ricke says. "They are all in hotels, they`ll be on full expenses so they`ll be eating on the economy. So, where they`re deploying, it`s a big boom for that economy because that`s a huge influx of people taking up hotel rooms and spending thier money," Col. Cotter says. Two planes plus personnel will begin Operation Jump Start missions immediately. Some guard members will rotate duty in two-week intervals. Others have signed on for the full two month commitment, but Col. Cotter says another month of duty could be added.