Gov. Jan Brewer has sent another salvo in her ongoing war of words with the federal government regarding border security, this time seeking helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles to help combat illegal drug trafficking.
In a May 20 letter to President Barack Obama, Brewer is asking the federal government to reallocate some of the nation’s network of OH-58 Kiowa helicopters to Arizona for use in border missions.
The state currently has 13 such helicopters, but nine are dedicated to training missions, leaving only four to support actual law enforcement efforts.
According to a distribution map provided by Brewer’s office, the federal government has 158 OH-58 Kiowa’s scattered in all but a handful of states throughout the nation. Brewer is asking that some of those aircraft be moved from other states to Arizona.
The OH-58 Kiowa is a single-engine, single-rotor aircraft used primarily for armed reconaissance in support of ground troops, according to information provided on the Bell Helicopter website. They have been in use by the U.S. Army since the late 1960s.
“An Arizona OH-58 fleet of 8-10 dedicated aircraft would enable us to double our border coverage to 2,000 hours per year,” the letter states. “To be effective, these additional aircraft must be equipped for day and night operations.”
The Governor’s letter also asks that “as overseas operations in Iraq and Afghanistan permit” the federal government consider the additional use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles along the Arizona-Mexico border to support counter-drug missions.
The White House referred requests for comment over to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which declined to officially address the requests outlined in Brewer’s letter, or say whether they were even feasible.
Matt Chandler, a DHS spokesman, issued a lengthy statement in which he said that “our border with Mexico is safer and more secure than it has ever been.”
In the past 15 months, Chandler said, the agency has sent an “unprecedented” level of manpower, technology and infrastructure” to the border.
There are now “almost 4,500 boots on the ground in Arizona alone, an 8 percent increase from a year ago,” Chandler said. “We also have more technology on the border than ever before, including 39 full-time aircraft and 3 unmanned aerial systems in Arizona.”
Chandler added: “We look forward to continuing to work with state and local officials to ensure that we continue to be prepared to detect illegal cross-border activity…and stop it in its tracks.”
This is not the first time the Governor has requested federal assistance in border security efforts. She has previously sent letters to President Obama, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and other Congressional leaders, seeking additional National Guard troops on the border and a boost in funding for the Joint Counter Narco-Terrorism Task Force.
All her previous requests have gone unanswered, she said.
“They’ve turned a very blind eye,” Brewer told The Republic this week. “I’ve not even been dignified with a response, basically.”
So far Obama has not answered to governor Brewer’s letter.
“They’ve turned a very blind eye,” Brewer told The Republic this week. “I’ve not even been dignified with a response, basically.”
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