AUSTIN: More National Guard troops in Texas and New Mexico will likely be armed than troops helping to secure the U.S.-Mexico border in California and Arizona, state officials said. “The governor certainly wants to make sure our men and women in the National Guard are able to protect themselves if their assignments are in areas that will put them in danger,” said Kathy Walt, spokeswoman for Republican Gov. Rick Perry.My God! Soldiers given guns! Oh the humanity!
An agreement all four states signed with the federal government outlines general guidelines for use of force under Operation Jump Start, but each state's National Guard leader and governor set specific protocols that determine the level to which soldiers will be armed.
Officials in Texas and New Mexico said troops there will be armed if their assignment could put them in harm's way. A spokeswoman for Republican California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said most of the troops in that state would not be armed. And an Arizona National Guard official said an “extreme minority” of troops there would carry weapons.
“The mission sets we're working out with law enforcement agencies won't require it,” said Arizona guard spokesman Paul Aguirre.