ANTI-DRUG BORDER SOLDIERS PULLED IN BUDGET SHORTFALL

HARLINGEN -- Texas National Guard officials Friday said a budget shortfall
is forcing them to recall 30 soldiers from anti-drug duties along the
Mexican border.

Sixty-five guards remain on the border, but 35 of them will be pulled if
more funds are not found by March 1, said Texas Guard spokesman Lt. Col.
Robert Luna.

Nationwide, National Guard units will eliminate an estimated 1,000
positions because of a $40 million budget shortfall. The Guard had hoped
the federal government would appropriate more money for them, but the funds
were not included in the appropriations bill President Bush signed last week.

The Texas National Guard began pulling back its troops on Sunday.

National Guardsmen and pilots began helping along the border in 1989. They
gather intelligence through ground and aerial surveillance, analyze it and
help U.S. Customs officers inspect cargo shipments at border crossings.

Luna is hoping money will be found to preserve the drug interdiction program.

"We are optimistic that the funding to support the port of entry issue will
occur soon," he said.

The pullback comes as Gov. Rick Perry is asking for more guardsmen to be
assigned to the border. Perry believes the guardsmen help border crossings
run more smoothly, which benefits the border economy, spokesman Gene Acuna
said.

"Gov. Perry has continued to press the defense department and federal
government to send additional troops to the border, and we are optimistic
this will occur," said Acuna. "We wrote a letter to Defense Secretary
Rumsfeld in November and continue to press that point every opportunity we
get."

In Florida, National Guard spokesman Maj. Ron Tittle confirmed that the
$2.5 million reduction in Florida's counter-drug operation will require 70
guardsmen to be deactivated by the end of the month.

"It's hard to speculate what the reason is," Tittle said of the
congressional action. "I know there's an effort to get the necessary
funding for homeland security, but I think this program assists in homeland
security."

The 70 deactivated guardsmen represent a 45 percent reduction in personnel
assigned to the anti-drug operation, Tittle said. The majority of the
guardsmen worked in cargo inspection and intelligence analysis in South
Florida, he said.

"We will continue on with our program, our aerial and ground reconnaissance
and the assisting local agencies. We will just have to work it smarter,"
Tittle said.

Officials with the California National Guard said their funding has been
delayed but would not result in the loss of any of the 400 soldiers working
on various drug interdiction efforts.

"I heard they were cutting 1,000 positions nationwide, but so far it
doesn't look like California is going to get any cuts," said Col. Charles
Knight, a spokesman for the Guard. "In fact, we're expecting to have an
increase in troops on the border."

U.S. Customs spokesman Roger Maier said Texas guardsmen participate in a
program called Operation Guardian.

"Over that time, the Guard has been a great force multiplier for Customs,"
said Maier, who is based in El Paso.

The military personnel do not interview the public, but conduct secondary
inspections of vehicles with X-ray and other devices.

"That frees up our people to get back on the line, do more inspections and
keep the traffic going," Maier said.