The Watchers

While the border fences and access roads built by Team Engineer are a
formidable obstacle, smugglers can always find ways over, under or around
them. Detecting and identifying those who make it past the first barriers
and guiding law enforcement agents onto them is the job of two highly
specialized Guard units.

Team Wolf

For the soldiers of Team Wolf, smallunit infantry skills are an absolute
must for success in the battle against drug smugglers. Tasked primarily
with antismuggling ground reconnaissance missions both along the border
and elsewhere in the state, Team Wolf's troops put their land navigation,
intelligence gathering and tactical movement skills to good use.

Experts at seeing without being seen, Team Wolf's soldiers move stealthily
into a law enforcementidentified "named area of interest," usually a
suspected or confirmed drug trafficking corridor or drug activity area.
Concealed in camouflaged listening post/observation post sites, often for
days, the troops employ nightvision devices, thermal imaging systems or
groundsurveillance radar to observe all activity within the NAI. Team Wolf
members use secure radios to pass observation reports to the appropriate
law enforcement agency, which then deals with the suspects.

The sort of longterm covert reconnaissance in which Team Wolf specializes
can be physically and mentally challenging. Restricted to a small LP/OP for
long periods whether along the border, overlooking a marijuana
plantation, or near an urban methamphetamine lab the soldiers must
remain unseen and unheard. It is, said one soldier, "the toughest, most
demanding type of mission I've ever participated in."

And it is also one of the most valuable aspects of the counterdrug effort.
Since Jan. 1, for example, Team Wolf's reconnaissance and observation
missions have freed up more than 12,000 manhours for local, state and
federal law enforcement agencies. That allowed the agencies to concentrate
on investigations, apprehensions of suspects and seizures of drugs,
resulting in 265 arrests.

As successful as the LP/OP mission has been, it is not the only
counterdrugrelated task Team Wolf undertakes. Team members are regularly
involved in marijuanaeradication missions, during which they remove plants
from gardens in remote areas, remove growing equipment and help restore the
cultivation sites. The soldiers also help move seized drugs, operate
CalGuard's two LAV25 wheeled armored vehicles in support of counterdrug
operations [see accompanying box] and help train law enforcement officers
in land navigation, patrolling, helicopter operations and secure
communications.

Given the demands of Team Wolf's mission, why do its soldiers seem so
highly motivated and so ready to take to the field? The answer, said one
young lieutenant, is simple.

"This is exactly the mission we've been trained for; it's what we would do
in wartime," he said. "So not only is it excellent training, it allows us
to play a very important role in the fight against illegal drugs. We're
helping to put the smugglers out of business and keep the drugs off the
street. What could be a better motivator?"

Team Shadow

Observation of suspected drug trafficking routes is also the mission of
Team Shadow, a group of soldiers tasked with operating sophisticated
nightvision equipment in support of the U.S. Border Patrol's San Diego
County drug interdiction efforts.

Team Shadow operates remote observation systems, freeing Border Patrol
agents for patrolling, investigations and apprehensions of suspects. The
observation devices include longrange infrared systems (referred to as
LORIS), nightvision goggles and modified tank thermal sights [see
accompanying box].

"Having Team Shadow working with us is a real force multiplier," said
Border Patrol agent Bob Carney. a Guard member, Carney serves as the
liaison between the soldiers and the Border Patrol agents they support.

"Set up on a ridgeline or hillside, the LORIS and other systems allow us to
spot and track smugglers from considerable distances," Carney said.

"By detecting and tracking suspected smugglers," said one Team Shadow
soldier, "we help the Border Patrol make better use of its agents. We can
vector agents on foot, in aircraft or in vehicles toward an individual or
group of people, allowing the agent to get the jump on the suspect. We're
also a sort of safety backup for the agents, because we can often let them
know about people or situations they might not have noticed."

"It's great having this type of support from the California Guard," Carney
said. "These soldiers are very good at what they do, and they are very
highly motivated. They know they're helping to stem the flow of drugs into
this state, and I think it gives them tremendous pride in their work."