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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 30, 2007 No. 07-039 MORE KANSAS NATIONAL GUARDSMEN HEAD SOUTHWEST FOR OPERATION JUMP START Approximately forty Kansas Air National Guard airmen from the 190th Air Refueling Wing will be heading to the border March 31 for two week tour of duty with Operation Jump Start, the federal operation designed to strengthen security on the U.S.-Mexico border. This is the third Kansas National Guard deployment to support the border mission. Lt. Col. Craig Hansen, the officer in charge for the group, said 35 of the airmen are from the 190th Air Refueling Wing's Civil Engineering Squadron and the others are from other 190th ARW organizations. There will also be one airman from a Nebraska ANG Civil Engineering Squadron joining them. Hansen said the group will fly to Yuma, Ariz., on March 31, where their mission will be to construct sections of fence and roads and install lightning. Hansen said this is the first Operation Jump Start mission for the 190th CES and the airmen are looking forward to it. "They always like doing these sort of projects," said Hansen. The airmen are scheduled to return to Kansas April 19. In January 2007, 40 members of the Kansas Army National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 130th Field Artillery were deployed to Operation Jump Start to man several Entry Identification Teams. The Entry Identification Teams mission was to monitor the border and report activities to border agents and local law enforcement. In July 2006, the 184th Civil Engineering Squadron, based out of Wichita's
McConnell Air Force Base, was the first Kansas unit to take part in Operation
Jump Start.
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