Va. Guard helicopter crew departs to support Southwest border mission -- July 29, 2013

Soldiers from the Sandston-based Detachment 1, Company A, 2nd Battalion, 151st Aviation Regiment depart for the Texas border aboard a UH-72 Lakota helicopter July 29, 2013, from the Virginia National Guard’s Army Aviation Support Facility in Sandston, Va. The four-person crew will provide aerial reconnaissance support to U.S. Customs and Border Protection in support of the national effort to counter illegal immigration along the U.S. southwest border. Approximately 15 Virginia Guard Soldiers will rotate through Texas between now and the end of October in support of the National Guard border mission.

Virginia pilots and maintainers last supported U.S. Customs and Border Protection with aerial reconnaissance support along the U.S. southwest border from Aug. 27 to Dec. 6, 2012, in support of the Texas National Guard. During their previous rotation along the border, Virginia Guard Soldiers directly supported the apprehension of more than 1,800 illegal immigrants, to include human traffickers and narcotics smugglers. They also assisted Customs and Border Protection agents in the seizure of more than 1,500 pounds of narcotics with an estimated street value of over $1.25 million.