Obama Closing Air Defense System on U.S./Mexico Border: Texas & America Vulnerable to Attack from Low Altitude Missiles and Aircraft

by David Bellow on January 18, 2013 at 9:14 AM

updates:

Outrage Growing over Obama Cutting Homeland Security U.S. Border Air Defense System (TARS)

White House Petition Asks Obama Not to Shut Down TARS Air Defense System on Southern Border

 

Call your Congressmen and Senators immediately and demand that the recent budget cuts do not affect the security of America’s borders. The Federal Government wastes billions of dollars on things they should not even be involved in, but securing our country’s borders is one of the jobs that the federal government is actually supposed to do!

Obama has always pushed massive cuts in the military as part of any budget cuts he will accept in fiscal deals. Obama seems to be getting what he wants, and it will leave America’s borders vulnerable to attacks and other infiltrations.

Air Force’s Air Defense Radar Systems along U.S./Mexico Border will SHUTDOWN on March 15th, 2013

On January 17th, 2013, Exelis Systems Corporation sent out an email (see email below) to all of its employees informing them that on March 15th, 2013 all TARS Air Defense Mission Operations will permanently cease. These TARS Air Defense sites were under the control of the United States Air Force. On January 15th, 2013, the Air Force informed Exelis (the defense contractor running the TARS sites) that the TARS sites will be shut down. Exelis tried to then negotiate with the Department of Homeland Security to see if they would take over the vital project, but it seems as though those negotiations have failed. What does this mean?

This means the southern border of the United States of America will be more vulnerable to attack from low flying aircrafts, low altitude missiles, and other infiltrations such as smuggling.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one Exelis employee had this to say about the announced closure of the TARS sites:

“Not only will this closure mean hundreds of people will be out of jobs, but it also means our borders will not be safe, especially along the remote U.S. Mexico Border like in Texas. These defense radars detect low flying aircraft infiltrating our borders. Without these defense radars, low flying aircraft will go undetected. It will be open season for any drug/gun/slave smugglers, terrorists flying in with nukes, low altitude missiles, or even a full scale low elevation invasion/attack against America.”

According to the Air Force’s website, the Tethered Aerostat Radar System, or TARS, is an aerostat-borne, surveillance program. Using the aerostat as a stationary airborne platform for a surveillance radar, the system is capable of detecting low altitude aircraft at the radar's maximum range by mitigating curvature of the earth and terrain masking limitations. TARS provides a detection and monitoring capability along the United States-Mexico border, the Florida Straits, and a portion of the Caribbean in support of the Department of Defense Counterdrug Program.

The primary agencies using the TARS surveillance data include U.S. Northern Command in support of Customs and Border Protection (Air and Marine Operations Center and Caribbean Air and Marine Operations Center) and U.S. Southern Command in support of Joint Interagency Task Force-South. In addition to its counterdrug mission, TARS surveillance data also supports North American Aerospace Defense Command's air sovereignty mission for the continental United States.

Email Sent to all Exelis Employees January 17th, 2013 Announcing Closure of TARS Air Defense Sites:

Subject: TARS Contract Update

Tuesday, 15 January 2013, we received a government request for a proposal (RfP) to de-scope and close the TARS program by the end of the fiscal year. The government indicated that it does not intend to exercise the final two option years for the TARS contract. In the RfP, the government also indicated its intent that aerostat flight operations will cease on March 15, 2013, and that the remainder of the fiscal year will be used to deflate aerostats, disposition equipment, and prepare sites for permanent closure. We are currently reviewing all the details of the RfP and evaluating the possible impacts on the program and our workforce. We continue to communicate with the government on this matter, and we will have more information in the coming days and weeks.

The TARS program provides a critical capability to the U.S. government and we should remain focused on providing that service in an uninterrupted and robust manner.

The best thing we can do right now is to continue to provide the outstanding TARS support that has become the Exelis hallmark, while allowing the company and the government time to continue discussions on how to best support the customer, the program, and our workforce. We will provide regular updates as we know more. Should you have a specific question, please address them to Tim Green, Program Manager.

Tim Green, PMP
Program Manager
Tethered Aerostat Radar System
Exelis Systems Corporation

Issues: 
Security
Topics: 
Military
Border Security
113th Congress
Human Trafficking
People: 
Barack Obama

Comments

Submitted by Franco Tramble on January 22, 2013 at 11:46 PM
We don't ''Hate'' anyone. We also do not know who our friends are. Every Government for many Nations, including the USA,, does underhanded shit. But the Gov. is guilty,, not the people of that Nation. We don't blame ALL Muslims for 911, but we do blame the ones who DO NOT CONDEMN the murderous acts of the Jihadists. The people of the United States,, more than anything,, want the Egyptian people to be free. But you ALL must understand that WITH FREEDOM COMES RESPONSIBILITY.. Free people must speak out when they see others doing wrong.. Either in there own Nation,, or in another Nation. Too many over here have forgotten that lesson. WE have much work to do to undo the damage that this has done to our Nation. If the people of Egypt do not learn this lesson, and learn it NOW!! There will be nothing in Egypt but suffering and poverty for a long time to come. That's a pity, their is so much history to be dug up in the desert still. And this history will not get learned for another generation. It is not just their history, but the history of the whole Human race. All of ours together. Please,, get it under control. Do not let extremists take all that you have sacrificed, and make it for nothing. Your people deserve better....  

Submitted by doran on January 23, 2013 at 6:28 AM
12 Chinese military bases in Mexico?  My information is that there are at least 32 such bases.  And they are all equipped with low-flying missles, low-flying aircraft, specially trained hordes of Egyptian muslims who hate our freedoms, at least 100,000 Mexicans and other Central Americans being trained to infiltrate this Great Nation, and tons and tons of dope all packaged and ready to distribute to school children all over the US Southwest.  This is really serious stuff, Grits.

By the way, can anyone tell us just how many low-flying aircraft and/or missles coming out of Mexico these blimps have actually detected during the period they have been floating around?  I mean, really documented stuff, that anyone can access?  And how many drug smugglers, stumbling across the border desert with  school packs full of drugs, have been detected by the blimps? 

In short, are there any facts -- to be distinguished from hysterical fear-mongering nonsense -- to support the proposition that these blimps actually accomplish anything worthwhile?

It really is fun to watch small-government Texas Republicans deal with the reality of small-government.  When the pork that is being cut is your pork, you guys squeal like  hogs caught under a closing gate.


Submitted by chris lucas on January 23, 2013 at 9:04 AM
the vatican is running the usa, not zionists.
how dumb can you be??
even the jews you accuse like Feinstein, are jesuit schooled

Submitted by John on January 23, 2013 at 9:22 AM
Well I do think we, the people in Texas, have the right to deal with things the way we see fit. Since we do pay two times more to the government than what they put in to our state. On top of that, we have a rainy day fund that every other state wishes they had. To add some icing on the cake, I do believe we (Texans) have the 14th largest economy in the world. So for all that we do for this diminishing country, I think we should have the right to put our say in to a few things.  We are the backbone to this nation.

Submitted by Gritsforbreakfast on January 24, 2013 at 6:08 AM
Drake writes, "I don’t know about you, but I haven’t really seen any Texas state troopers or Border Patrol in Florida."

Who would they be protecting the border from, Georgia?

You say, the Air Force considers the blimps "a critical part in the security of America," but it's the Air Force that's ending the contract!! They're the ones who don't think they need it, or at least that the cost-benefit analysis doesn't justify it compared to other programs. You're the one who wants them to keep spending high for pork purposes (hundreds of jobs, etc.) when the Air Force clearly doesn't think it's a "vital" or cost-effective way to secure the border.

Where are the small-government conservatives when you need them?

BTW, I'm not a Quaker - Baptist, actually - and I'll leave the "liberal" or "conservative" labels to others. IMO I've taken the fiscally conservative position here while you've adopted a Big-Government, spend-more, money is no object approach. Which of those positions is "conservative" or "liberal" is in the eye of the beholder.

Submitted by Drake on January 25, 2013 at 8:24 AM
Grits, I really see what you are trying to say, but the fact is it is the governments job to protect this nation. While they are busy trying to put forth laws to control us and strip away our rights, they should instead be controlling our borders. They however are doing the opposite, stripping away our freedoms and leaving us vulnerable to smugglers and terrorists. 
The simple truth is that TARS is a needed and effective program. With the recent military budget cuts, the military is doing away with wanted and unwanted programs all together. The reason the Air Force does not want to find it is because this program helps CBP and the Coast Guard more than the Air Force. So in turn they believe Homeland Security should be the one paying the tab. 
Here are comments from a commander in the Coast Guard:  "Its presence has a deterrent value to illicit trafficking here in the area," U.S. Coast Guard Sector Key West Cmdr. Al Young said on US1Radio this week. "It also allows us here at the Coast Guard to maintain real-time visibility of air and surface resources that we may have and on occasion, we have used that information to vector assistance resources to find search objects."
"It appears to be a funding issue, and I believe what the Air Force is doing is saying, 'If it has value to the Department of Homeland Security, then find a way to pay for it' -- I think that's what's going on right now," Young said. "Its presence has deterrent value to illicit trafficking here in the area -- both human and drug trafficking.
"We've got some pretty sophisticated tools that we work with already, but if you're asking me, 'Do I want to work without it?' I would tell you no."

  The reason that Homeland Security does not want the tab is because they too are facing budget cuts, so they simply just cannot afford to take on this program. I know this by talking to certain individuals within the Border Patrol. This is what happens when you cut the budget of our security, you are left to compromise needed programs. The liberal left wing that is in control could care less about illegal immigration or insecure borders, they only care about the paycheck of the working class and control of the US.  

Drake

Submitted by Mike Travis on January 26, 2013 at 7:08 AM
You both are wrong though it is irrelevant. what is relevant is the intentional destruction of America by an unlawfully installed potus.

Submitted by Gritsforbreakfast on January 27, 2013 at 11:46 AM
So the Air Force doesn't think it benefits them and "The reason that Homeland Security does not want the tab is because they too are facing budget cuts, so they simply just cannot afford to take on this program."

If that's the case, I truly don't see your point. For most fiscal conservatives, that'd be an excellent reason to eliminate any program, much less surveillance blimps. Budgets are about setting priorities and it appears the Air Force and DHS have done so. Conservatives undermine the legitimacy of their arguments when they criticize excessive spending then moan and wail when cuts are applied to their pet programs.

Submitted by Tamara on January 27, 2013 at 11:43 PM
Why would anyone sign any petition on whitehouse.gov?  Seems almost comical to me.

Submitted by Mike on January 28, 2013 at 7:27 PM
Why would an Exelis employee supposedly make this comment, when this information has been out since last year...

http://www.afcea.org/content/?q=node/10208

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