17-05-2025
Families bid farewell to hundreds of National Guard troops deployed to Africa
RIO RANCHO — Within a few days, Anna Lysa Toledo will deploy on a monthslong mission in the Horn of Africa.
Toledo, a soft-spoken 19-year-old who grew up in rural To'Hajiilee west of Albuquerque and graduated from Santa Fe Indian School last year, said Friday she is neither scared or nervous even though it's her first deployment.
'I'm actually really excited,' she said. 'Ever since I was little, I've known I wanted to join the military, just not sure which branch, so I've always known what I wanted to do.'
Toledo is among more than 400 New Mexico National Guard soldiers who are deploying to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti to support what is known as 'Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.' Half were recognized during a going away ceremony Thursday in Las Cruces while the other half were recognized in a separate farewell event Friday at Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho.
Citing operational security, officials disclosed few details about the mission in Africa, though the New Mexico National Guard will be tasked with providing additional security to existing forces on the ground. The task force 'conducts operations in the region to enhance partner nation capacity, promote regional security and stability, dissuade conflict, and protect U.S. and coalition interests,' according to the United States Africa Command.
During Friday's so-called 'yellow ribbon celebration,' Lt. Col. Sergio Hands, commander of the 1st Battalion, 200th Infantry Regiment, asked hundreds of family members and friends of the departing soldiers to take a second to look around the room.
'What you will see is the depth of love and support we all share for our soldiers,' he said as some of them held their children in their arms or held hands with a loved one.
'They are husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, family members and friends that are loved and will be missed at home through these next couple of months,' Hands added. 'These soldiers have made a selfless commitment to be a part of an organization that is greater than themselves, and they take pride in serving a higher purpose.'
'Operation Zia Shield'
The overseas deployment — the largest since guardsmen were deployed on a peacekeeping mission to Sinai, Egypt, in 2012 — comes as the National Guard embarks on a high-profile operation at home: Assisting the Albuquerque Police Department with more routine tasks to free up certified law enforcement officers to fight crime.
Hank Minitrez, a spokesperson for the New Mexico National Guard, said the deployment to Africa doesn't affect the operation in Albuquerque.
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Over 400 members of the New Mexico Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 200th Infantry Regiment gather with their families for a going-away ceremony Friday at Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho in advance of their deployment to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti to support Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa. Citing operational security, officials disclosed few details about the mission in Africa, though the New Mexico National Guard will be tasked with providing additional security to existing forces on the ground.
'We've got 71 soldiers there who volunteered for that mission' in Albuquerque, he said. 'Keep in mind, in total the entire New Mexico National Guard has just under 3,000 soldiers and airmen, so it's never a question of do we have enough manpower. We'll always be ready and available for the governor or any locality that needs us.'
Dubbed 'Operation Zia Shield,' the Albuquerque assignment was authorized by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in response to a request for assistance from Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina to support the department's public safety efforts along the Central Avenue corridor, which includes the crime-ridden International District, and beyond.
'To effectively combat crime in Bernalillo County, the Albuquerque Police Department ... needs every sworn officer to be on our streets making arrests, deterring would-be offenders, and protecting the public,' Medina wrote in a May 31 memo to the governor. 'The fentanyl epidemic, coupled with an increase in violent juvenile crime, presents a problem that can only be resolved through a consistent and visible presence of APD's officers to Albuquerque's citizens.'
The governor allocated an initial $750,000 to the operation. Last week, she issued another executive order allocating an additional $750,000 to the effort, for a total of $1.5 million.
'The safety of New Mexicans is my top priority,' Lujan Grisham said in a statement when she first authorized the National Guard to aid the police department.
'By deploying our National Guard to support APD with essential duties, we're ensuring that trained police officers can focus on what they do best — keeping our communities safe. This partnership represents our commitment to addressing the fentanyl crisis and juvenile crime with every resource at our disposal,' she said.
051625 jw ntl guard deploy
Allison Peralta gives her dad, Sgt. Juan Peralta, a smooch as over 400 members of the New Mexico Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 200th Infantry Regiment gather with their families for a going-away ceremony Friday at Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho in advance of their deployment to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti.
Seventy-one National Guard members have been assigned to the operation. While some have already started in their duties, the vast majority are expected to begin Memorial Day weekend.
The guardsmen and women will fill a supporting role, tackling such tasks as providing security at crime scenes and SWAT operations and assisting with booking people into jail and tagging evidence. They will not have the authority to make arrests, nor will they carry guns or stun guns.
'Everybody comes back'
Much like their colleagues in Albuquerque, the National Guard soldiers deploying to Africa will be playing a support role, Minitrez said.
'This is nothing new for the National Guard,' he said. 'Actually, National Guard units from across the country have been rotating in and out of Djibouti for many, many years now. This is our second or third time doing that, and every time we go, there's a different type of mission. Sometimes we focus more on transportation issues, driving big trucks. This time, we've been asked to provide additional security to the forces there.'
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Sgt. Damein Perkins, right, and Specialist Francisco Valdez bow their heads during the opening prayer as over 400 members of the New Mexico Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 200th Infantry Regiment gather with their families for a going-away ceremony on Friday, at Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho in advance of their deployment to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti to support Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.
In an interview after the yellow-ribbon celebration, Hands, who will serve as task force commander, said the task force will be '1,100 soldiers strong' with military members from four states: Louisiana, Oregon, Washington and New Mexico.
Hands, who has been on six other deployments during his military career, said every deployment has its own level of danger and complexity.
'We know that there are adversaries in our area we will be assigned to,' he said. 'Our job there is to protect the infrastructure and the other [soldiers] who are there.'
State Sen. Jay Block, R-Rio Rancho, a retired lieutenant colonel who served a combat tour in Afghanistan, was among the dignitaries who spoke at Friday's event. He advised the roughly 200 soldiers to pray daily and also contact their families every day.
'It was what worked for me when I was over in Afghanistan in 2005 and 2006,' he said after the event. 'I wanted to make I communicated with my mom and dad every day, that they knew I was OK. I prayed every day because we were out on the road a lot and quite frankly, praying every day just comforted me and helped me get through what I had to get through.'
Block said a deployment will change a person.
'It has changed me because of the things I saw over there for months and months and months,' he said. 'You see extreme poverty. You see extreme suffering. It takes a toll on you. You see people injured or killed, and you come back different.'
Asked which mission was tougher, the one in Africa or the one in Albuquerque, Block said National Guard soldiers are nimble.
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Steel Mascarenas, 3, claps along to the Army Song while watching the band play with his departing uncle, Specialist Patrick Mascarenas, as over 400 members of the New Mexico Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 200th Infantry Regiment gather with their families for a going-away ceremony on Friday at Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho in advance of their deployment to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti to support Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.
'It's going to be different rules of engagement, obviously, doing combat operations over in Kenya, Somalia and the Horn of Africa compared to the International District,' he said. 'But that shows you the flexibility and what the Guard can do. They can do all these different missions, from Ruidoso to the International District, from COVID-19 to Iraq to the Horn of Africa. These men and women are incredible. They step up. They do it all when called, and they do incredible work. As you heard me say today, I'm just so damn proud of them.'
David Young, 24, of Albuquerque, said the overseas deployment to Africa will be his first, too.
Young said he's 'a little nervous' but not scared.
'Everybody deploys all the time, and everybody comes back,' he said. 'I believe in my leadership. I believe in my younger guys. And I believe in myself.'
