Joint Task Force North
Encyclopedia
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
for counterdrug
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
and anti-terrorist
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
operations. JTF-North is headquartered at Biggs Army Airfield
Biggs Army Airfield
Biggs Army Airfield or Biggs AAF is a military airport located at Fort Bliss near El Paso, El Paso County, Texas, in the United States. The airfield was previously Biggs Air Force Base, a Strategic Air Command installation, between 1947 and 1966. The U.S. Army began operations supporting Ft...
, Fort Bliss, Texas. United States Northern Command
United States Northern Command
United States Northern Command is a Unified Combatant Command of the United States military. Created on 1 October 2002 in the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 attacks, its mission is to protect the United States homeland and support local, state, and federal authorities...
is the controlling Unified Combatant Command
Unified Combatant Command
A Unified Combatant Command is a United States Department of Defense command that is composed of forces from at least two Military Departments and has a broad and continuing mission. These commands are established to provide effective command and control of U.S. military forces, regardless of...
.
History
The JTF was originally activated as Joint Task Force Six (JTF-6) in November 1989 with a purely counterdrug mission. In 2004 it was renamed JTF North and added counter-terrorism to its mission, due in part to the efforts of Major M.W. Robinson, who in his spare time wrote the threat assessments for the Gulf Coast ports and access points available to terror elements operating world wide but could not get senior military officials to adopt changes to the JTF-6 mission. He reasoned the prime threat to port security is the continued storage of foreign containers at port facilities that US Customs is unable to search and clear for numerous reasons, including manpower and Free Trade Zone restrictions. He reported to the Department of Defense that containers stored without controls were a continual threat from terrorist organizations who could store weapons of mass destruction for future use. His efforts sparked congressional debate over what the true mission of JTF-6 should be, border security from foreign terror organizations. In the aftermath of 9/11 and the government scrambled to get copies of his original manuscripts from his prior duty station as the JTF-6 Southwest Area Intelligence Chief in Houston, Texas. Famous former members of Joint Task Force 6 include: General Kevin P. Byrnes, US Army, Ret., JTF-6 Commanding General; Colonel Robert Love, USMC, Ret., and current Senior Executive Service (SES) member to the DoD's Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO); Special Forces LTC Eric Buckland, US Army, Ret., and Captain Kirk Harrington, owner of EFMC, LLC.Mission statement
Detect, monitor, and support the interdiction of suspected transnational threats within and along the approaches to the continental United States (CONUS); fuse and disseminate intelligence, contribute to the common operating picture; coordinate support to primary federal agencies; and support security cooperation initiatives in order to secure the homeland and enhance regional security.Mission Casualties
On 2 Jun 96, during JTF-6 Mission JT177-96, (a ground reconnaissance mission conducted in the Angeles National Forest, California) Lance Corporal Eric D. Davis of Company B, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment (1/5) died as the result of a fall..Scandals Regarding the Unit
On 20 May 1997, during an operation in Redford, TexasRedford, Texas
Redford is a census-designated place in Presidio County, Texas, United States. The population was 132 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Redford is located at ....
near the United States–Mexico border
United States–Mexico border
The United States–Mexico border is the international border between the United States and Mexico. It runs from Imperial Beach, California, and Tijuana, Baja California, in the west to Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and Brownsville, Texas, in the east, and traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from major...
, Corporal Clemente M. Banuelos, the leader of his squad, fatally shot 18 year old American citizen Esequiel Hernández Jr
Esequiel Hernández Jr
Esequiel Hernández Jr was an 18-year-old American high school student killed on May 20, 1997 by United States Marines in Redford, Texas, located approximately one mile from the United States–Mexico border...
in the back on the American side of the border, as he was herding goats adjacent to his home. No charges were brought at the time or subsequently. The shooting inspired the 2005 movie The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada is a 2005 American drama film directed by Tommy Lee Jones and written by Guillermo Arriaga. It stars Tommy Lee Jones, Barry Pepper, Julio Cedillo, and Dwight Yoakam....
by Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones is an American actor and film director. He has received three Academy Award nominations, winning one as Best Supporting Actor for the 1993 thriller film The Fugitive....
. The 2007 documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
The Ballad of Esequiel Hernandez explores the killing, analysing both sides of the issue by interviewing the Hernandez family and friends, the Marines involved and local officials.