Ward Loren Schrantz, of Carthage, Missouri, entered the U.S. Army in 1912, at a time when military leaders were still seriously debating the future of the horse cavalry. He left active military service in 1946, after the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Japan. Schrantz served capably at a time when the U.S. military was undergoing rapid technological and strategic transformation and, as a journalist and attentive observer, left a vivid personal account of his time in the Army and Missouri National Guard. Editor Jeff Patrick has woven three undated versions of Schrantz's memoir into a single narrative focused on the sparsely documented pre–World War I period from 1912 to 1917, thus helping to fill a significant gap in the existing literature. Schrantz's memoir is notable not only for the period it covers, but also for its lively evocation of a soldier's life during the U.S.-Mexico border disturbances of the early twentieth century. Schrantz's account demonstrates the perennial contrast between how soldiers were expected to behave and how they actually behaved; it offers colorful and authentic details not usually available from official histories. Patrick also has added an appendix consisting of the letters that Schrantz wrote for publication in his hometown newspaper, the Carthage Evening Press. These documents yield interesting insights into the attitudes and dispositions of U.S. soldiers during this time, as well as the perceptions and opinions of the "folks back home." Students, scholars, and others interested in military and borderlands history will find much to enjoy in Guarding the Border: The Military Memoirs of Ward Schrantz, 1912–1917.

This occasional paper is a concise overview of the history of the US Army's involvement along the Mexican border and offers a fundamental understanding of problems associated with such a mission. Furthermore, it demonstrates how the historic themes addressed disapproving public reaction, Mexican governmental instability, and insufficient US military personnel to effectively secure the expansive boundary are still prevalent today.

A Russian girl wants a Bible more than anything and, strangely enough, it is a soldier who helps her realize that dream.

On June 18, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson called up virtually the entire army National Guard, some 150,000 men, to meet an armed threat to the United States: border raids covertly sponsored by a Mexican government in the throes of revolution. The Great Call-Up tells for the first time the complete story of this unprecedented deployment and its significance in the history of the National Guard, World War I, and U.S.-Mexico relations. Often confused with the regular-army operation against Pancho Villa and overshadowed by the U.S. entry into World War I, the great call-up is finally given due treatment here by two premier authorities on the history of the Southwest border. Marshaling evidence drawn from newspapers, state archives, reports to Congress, and War Department documents, Charles H. Harris III and Louis R. Sadler trace the call-up’s state-based deployment from San Antonio and Corpus Christi, along the Texas and Arizona borders, to California. Along the way, they tell the story of this mass mobilization by examining each unit as it was called up by state, considering its composition, missions, and internal politics. Through this period of intensive training, the Guard became a truly cohesive national, then international, force. Some units would even go directly from U.S. border service to the battlefields of World War I France, remaining overseas until 1919. Balancing sweeping change over time with a keen eye for detail, The Great Call-Up unveils a little-known yet vital chapter in American military history.

This book looks into the processes of change and renewal of border control and border security and management during the past 30 years after the fall of the Iron Curtain, and the immense challenges in nation-building in South-Eastern Europe after the collapse of former Yugoslavia in relation to strategic security management. The abolition of border controls within the Schengen area and simultaneous introduction of necessary replacement measures was an additional topic. The book provides an insight into which the European Union is competent in the reform and modernisation of state law enforcement agencies for ensuring effective border control, border surveillance and border management in line with the EU acquis communautaire and EU standards. In the 21st century, along with the process of globalisation, a constantly evolving security environment creates new dimensions of threats and challenges to security and stability of transnational nature. This seeks for comprehensive, multidimensional, collective and well-coordinated responses. The European Union, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, United Nations, as well as other international organisations are able to really contribute to developing cooperative and coordinated responses to these threats by relying on its broad membership and profound expertise and experience. According to the position of the European Union, a modern, cost-benefit-oriented and effective border management system should ensure both, open borders as well as maximum of security at the same time. Thus, the Union’s endeavour is to safeguarding internal security to all member states through preventing transnational threats, combating irregular migration and any forms of cross-border crime for ensuring smooth border crossings for legitimate travellers and their belongings, goods and services. That is why the Union’s concept of Integrated Border Management has been developed to ensure effective border control and surveillance and cost-efficient management of the external borders of the European Union. The Union’s policy is and will continue to be developed on the basis of the three main areas in place: common legislation, close operational/tactical cooperation and financial solidarity. In addition, Integrated Border Management has been confirmed as a priority area for strengthening the cooperation with third countries in the European Commission’s strategic security management approach, where non-EU countries are encouraged as partners to upgrade their border security, surveillance and border management systems.