This last weekend (the 13th through 15th June), the Auxiliary completed an annual deployment exercise, testing its call-up system, check-in and staging, and then remaining in the field for 24 hours. During this time, we conducted nighttime cattle patrols and daylight reconnaissance covering over 200 square miles of Lawrence County.

Elements of the 4 Company/8th Brigade Missouri Militia joined us for patrols under command of their Executive Officer, Lt. Robert Gilkerson. The Missouri Militia consists of volunteers like us who use a substantial amount of time and money on their own equipment and training, only under the State Guard structure rather than the county Sheriff. The 4/8 volunteers helped us deploy more vehicles to cover a wider area in shorter time and began to build a relationship for working with them in the field in the future, including radio communications. The 4/8 volunteers were professional, well-organized, and dedicated; their assistance was appreciated.

Patrols were fairly quiet. We noted downed limbs and other storm damage throughout our area. We also made notes of possible suspicious activity to recheck on future livestock patrols. Cattle thieves will often scout an area several times in advance of an actual theft, often leaving markers on fences or other changes. Our daylight reconnaissance patrols take note of these features to target future patrols or surveillance.