Tucson residents are, understandably, a bit more concerned about border security than the residents of most cities. Tucson is a) located in a border state and b) a mere hop, skip, and a jump from the Mexican border. The actual border between the US and Mexico was agreed upon, initially, in the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Subsequent to that treaty, the joint US/Mexican agency, the International Boundary and Water Commission, has been responsible for the marking of the boundaries. In spite of this, and global positioning devices, satellites, and other high-tech marvels, the federal government has ordered the 1203rd Engineering Battalion (Alabama National Guard) is getting orders to go and remap the border lines – at a reported cost of about $1.9 billion. While the Pentagon is still in the process of creating the formal orders for the national Guard unit, Border Patrol personnel and Tucson residents wonder why this money is being spent on such a useless venture.