Neighbors to the south

It was unnerving when the Army told soldiers at Fort Huachuca they needed permission to travel to Mexico.

The Office of Tourism in Sonora said they were concerned that it would send the wrong idea, because none of the killings in Nogales involved tourists, just drug cartels and the police. Yeah, I wonder if they put that in their brochures.

Twice in the last few weeks, Michael Yon has posted about Mexico. (one and the other) Anyone who reads Michael Yon knows he doesn't post from swanky beaches or about cozy B&B's.

And now this:

Citing a wave of violence and murder in Mexico, the commanding officer of the Marine expeditionary force based at Camp Pendleton has made the popular military "R&R" destinations of Tijuana and nearby beaches effectively off-limits for his Marines.

The order by Lt. Gen. Samuel Helland restricts travel into Mexico by the 44,000 members of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, many of whom have multiple tours of duty in Iraq, Afghanistan and other combat zones under their belts - or are there now.

When I think about taking a vacation, I weigh certain factors. If the US Army or USMC says their people are not allowed there, I generally put it on the "not so much" list.

This really can't be good...

On a (slight) tangent: Kidnappings: Latin America Style Violence Sweeping Arizona

Last thought on this subject for the night: our new US Secretary of Homeland Security was the governor of AZ yesterday.

-Code Monkey