Chief Owens interviews Border Patrol Agent Josh Guell.
Our Veterans Day Special Edition!
Border Patrol Agent Joshua D. Guell, born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, is currently serving at the Laredo West Station in the Laredo Sector. He entered duty on October 15, 2007 after graduating from the 720th session of the U.S. Border Patrol Academy, 2nd in his class. After 11 years of working with the Border Patrol, he applied his firsthand knowledge of the hardships returning veterans experience after deployment to create the Veterans Support Program (VSP) in March 2017. The program assists veterans employed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and their families. Up-to-date, VSP has assisted with thousands of veteran-related issues; assisting CBP employees on and off-duty. His effort was the catalyst to drive a concept to assist a few veterans in Laredo Texas to becoming a CBP pilot program, nationwide.
BPA Guell has a distinguished career proudly serving nine years, five tours in Iraq and Afghanistan with the elite U.S. Army Rangers before joining the U.S. Border Patrol. During his time in the military, he played a vital role in several significant operations. These include the Battle of Haditha Dam during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Along with providing flood control and a third of Iraq’s electrical generation capacity, the dam provided the only other crossing of the Euphrates River west of Baghdad. U.S. Army Rangers seized the Haditha Dam in April 2003 and prevented Iraqi forces from destroying it with some of the most intense fighting and largest use of enemy artillery since World War II. In the summer of 2005, he was also part of Operation Red Wings II, which lasted approximately three weeks. During this time, Guell’s team recovered the bodies of deceased SEALs and Army Special Operations aviators and rescued the only surviving member of the team, Marcus Luttrell.
During his time in the military, Mr. Guell earned several commendations and medals for his bravery and outstanding duty. These include the Army Staff Identification Badge for his distinguished service to the Office of the Secretary of the Army during the almost three years he spent working at the Pentagon. The Bronze Star Medal, with the “V" device which is an award for heroism and valor in combat instead of for meritorious service or achievement in a combat zone. He was also awarded the Valorous Unit Award (VUA), the second highest United States military unit decoration that may be bestowed upon a military unit after the Presidential Unit Citation (PUC). Other awards include the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, and other awards.
While at the Border Patrol Academy, Mr. Guell was given the second overall in academics award, top shooter award, and twice awarded for leadership of his classmates. Because of his work with veterans in the Border Patrol through the VSP, on June 18, 2018, the City of Laredo recognized Border Patrol Agent (BPA) Joshua Guell as Veteran of the Month. On May 14, 2016 he was also recognized by U.S. House of Representative Henry Cuellar for his acts of courage while in the line of duty as a Border Patrol agent and awarded the Commissioners Life Saving award along with the Border Patrol Achievement Medal with “V” device.
Mr. Guell is married and has 2 children and is a devout Christian and a member of Grace Bible Church for over 13 years. He also likes to attend/host Bible studies and help Churches in the Laredo community during his off time.
