On March 9, 1916, Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa and 500 of his Villistas attacked the border town of Columbus New Mexico. The United States responded by immediately dispatching U.S Army forces under the command of Gen. John J. "Blackjack" Pershing to avenge the border penetration and capture the bandit Villa. Pershing deployed eight Curtiss JN-2s ("Jennies") of the First Aero Squadron for use as scouts in the mountainous Mexican territory top which Villa and his men had fled.

Among those on horseback and motorcars chasing the bandits, the young George S. Patton and Douglas MacArthur.

Today, the threat of an asymmetric attack from our borders needs to be guarded against using high-tech sensors and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), today's versions of yesterday's "Jennies".