Roughly 1,140 more soldiers from U.S. Army sustainment units are deploying to the U.S.-Mexico border, in the latest expansion of the border mission by the Trump administration.
On Friday, Feb. 28 U.S. Northern Command said that seven units from five bases are preparing to head to the southern border in support of Customs and Border Protection as well as thousands of troops already there.
“The additional tranche will provide sustainment support to the already announced Joint Task Force for southern border operations, including: command and control of sustainment units and coordination of logistical support; field feeding support sites; and control of logistical movement,” NORTHCOM said in its release on the deployments.
NORTHCOM did not say when they are expected to arrive along the border or where specifically they will be active.
The units being deployed include:
- 101st Division Sustainment Brigade, Fort Campbell, Kentucky
- Alpha Company, 189th Division Sustainment Support Battalion, Fort Bragg, North Carolina
- Bravo Company, 68th DSSB, Fort Carson, Colorado
- Charlie Company, 129th DSSB, Fort Campbell, Kentucky
- Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 264th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, Fort Bragg, North Carolina
- 70th Movement Control Team, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia
- 564th Quartermaster Company, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington
The hundreds of new troops will join approximately 9,200 already deployed along the southern border. Those include approximately 5,000 National Guard troops sent by the state of Texas in a separate mission, as well as 4,200 soldiers and Marines deployed by the Pentagon. The roughly 1,500 troops sent to the border last month were pulled from military police and engineer units inside the Army and Marine Corps.
The military has had an ongoing deployment to the U.S.-Mexico border since 2018 during the first Trump administration. The Biden administration continued the mission. Since President Donald Trump returned to office in January, the Pentagon has been expanding the number of troops committed to dealing with watching the southern border and supporting immigration-related policies and deportation efforts. That includes units sent to support “holding operations” involving migrants at Guantanamo Bay and Coast Guard units flying migrants to border states for deportation.
Additionally, the U.S. has already stepped up increased drone surveillance flights over Mexico in recent weeks.
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