JANUARY 23, 2025 – The Defense Department is sending 1,500 active-duty service members and additional air and intelligence assets to the southern border to augment troops already conducting enforcement operations in that region, Acting Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses announced yesterday afternoon via a statement to the media.
The announcement came roughly 36 hours after President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order directing DOD to address the situation at the border.
“On Monday, to protect the security and safety of United States citizens, President Trump declared that a national emergency exists at the southern border of the United States. The president directed me to take all appropriate action to support the activities of the secretary of homeland security in obtaining complete operational control of the southern border of the United States,” the statement reads.
The Pentagon has since established a task force to oversee the expedited implementation of border-related executive orders with U.S. Northern Command heading up the effort and being supported by U.S. Transportation Command, the National Guard Bureau, the military services and the Department of Homeland Security.
The 1,500 additional active-duty service members authorized by Salesses will initially be put to work on the placement of physical barriers and other border missions within the next 24 to 48 hours, a senior military official told the media. The service members include 1,000 soldiers, as well as 500 Marines who had previously been on standby in Southern California to potentially help combat the Los Angeles County wildfires that broke out two weeks ago, the senior official said.
With 2,500 active-duty personnel already in the region, the additional 1,500 troops will represent a 60% increase in active-duty forces since the president was sworn in on Monday, Salesses remarks in his statement.
“We anticipate that overall, on the southwest border, [active-duty personnel] will provide real-time situational awareness of persons, vehicles, vessels and aircraft; and they’ll work with [U.S. Customs and Border Protection] on operator-level maintenance, movement and staging of [CBP] assets,” the senior military official said.
In addition to the additional active-duty ground personnel, DOD will provide airlift support for flights operated by DHS to implement the deportation of more than 5,000 individuals detained by CBP at the border sectors in San Diego and El Paso, Texas, Salesses’ statement reads.
Transcom is providing two C-130 Hercules and two C-17 Globemaster aircraft to assist in that support, the senior military official said.
Additionally, the official added that there are UH-72 Lakota military helicopters that began flying today in support of CBP.
DOD is also coordinating with the State Department to obtain diplomatic visas and provide host-nation notification for those individuals who are deported, a senior defense official said.
DOD is also providing intelligence analyst support at the border.
“We’re in the process of sourcing those requirements right now,” the senior military official said.
“We also anticipate that there could be some additional airborne intelligence, surveillance and support assets that would move down to the border to increase situational awareness,” the official added.
Regarding DOD’s future activity on the border, the senior defense official said that — while there are no specifics to release at the moment — there will be a number of additional border enforcement missions developing.
“This is going to be a big priority for the department under the acting secretary and the secretary that will be coming on board,” the defense official said.
“In short order, [DOD] will develop and execute additional missions in cooperation with DHS, federal agencies, and state partners to address the full range of threats outlined by the [president] at our nation’s borders,” Salesses’ statement reads.
“President Trump directed action from [DOD] on securing our nation’s borders and made clear he expects immediate results. That is exactly what our military is doing under his leadership,” the statement concludes.
By Matthew Olay, DOD News