APRIL 21, 2025 – Last week, the Defense Department got a boost in its ability to secure the southern border through an interagency land agreement enabled by the White House.
As part of a National Security Presidential Memorandum signed by President Donald J. Trump, jurisdiction over about 170 square miles of federal land along the border between New Mexico and Mexico was transferred to the U.S. military.
“This transfer will allow the DOD to assist border patrol’s efforts to secure our southern border,” said Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell during the Weekly Sitrep video, which highlights department activities each week.
When the Army accepts jurisdiction over that land, it will become part of a national defense area — a specified piece of federal land over which DOD maintains administrative authority and jurisdiction and is permitted to establish and enforce a controlled perimeter and access.
Service members stationed at the border and operating on that land will have greater authority to execute their mission. They will be governed by the same rules as when they are defending any other military installation, such as apprehending trespassers and passing them to appropriate civilian or federal law enforcement officials.
“Border security is national security,” Parnell said. “You’ve heard us say it many, many times. We say it because we believe it.”
This week, Marine and Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer returned to service after hanging up his uniform 15 years ago. His oath of enlistment was administered in the Pentagon by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“On Thursday, Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer reenlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserves,” Parnell said. “Our nation’s heroes are excited to serve again under President Trump and Secretary Hegseth’s leadership, and the Marine Corps is lucky to have Dakota Meyer back in the ranks.”
Meyer received the Medal of Honor for his gallant actions during a 2009 battle in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. He said his decision to reenlist is the same as it was to enlist some 20 years ago.
“I’ve got more to give, and it’s just such an honor to be able to come stand shoulder–to-shoulder next to the men and women who are wearing the nation’s cloth today,” Meyer said.
At the reenlistment ceremony, Hegseth told Meyer his willingness to return to uniform will inspire young people nationwide.
“[We’re doing] this as big as we can because I want the American people, I want your fellow Marines [and] I want other service members to look at [your] example and [know] you’re never too old, you’re never too experienced [and] you’ve never done too much to contribute, and I salute you,” Hegseth said.
Also this week, Hegseth held high-level military-to-military meetings with important American allies from two continents.
“Secretary Hegseth hosted El Salvador’s minister of defense and the French minister of defense at the Pentagon for bilateral discussions,” Parnell said. “We’re working with our partners and allies to make peace through strength a reality all around the world.”
Salvadoran Defense Minister René Francis Merino Monroy visited the Pentagon, April 16, 2025. During that meeting, Hegseth praised El Salvador’s crackdown on crime in recent years, describing the Salvadoran government’s efforts as “nothing short of a miracle.”
“Your country’s victories over violent cartels and criminal enterprises — groups that terrorized your people and your communities — are a model for all in our hemisphere,” Hegseth said, adding that he and the president appreciate allies like El Salvador because they “punch above [their] weight.”
Yesterday, the secretary met with French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu, where the two leaders discussed, among other things, increases in defense spending, NATO taking primary responsibility for Europe’s conventional defense and efforts toward a durable peace in Ukraine.
Hegseth said it was an excellent meeting with his French counterpart, adding, “We discussed the imperative need for Europeans to meet a 5% defense spending commitment to restore deterrence with ready, lethal conventional forces.”
Parnell also spoke about the tragedy that befell the Marine Corps and the Defense Department, April 15, 2025, when a vehicle accident during a convoy movement resulted in the deaths of two Marines and the injury of a third. All three Marines were supporting Joint Task Force Southern Border operations.
“Secretary Hegseth and our entire DOD family were heartbroken to learn of the tragic accident near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, that took the lives of two of our nation’s heroes and seriously injured another,” Parnell said. “Our prayers are with them and their loved ones.”
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Albert A. Aguilera, 22, of Riverside, California, and Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Marcelino M. Gamino, 28, of Fresno, California, both combat engineers with the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, were killed in the accident. A third Marine involved in the accident remains in critical condition and is being treated for injuries.
By C. Todd Lopez, DOD News