The military’s federal border mission set to continue into 2024

The Pentagon has been activating troops to assist Customs and Border Protection on the U.S.-Mexico border since 2018. Looking ahead to 2024, that mission is slated to continue — with up to 2,500 troops deployed to the region.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in June extended the mission through September 2024, opting to continue sending troops to support the surveillance of border crossings.

“Active duty military personnel will continue to support CBP personnel by providing administrative and logistical duties, including warehousing support and additional detection and monitoring support efforts,” U.S. Northern Command spokeswoman Capt. Mayrem Morales told Military Times.

The current NORTHCOM commander has said repeatedly that CBP needs to be adequately funded so that the Homeland Security Department does not have to continue to rely on the Pentagon for support.

“I think, long term, this is not an enduring mission of the Department of Defense,” Air Force Gen. Glen VanHerck said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing last year. “We need to fully fund and resource DHS to do their mission, and the DoD should be used in extremis times for the support on the border mission.”

Customs and Border Protection has repeatedly declined to respond to Military Times queries on plans to adequately staff the agency to levels that make military support unnecessary.

Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.

自 2018 年以来，五角大楼一直在调动部队协助美国海关和边境保护局在美墨边境开展工作。展望 2024 年，这项任务计划继续进行——届时将有多达 2500 名士兵部署到该地区。

国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀在 6 月份将这项任务延长至 2024 年 9 月，选择继续派遣部队支持对边境口岸的监视。

美国北方司令部发言人梅雷姆·莫拉莱斯上尉告诉《军事时报》：“现役军人将继续为美国海关与边境保护局人员提供行政和后勤支持，包括仓储支持以及额外的侦查和监控支持工作。”

现任北方司令部司令曾多次表示，需要为美国海关与边境保护局提供充足的资金，这样国土安全部就不必继续依赖五角大楼的支持。

“我认为，从长远来看，这并非国防部的长期任务，”空军上将格伦·范赫克去年在参议院军事委员会听证会上表示。“我们需要为国土安全部提供充足的资金和资源，使其能够完成使命，而国防部则应在极端情况下用于支持边境任务。”

美国海关与边境保护局多次拒绝回应《军事时报》关于如何为该机构配备足够人员以达到无需军事支持的水平的询问。

梅根·迈尔斯是《军事时报》五角大楼分社社长。她负责报道影响军人的作战、政策、人事、领导力及其他相关议题。