About 470 of the 1,200 National Guardsmen that will deploy to the US southern border with Mexico have received their orders, says Maj. Thomas Crosson, a National Guard Bureau spokesman. This includes about 83 airmen, he told the Daily Report Tuesday. The remaining troops are expected to join the mission in the next two to three months. Crosson said he does not know how many more airmen intend to volunteer. “The states are calling for volunteers and we find out [whether they are airmen or soldiers] as they come in and report to us,” he explained. The White House announced this deployment in July. Guard members from Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas will work in the border areas of their states for one year, assisting Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. (See NGB release by Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke)
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.