The Pentagon is stripping the official title of the deployment of thousands of military to the southern border and will instead refer to it in public as being in support of Customs Border Protection, according to a Defense Department spokesperson.
“Operation Faithful Patriot” had been used by officials to talk about the 5,200 troops who were recently approved by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to be sent to the U.S.-Mexico border in advance of the arrival of caravans of thousands of migrants from Central America.
But Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Jamie Davis confirmed to the Washington Examiner Wednesday that the Pentagon will no longer use the mission name and instead refer to the deployment of troops as “border support.”
Davis did not say why the decision was made just a day after the midterm elections.
Officials aware of the name change told the Wall Street Journal the new troops being deployed to assist 2,100 already based near the border were not part of an actual “operation,” which the military most often uses to refer to combat initiatives.
Mattis tasked U.S. Northern Command with overseeing the deployment, which the Department of Homeland Security requested in October in order to help U.S. Customs and Border Protection respond to thousands of people that are expected to arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border in addition to the average 1,500 who are apprehended on a daily basis.
The caravans of thousands of people appear to thinning out somewhat, as 3,200 people chose to instead apply for asylum in Mexico.
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The new wave of personnel will supplement the 2,100 National Guard troops already deployed to Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Trump asked for the National Guard’s help in March when a 1,000-person caravan coming from Central America was reported.
This addition will help with tasks such as engineering temporary barriers, barricades, and fencing; helping move Border Patrol personnel by air; working with medical teams to triage, treat, and prepare patients for transportation on commercial services; command and control facilities; temporary housing for Border Patrol; and personal protective equipment for Border Patrol.
Military planning teams will be deployed to help federal law enforcement create advanced and real-time strategies for how to process illegal entrants and those who might request asylum. The Pentagon also said troops will “fill in gaps” between the 26 crossing points from Mexico, though as military they will not be allowed to enforce the law.
The caravans originated in Honduras and Guatemala earlier this month. Both countries have some of the highest crime rates in the world.
