On Tuesday last week -- November 6th -- SecDef Jim Mattis cancelled the name "Operation Faithful Patriot" at the southern border. Mattis signed the order in silence, handed it out and went on about his daily work.
Word around the Pentagon is that an 'operation' is a combat thing involving active engagements against an armed enemy of the United States. The deployment of active duty troops under US Northern Command is not a combat thing. It is support of DHS civilian authority and the civilian authorities at the local, county and state levels in Texas, Arizona, California.
SecDef James Mattis and Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford.
JOINT CHIEFS CHAIR SAYS SOLDIERS WILL NOT BE INVOLVED IN DENYING BORDER ENTRY TO MIGRANTS
General Joseph Dunford, USMC. Asked about criticism of the decision to deploy by his predecessor and other retired senior officers, Dunford said
"To be honest with you, I wish they wouldn't do that, but they certainly can do that if they want to."
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford said Monday that the US military will not be "involved in the actual mission of denying people entry to the United States." When asked about the border mission for active-duty troops, Dunford said the military will not be coming into contact with migrants traveling toward the border.
"There is no plan for US military forces to be involved in the actual mission of denying people entry to the United States," Dunford said, speaking at an event at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. "There is no plan for soldiers to come in contact with immigrants or to reinforce Department of Homeland Security as they're conducting their mission." "We are providing enabling capabilities," Dunford said, explaining they were tasked with supporting the DHS.
Dunford said the DHS requested logistical support, "so you'll see some soldiers down there right now that are putting up concertina wire and reinforcing the points of entry," and that the military is providing "both trucks and helicopter support and then also some medical support."
Pentagon spokesman Col. Rob Manning said Monday, "There are currently more than 4,800 personnel deployed in support of this mission. This continues to be a dynamic situation with more units and personnel deploying to the operating area, and we expect to reach 5,200 deployed personnel as early as today." "DoD anticipates more than 7,000 active-duty troops will be supporting DHS soon," Manning said. The breakdown of personnel includes "1,100 in California, 1,100 in (Arizona) and 2,600 in Texas," according to Manning.
Trump's decision to deploy active-duty US troops and the earlier deployment of National Guard forces to the southern border could cost between $200 million and $300 million, according to an independent analysis and Department of Defense figures on guard deployments.
Retired Gen. Martin Dempsey, who served as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2011 to 2015, tweeted Friday that "our men and women in uniform are better trained, better equipped, and better led so they meet any threat with confidence. A wasteful deployment of over-stretched soldiers and Marines would be made much worse if they use force disproportional to the threat they face. They won't."
https://www.wlfi.com/content/national/499736951.html
Dunford is busy obeying the orders of Potus and following the orders of SecDef which don't always match up. Dunford served under Mattis in Iraq.
