Mattis to visit U.S. troops stationed on U.S. southwest border

[rangerrebew]

Mattis to visit U.S. troops stationed on U.S. southwest border

By Carlo Muñoz - The Washington Times - Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Defense Secretary James Mattis will travel down to the U.S.-Mexico border on Wednesday, to meet with U.S. commanders and troops carrying out the White House-mandated border security operation.

Mr. Mattis announced plans for his visit to the thousands of active duty U.S. service members deployed to the southwestern U.S., supporting Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Police-led operations, during a joint press conference with Qatari Defense Minister Khalid Al-Attiyah at the Pentagon Tuesday.

The Pentagon chief’s first stop will be in McAllen, Texas, where he will “will meet with service members currently deployed in support of the Southwest border mission,” a Defense Department statement says. Mr. Mattis will also make a scheduled stop at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, it added.

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/nov/13/defense-secretary-mattis-visit-us-troops-stationed/

[Elderberry]

Mattis defends military's border support mission while visiting troops in Texas

ABC News    By Luis Martinez Nov 14, 2018, 4:55 PM ET
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mattis-defends-militarys-border-support-mission-visiting-troops/story?id=59191508

Defense Secretary James Mattis defended the deployment of thousands of active duty troops to the border with Mexico Wednesday, calling it "a moral and ethical mission to support our border patrolmen."

While visiting with some of the soldiers deployed to the southern U.S. border, Mattis said "border security is part of national security" and stressed that the military mission is strictly to support U.S. Customs and Border Protection as it prepares for the arrival of four migrant caravans in the coming weeks.

"We determined the missions as absolutely legal and this was also reviewed by Department of Justice lawyers, it’s obviously a moral and ethical mission to support our border patrolmen," Mattis told a small group of reporters traveling with him to Texas.

 On Wednesday, Mattis visited Camp Donna, a large, newly-constructed camp outside of McAllen, Texas that was built to house 1,000 soldiers and their equipment.

He was accompanied by Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who oversees Customs and Border Protection, and Gen. Terrence O'Shaughnessy, head of U.S. Northern Command.

 As of Wednesday, there were 5,900 troops deployed on the border. More than 7,000 active duty troops are expected to be fully deployed in Arizona, California and Texas ahead of the arrival of the migrant caravans.

"The eyes of the world, and certainly all of the Americans, are on you," Mattis told soldiers during his tour of Camp Donna.

Some military analysts have speculated that the deployment could end up costing as much as $200 million, but Mattis told reporters traveling with him that he was not able to provide a preliminary cost estimate because the information was still flowing into the Pentagon.

More at link above.