Fort Bliss began providing additional support to the southern border mission in response to the national emergency declared by the President of the United States.
Source: U.S. Northern Command Public Affairs, U.S. Army Fort Bliss
Photo: Courtesy Department of Defense
Jan. 23, 2025
[Cover Photo Caption: Soldiers exit a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Biggs Army Airfield in El Paso, Texas, as they deploy to the southern border in support of U.S. Northern Command, Jan. 25, 2025. Northcom is working with the Department of Homeland Security to augment U.S. Customs and Border Protection along the border with additional military forces.]
Our broader community should be familiar with the 93D MILITARY POLICE BATTALION
The battalion, known informally as the “War Eagles”, is currently housed at Fort Bliss. It was constituted at the end of World War II to carry out police functions in occupied France. It has since been deployed in Baghdad, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It’s most recent activation is in our broader community.
Their Mission Statement reads:
“On order, the 93D Military Police Battalion provides rapidly deployable, independent, multi-functional Military Police forces to execute Decisive Action through Security and Mobility Support, Police and Detention Operations in order to enable combat and contingency operations worldwide, while simultaneously providing highly trained policing professionals in support of law enforcement operations to the Fort Bliss community.”
Notable Deployments/Activations Prior to Today:
- On June 8, 1945, the 93D Military Police Battalion was constituted in the Army of the United States as a Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment. The unit was activated on June 13, 1945, in France and was later deactivated on Nov. 12, 1945, following the end of World War II.
- On Jan. 24, 2009, the 93D Military Police Battalion deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom with a mission to conduct police transition team operations in Baghdad while partnering with the Iraqi police in order to develop sustainable Iraqi police competencies and operating systems.
- In Oct. 2013, the 93D Military Police Battalion deployed to Guantanamo, Cuba, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. As a combined arms task force, the 93D Military Police Battalion was comprised of ten units with almost 1,000 Soldiers from Active Duty, Reserve and National Guard units.
Statement from Fort Bliss
FORT BLISS, Texas – Fort Bliss began providing additional support to the southern border mission in response to the national emergency declared by the President of the United States.
As a mobilization force generation installation and the location of the Joint Task Force North headquarters, Fort Bliss is supporting U.S. Northern Command and JTF-North with joint reception, staging, onward movement, and integration, a process that prepares military personnel, equipment and materials to assume their mission. This process consists of providing a robust training program to ensure service members are ready to support the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in securing the southern border.
The installation received approximately 750 active-duty forces that are part of the 1,500 U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps deploying to the Southern Border that will augment the current 2500 service members that are already deployed to the southern border mission.
“As the largest mobilization force generation installation in the Army, we are continuously supporting mobilization and demobilization operations in support of Department of Defense missions worldwide,” said Col. Brendan Gallagher, the Fort Bliss Garrison Commander. “The Southern Border mission is something we have been supporting here at Fort Bliss for over five years, and we will continue to support JTF-North with that mission until we are directed otherwise.”
U.S. Northern Command Press Release
PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. — U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) is the Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) operational lead for the employment of U.S. military forces to carry out President Trump’s Executive Orders on protecting the territorial integrity of the United States. An initial deployment of active-duty forces will be on the ground by the end of the week. Additionally, we have already begun a 30-day planning effort which will include a multi-domain, and likely multi-component, response.
“U.S. Northern Command is aggressively bolstering security at the southern border. For initial actions, Soldiers and Marines are immediately deploying to seamlessly integrate with forces already along the border and working together with the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection. In a matter of days, we will have nearly doubled the number of forces along the border, effectively implementing the President’s intent while planning and posturing for expanded efforts to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the United States,” said Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, Commander, U.S. Northern Command.
Approximately 1,500 active-duty personnel from the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps are deploying to the southern border to augment the approximately 2,500 service members already deployed supporting CBP’s southern border mission. The exact number of personnel will fluctuate as units rotate personnel and as additional forces are tasked to deploy once planning efforts are finalized. Specific units will be announced as soon as deployment orders have been released. These military forces will support enhanced detection and monitoring efforts and repair and emplace physical barriers.
USNORTHCOM is being supported by relevant DoD Combatant Commanders, Military Departments, and the National Guard Bureau, all of which are working in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection to secure the border.
