Latest news with #JointBaseSanAntonio
Washington Post
08-07-2025
- General
- Washington Post
Army will end most of its ceremonial horse programs and adopt out the animals
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army's history is closely tied to its cavalry units, those soldiers who rode into battle on horseback. But the service announced Tuesday that it's moving toward a future without the ceremonial horses and will put most of them up for adoption. The Army, however, will keep operating the Old Guard ceremonial caisson units at Joint Base San Antonio and Arlington National Cemetery for burial honors.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Air Force to manage new militarized zone along US-Mexico border
The U.S. Air Force is slated to manage a new militarized border zone in Texas along the southern border with Mexico, the service announced. The stretch of land, known as a national defense area, spans 250 miles of the Rio Grande River through Hidalgo and Cameron counties, and will be administered as an extension of Joint Base San Antonio. This NDA is the third established by the Defense Department along the southern border, with the first being sited in New Mexico on April 21 and the second in west Texas on May 1. The secretary of the Air Force and the commander of U.S. Northern Command will collaborate closely to manage the area, according to a service release. The establishment of the NDAs come in response to several executive orders by President Donald Trump to secure the southern border, as the administration aims to reduce not only illegal immigration but also clamp down on illegal narcotics trafficking by cartels throughout the area. In response to heightened border security, narcotics traffickers have sought alternative smuggling routes to escape detection, including maritime routes that have prompted the dispatch of naval warships with Coast Guard LEDET teams aboard to the southern border area to patrol and perform interdictions. This month, a law enforcement operation in Cameron County, Texas — near the location of the new NDA — resulted in the seizure of over 100 pounds of marijuana in an area described as a 'hotspot' of drug trafficking under the influence of the Gulf Cartel. In another recent interdiction, smugglers from Mexico were foiled in an attempt to drive bundles of illicit drug products across the Rio Grande River into South Texas. The new NDA will be manned by personnel serving in Joint Task Force-Southern Border who will monitor the area, install barriers and signage, conduct patrols and stop any trespassers. The military's duty will be to detain trespassers only temporarily and transfer them to the custody of law enforcement authorities. A wide array of technology is being put into use at the southern border to establish control over swathes of vast and challenging terrain. To cut costs of constantly deploying aircraft, JTF-SB has been using 3-D printing to build drones for surveillance. In South Texas, soldiers are using ground-based radar to detect suspicious movement in remote areas and provide warning to law enforcement of potentially harmful activities — including a sharp spike in drone use by narcotics traffickers. Additionally, Stryker vehicles have been fielded due to their maneuverability and camera systems. Trespassers into military zones potentially face prosecution for two federal offenses — illegally entering the county and trespassing on U.S. military property. As of May, illegal border crossings overall were reported to be in decline.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US military to create two new border zones, officials say
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Pentagon will create two new military zones along the border with Mexico, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, a move that allows troops to temporarily detain migrants or trespassers. President Donald Trump's administration has hailed its actions along the border, including the deployment of active duty troops, as the reason for a sharp decline in crossings by undocumented migrants. Trump made voters' concerns about immigration a cornerstone of his 2024 re-election bid. The Pentagon has already created two military zones, but only four people have been temporarily detained on them, a U.S. official said. A new "National Defense Area" will be created covering about 250 miles (402 km) of the Rio Grande river in Texas and administered as a part of Joint Base San Antonio, according to the Air Force. The U.S. officials said the other military zone would be administered as a part of Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Arizona. The zones are intended to allow the Trump administration to use troops to detain migrants without invoking the 1807 Insurrection Act that empowers a president to deploy the U.S. military to suppress events such as civil disorder. As legal deterrents to border crossers, the zones have had mixed results. Federal magistrate judges in New Mexico and Texas dismissed trespassing charges against dozens of migrants caught in the areas on grounds they did not know they were in a restricted military zone. However, some 120 migrants pleaded guilty to trespassing in the first Texas zone in May and federal prosecutors obtained their first two trespassing convictions for the New Mexico zone on June 18, according to U.S. Attorneys' Offices in the two states. Around 11,900 troops are currently on the border. Illegal border crossings fell to a record low in March after the Biden administration shut down asylum claims in 2024 and Mexico tightened immigration controls.
Arab News
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
US military to create two new border zones, officials say
WASHINGTON: The Pentagon will create two new military zones along the border with Mexico, US officials said on Wednesday, a move that allows troops to temporarily detain migrants or trespassers. President Donald Trump's administration has hailed its actions along the border, including the deployment of active duty troops, as the reason for a sharp decline in crossings by undocumented migrants. Trump made voters' concerns about immigration a cornerstone of his 2024 re-election bid. The Pentagon has already created two military zones, but only four people have been temporarily detained on them, a US official said. A new 'National Defense Area' will be created covering about 250 miles (402 km) of the Rio Grande river in Texas and administered as a part of Joint Base San Antonio, according to the Air Force. The US officials said the other military zone would be administered as a part of Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Arizona. The zones are intended to allow the Trump administration to use troops to detain migrants without invoking the 1807 Insurrection Act that empowers a president to deploy the US military to suppress events such as civil disorder. As legal deterrents to border crossers, the zones have had mixed results. Federal magistrate judges in New Mexico and Texas dismissed trespassing charges against dozens of migrants caught in the areas on grounds they did not know they were in a restricted military zone. However, some 120 migrants pleaded guilty to trespassing in the first Texas zone in May and federal prosecutors obtained their first two trespassing convictions for the New Mexico zone on June 18, according to US Attorneys' Offices in the two states. Around 11,900 troops are currently on the border. Illegal border crossings fell to a record low in March after the Biden administration shut down asylum claims in 2024 and Mexico tightened immigration controls.
Reuters
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
US military to create two new border zones, officials say
WASHINGTON, June 25 (Reuters) - The Pentagon will create two new military zones along the border with Mexico, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, a move that allows troops to temporarily detain migrants or trespassers. President Donald Trump's administration has hailed its actions along the border, including the deployment of active duty troops, as the reason for a sharp decline in crossings by undocumented migrants. Trump made voters' concerns about immigration a cornerstone of his 2024 re-election bid. The Pentagon has already created two military zones, but only four people have been temporarily detained on them, a U.S. official said. A new "National Defense Area" will be created covering about 250 miles (402 km) of the Rio Grande river in Texas and administered as a part of Joint Base San Antonio, according to the Air Force. The U.S. officials said the other military zone would be administered as a part of Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Arizona. The zones are intended to allow the Trump administration to use troops to detain migrants without invoking the 1807 Insurrection Act that empowers a president to deploy the U.S. military to suppress events such as civil disorder. As legal deterrents to border crossers, the zones have had mixed results. Federal magistrate judges in New Mexico and Texas dismissed trespassing charges against dozens of migrants caught in the areas on grounds they did not know they were in a restricted military zone. However, some 120 migrants pleaded guilty to trespassing in the first Texas zone in May and federal prosecutors obtained their first two trespassing convictions for the New Mexico zone on June 18, according to U.S. Attorneys' Offices in the two states. Around 11,900 troops are currently on the border. Illegal border crossings fell to a record low in March after the Biden administration shut down asylum claims in 2024 and Mexico tightened immigration controls.
