U.S. Army Capt. Zyan Limardo, assigned to the 10th Mountain Division Sustainment Brigade, trains Sgt. Jimmy McCain, with the 114th Aviation Regiment, on how to operate the Wingman and Pitbull C-UAS during a joint training exercise at Fort Bliss, Texas, April 9, 2026. (Melvin J. Gonzalvo/Defense Department)
The 1st Armored Division Headquarters at Fort Bliss will assume command of Joint Task Force-Southern Border at Fort Huachuca, Ariz., this spring, the command announced.
“We are honored to assume command of this mission,” Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, commander of the 1st Armored Division, said in a statement. “This mission resonates with the soldiers of (the) 1st Armored Division because the borderland is our home. We will carry out our orders with the utmost professionalism and respect for our neighbors in those communities we are defending.”
The 1st Armored Division Headquarters will take command from the 101st Airborne Division.
Elements of the division’s Combat Aviation Brigade and Division Sustainment Brigade will also join the mission in supporting roles.
In addition to operating from Fort Huachuca, deployed soldiers will operate across a variety of locations along the southern border to carry out directed missions in support of Customs and Border Protection.
Service members do not conduct law enforcement actions, nor are they involved in deportation operations associated with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Fort Bliss said in a statement.
The mission at the southwest border began in 2018 during Trump’s first term in office and continued under former President Joe Biden. When Trump returned to the White House on Jan. 20, 2025, about 2,500 National Guard troops remained along the border.
On Trump’s first day back, he signed an executive order declaring an emergency at the border and ordered additional active-duty service members be deployed to “seal the border.”
Roughly 10,000 troops, primarily soldiers and Marines, operate under the leadership of the Joint Task Force-Southern Border and U.S. Northern Command.
The military has established six military zones allowing troops to conduct law enforcement activities just as they would at military bases, including temporary detention, searches and crowd-control operations.
