Pentagon sending 5,000 troops to the border by Friday to deter caravan

Trump sends 5,200 troops backed 150 miles of razor wire and Blackhawks, drones and C-130s in the air to the Mexican border to ‘deter’ caravan from ever arriving – as agents rehearse for riots in El Paso

President Donald Trump has called for the troops to deter what he calls an ‘invasion’
The president claimed the caravan contained ‘many Gang Members’ and ‘some very bad people’
Last week he said it included ‘Middle Easterners’ but admitted he had no proof of his claim
Three helicopter companies and three engineering battalions to participate
Enhanced optics, fencing, ‘hardening’ of the border
The caravan is making its way through Mexico, though numbers have dropped to about 4,000
The Pentagon is planning to send 5,000 troops, including military police, engineers, and Marines
Four Blackhawks, C-130s and a c-17 transports, unmanned vehicles
Trump called the caravan an ‘invasion,’ warning: ‘our Military is waiting for you!’

The Pentagon is dispatching 5,200 active military troops to ‘harden’ the southern border and comply with President Donald Trump’s order to deter an immigrant caravan the president called an ‘invasion’, it said Monday.

Eight hundred troops were already en route Monday – a force the Defense Department is dramatically increasing by adding helicopter companies and engineers who are bringing ‘heavy equipment.’

In total DOD is sending 5,200 troops to ‘harden’ the border, the Pentagon said at a briefing Monday.

US riot police officers take part in a border security drill at the US-Mexico international bridge, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on October 29, 2018. The Pentagon is sending 5,200 troops to the southern border

Ready for action: Customs and Border Patrol Agents train on the US-Mexico International Bridge between El Paso and Ciudad Juarez

US riot police officers take part in a border security drill at the US-Mexico international bridge, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on October 29, 2018. – Dozens of migrants get to the border crossing linking El Paso, texas and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, every day, ahead of a caravan of Central Americans seeking political asylum in the United States

Dozens of migrants get to the border crossing linking El Paso, texas and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, every day, ahead of a caravan of Central Americans seeking political asylum

Right on the border: An agent foes as far as he legally can on the International Bridge between El Paso and Cuidad Juarez as his unit trains for possible riot deployment

Show of force: CBP agents trained in riot control techniques on the International Bridge which links El Paso and Ciudad Juarez

Ready for trouble: The Pentagon and Customs and Border Patrol said agents are being backed by 5,200 troops who will be deployed by Friday

Testing techniques: Agents were trained in how to deal with hostile crowds as they took over the bridge linked El Paso to Ciudad Juarez Monday

Waiting to get in: At the Paso del Norte International Bridge between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso migrants are lined up already – even though the caravan is more than 1,000 miles to the south

Head-on: This is the tip of the Customs Border Patrol spearhead – two armed agents waiting at the midpoint of the bridge which links El Paso in the north to Ciudad Juarez to the south

Caravan on its way: Honduran migrants taking part in the caravan heading to the U.S. resume their march from San Pedro Tapanatepec to Santiago Niltepec, Oaxaca State, more than 1,000 miles from the border

‘We’ll reinforce along priority points of entry so as to enhance [Border Patrol]’s ability to harden and secure the border,” said Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy Monday.

The forces are ‘just the start’ of the operation,’ he said.

The 800 troops en route are in addition to the more than 2,000 members of the National Guard already providing assistance at the border now. Officials say the troops will provide “mission enhancing capabilities” and will be armed.

‘We are bringing three helicopter companies in. They are enhanced with optics and censors that will allow them to operate at night and provide assistance to bring our [border patrol] personnel exactly where they need to be regardless of the conditions,’ he said.

The Pentagon says the added forces will be able to ‘spot, identify groups and rapidly deploy’ personnel as need.

‘The helicopters will ensure the agents can arrive in the most austere locations and fast-rope down and conduct and work the law enforcement activities,’ said Gen. O’Shaughnessy.

The effort will be aided by Blackhawk helicopters

Unmanned aerial drones also will assist the effort

Asked if the troops were a ‘political move’ just days before an election as the size of the caravan has receded, he responded: ‘We have to be prepared for I the potential arrival of a very large group.’

Troops will come from Fort Bragg, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Fort Stewart, Fort Campbell, Fort Riley and Fort Knox, Fox News reported.

The armed troops won’t take part in law enforcement activities in keeping with the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits it.

‘We will not allow a large group to enter the United States in an unsafe and unlawful manner,’ said Kevin K. McAleenan, head of Customs and Border Protection.

Speaking of the arsenal being brought to assist border agents, guard forces, and troops, McAleenan said: ‘These agents will be augmented and supported by over two dozen CBP air assets for surveillance and mobile response, including four Blackhawks and six additional helicopters as well as multiple fixed wing assets and unmanned aerial systems.’

He said the agency would potentially pull a ‘few hundred’ forces from the northern border since there is no caravan there.

Members of the Arizona National Guard listen to instructions on April 9, 2018, at the Papago Park Military Reservation in Phoenix. The Pentagon is now sending 5,200 active duty troops to assist 2,000 guard and thousands of border patrol agents already on the U.S.-Mexico border

‘Many Gang Members and some very bad people are mixed into the Caravan heading to our Southern Border,’ Trump wrote as it was revealed the military was dispatching 5,000 troops to the border

The dramatic dispatch of U.S. forces to the border comes just days before the off-year elections, with Democratic critics arguing Trump is using the perceived threat of the caravan to motivate his political base.

According to the Pentagon forces will first build up in southern Texas and Arizona, then California.

Priority will go to ‘harden’ points of entry.

The engineering battalions have expertise in ‘building temporary vehicle barriers, fencing and are bringing in heavy equipment,’ according to the Pentagon.

President Donald Trump issued yet another dire warning about the ‘invasion’ posed by the migrant caravan making its way through Mexico, as it was revealed that the Pentagon is upping its troop levels far above the initial 800 announced.

TheWall Street Journal reported earlier Monday on the dramatic troop increase complying with the president’s demand that military forces be put in place to stop the caravan of Central American migrants.

‘Many Gang Members and some very bad people are mixed into the Caravan heading to our Southern Border,’ Trump wrote on twitter, moving away from last week’s claim that the caravan contained ‘Middle Easterners.’

WSTale.com

Pentagon sending 5,000 troops to the border by Friday to deter caravan

Trump sends 5,200 troops backed 150 miles of razor wire and Blackhawks, drones and C-130s in the air to the Mexican border to ‘deter’ caravan from ever arriving – as agents rehearse for riots in El Paso

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