Texas Governor Welcomes First Soldiers to State Border Military Base

Texas Governor Greg Abbott welcomed the first 300 National Guard soldiers as they relocated to a new forward operating base located on the Mexican border just south of Eagle Pass. Abbott toured “Forward Operating Base Eagle” on Friday alongside Adjutant General of Texas Major General Thomas Suelzer and Texas Border Czar Mike Banks. The Governor held a press conference after the tour, providing more details about the latest developments at the base camp.

During the press conference, Abbott provided his rationale for establishing the base that will ultimately have the capacity to house up to 2,200 Texas National Guard soldiers, saying, “Troops deployed on Operation Lone Star have been scattered for miles across the region, having to drive miles to work and miles back to where they’re staying later that night.”

“It has been an inefficient method of housing our soldiers, and this base camp will provide the type of housing and standards of living that both improve the quality of life for the men and women in uniform securing our border and allow Texas to have a permanent presence on the southern border,” Abbott added.

As reported by Breitbart Texas, construction progressed rapidly on the site, which will regularly house 1,800 troops and include the ability to accommodate a surge force of an additional 500 soldiers, bringing the total capacity to 2,200. The new forward operations base promises soldiers dramatic improvements to their accommodations. The base features individual rooms for the soldiers, a 700-seat dining facility, a recreational center, laundry facilities, and WiFi access. The camp will also provide chaplaincy programs and medical and psychological health facilities, according to the Texas Military Department.

According to Texas Military Department contracting documents, the state will pay Team Housing Solutions Incorporated, a New Braunfels, Texas company, $131 million in operating costs through September 2024. According to General Suelzer, the project will ultimately save taxpayer dollars and improve efficiencies by reducing travel times for soldiers to reach their posts and reducing the reliance on public hotels in the area.

The opening and welcoming of the soldiers mark the first stage of several in the base construction project, according to Suelzer, who told reporters on Friday, “What we see here today is the completion of phase one of six phases for this base camp, many of the troops you see behind me have had an hour transit time just to get to the border. Some are coming from more northern base camps, which are also far away. Having them here at this base camp will help our soldiers operate more efficiently to secure the border.”

According to Suelzer, the base will also be used to house the Texas Military Headquarters, which will be relocated from McAllen, Texas, as the project is completed.

According to statistics provided by the Governor’s office, Operation Lone Star has thus far resulted in 512,300 migrant apprehensions and more than 43,400 criminal arrests, with more than 38,200 felony charges. Texas law enforcement authorities participating in the operation have seized more than 487 million lethal doses of fentanyl.

Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol.  Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.