They are trained for war. Now US troops are headed to the US border


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But many Pentagon officials have privately declared that the deployment of troops on the southwestern border would undermine "readiness" – the military jargon that enough forces would be trained and ready to fight. It also goes against the Pentagon's renewed attention to "lethality," a military buzzword that refers to the ability to defeat enemies quickly.

"You have 5,000 trained and ready soldiers, and we use them for something other than the mission for which they are intended," said Todd Harrison, director of defense budget analysis at the Center. strategic and international studies of Washington. observer close to the Pentagon budget.

"And when they come back, they will not have their usual training and will not be ready if something happens," Harrison said.

Engaging troops in one operation means fewer forces for another. Compared with the number of US troops deployed in Syria (2,000), Afghanistan (14,000), and Iraq (5,000), the number of troops sent to Texas, Arizona, and California will be important of all troops deployed in the world.

It is true that the mission at the border would only need a fraction of the approximately 1.3 million soldiers on active service of the US Army. But assigning engineers, medical personnel and logistical personnel to the border will also impoverish this limited number of specialized troops if they are needed for a national disaster or to deploy in a war zone.

The rapid dispatch of more than 5,200 soldiers, their vehicles and their equipment to the southwestern border is not an easy task and will require a small fleet of aircraft to accomplish effectively. This means that transport planes and other aircraft will have to be reassigned to other missions.

The troops will come from bases throughout the country and will be sent to bases near the border towns of Brownsville, Texas, Nogales, Arizona and southern California. There, the troops will have to be housed and fed. This means that they will need temporary catering facilities and tents if the permanent facilities are overloaded – or if they are sent to more austere locations.

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