New Mexico National Defense Area sign emplacement mission

The Pentagon is sending 1,115 additional troops to the U.S.-Mexico border from over half a dozen units across the different services in support of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, the military announced Thursday.

They will join more than 8,000 troops on active-duty orders who have been part of the mission since late January, though a spokesperson for U.S. Northern Command emphasized to Military.com that not all of those supporting the mission are directly on the border, with some involved in air or maritime missions or even participating from their home station in some capacity.

The additional troops announced this week are considered "ground components," however, and are charged with providing additional logistics, engineering and medical capabilities as part of the military's effort to "gain full operational control of the southern border," according to officials and a Northern Command news release.

Read Next: Some Army Paratroopers Receive Pay Raise -- Funded by Cuts to Training Jumps[1]

The spokesperson, Air Force[2] Capt. Mayrem Morales, said that the additional deployment[3] of more than 1,000 troops was not the result of "any specific event," but rather part of the buildup of troops supporting the mission. When asked when those service members will deploy, Morales said that is still "to be determined."

"Ground units supporting the southern border mission are located across the southern border from Texas to California," she said in an emailed statement. "However, please know that not all announced units may be at the southern border at this time."

In January, Trump administration officials initially considered sending 10,000 troops to support the border mission. As the buildup grows, the administration has increasingly relied upon military assets to fulfill not only its border security aims, but also its deportation efforts.

The military has taken over federal land[4] along the border where troops can be used to apprehend migrants on trespassing charges. Other law enforcement entities are then meant to arrest, detain and process the alleged trespassers.

On Tuesday, Military.com reported that 190 individuals have been detected in the New Mexico and Texas "National Defense Areas," but federal judges in those states have already begun dismissing more than 100 charges[5] related to trespassing in these military zones.

Air Force planes have flown migrants off of U.S. soil to other countries as units have held migrants in detention facilities at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay[6], Cuba. At one point, the administration planned to hold migrants at Fort Bliss[7], Texas, but NBC reported[8] last month that those efforts may have fallen through.

Last week, the Department of Homeland Security requested 20,000 National Guard[9] troops to assist with deportation efforts[10].

While service members have taken on engineering or security roles -- including patrols on armored Stryker[11] vehicles -- along the thousands of miles of land that separate the U.S. and Mexico, many also serve in intelligence capacities or even along the coast aboard warships and in helicopters. The New York Times reported[12] last week that the military deployed two U-2 Dragon Lady[13] reconnaissance aircraft as well as surveillance drones in support of the mission.

In a phone call, Morales said that as units rotate in or out or if orders get canceled it can be "very difficult" to communicate the exact number of troops who are deployed directly to the border. She added that the effort is considered "all-domain," meaning troops are in the air, sea, on the ground and gathering intelligence, among other tasks.

"The number of active-duty forces will fluctuate as units and personnel rotate in and out of the operation," she said in the email.

The release announcing the most recent deployment of troops did not specify which units they are coming from. Asked if NORTHCOM could say whether they were active-duty troops or which region they are from, Morales said that is also "to be determined."

The troops include 65 augmentees from the Army, Marine Corps[14], Air Force and Navy[15] to support the Joint Task Force-Southern Border headquarters; 250 soldiers from a sustainment command; 140 soldiers from a quartermaster field feeding company; 580 soldiers from multiple engineering units; 75 soldiers from a medical unit; and five logistics airmen from Tyndall Air Force Base[16] in Florida.

Related: More Charges Related to Crossing Military Zones at Border Tossed by Court in Texas[17]

© Copyright 2025 Military.com. All rights reserved. This article may not be republished, rebroadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without written permission. To reprint or license this article or any content from Military.com, please submit your request here[18].

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As Paramount Global and famed actor Tom Cruise put together their eighth installment of the "Mission Impossible" franchise, "Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning," the studio once again reached out to DOD to use its many military assets to create cinematic

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Gay pride flag flies during Pride Observance Month

Aven Thomas began medically transitioning from female to male in 2021, just months after then-President Joe Biden signed an executive order[1] allowing transgender people to serve openly in the U.S. military.

The result was so gratifying for the U.S. Army[2] specialist that he compared it to turning on a light in pitch darkness. "When you feel at your best," he added, "you are able to perform your best."

Stationed at Fort Eisenhower[3] in Augusta, Thomas is now quitting the military under pressure from the Trump administration, which has reversed[4] Biden's policy.

About 1,000 service members who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria like Thomas are voluntarily leaving the military under President Donald Trump's policy, the U.S. Defense Department announced[5] this month.

The Trump administration also announced[6] this month that it is preparing to begin the next phase of its ban by "involuntarily separating" transgender service members who have not stepped forward like Thomas. The Pentagon has estimated about 4,000 -- or less than 1% of the roughly 2 million people in uniform -- have a diagnosis for gender dysphoria.

"I am really glad that I got to serve. I love all the people that I have met," said Thomas, 25, a seven-year Army veteran who reenlisted for another five years in February. "It is going to be hard to let go, especially not on my own terms."

A History of Controversy

Americans are sharply divided over allowing openly transgender people to serve in the U.S. military. Fifty-eight percent favor it, while 35% oppose it and 7% have no opinion, according to a telephone poll[7] of 1,001 adults Gallup conducted nationwide in late January. Support is higher among Democrats at 84%, compared to Republicans at 23%.

Trump reignited the debate in 2017 during his first presidential administration, when he moved to ban transgender people from the U.S. military.

"Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail," Trump announced then on Twitter, the social media platform now known as X.

Federal judges blocked Trump's policy. After he defeated Trump and took office in January 2021, Biden overturned Trump's ban.

Soon after Trump moved back into the White House this year, he signed an executive order revoking Biden's policy. Trump's order says in part: "adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual's sex conflicts with a soldier's commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one's personal life."

Seven transgender service members joined a transgender person who wanted to enlist and the Gender Justice League in suing in federal court, arguing Trump's latest ban is unconstitutional. In March, a federal district court judge in Tacoma, Washington, blocked Trump's order. But on May 6, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled[8] Trump could proceed with his ban.

On the same day of the high court's ruling, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth championed the Trump administration's policies while speaking at an annual conference for Special Operations Forces.

"We are leaving wokeness and weakness behind," Hegseth said[9]. "No more pronouns. No more climate change obsession. No more emergency vaccine mandates. No more dudes in dresses, we're done with that [expletive]."

'We Are Losing a Good One'

The son of a high school band director and a property manager, Thomas was born and raised in Douglas, the Coffee County government seat. While attending elementary school in rural Georgia, he knew he was "different."

"Being from a small country town, I felt weird," he said.

As Thomas grew older and traveled outside of rural Georgia, he learned more about people like him. When he reached 17, he decided he wanted to undergo gender transition.

Meanwhile, Thomas was inspired by relatives who served in the military. He joined the Army after he graduated from high school and now serves as a training equipment manager with a detachment of the 73rd Ordnance Battalion.

He has participated in training exercises in Germany and Poland. And he received Army Achievement Medals in 2021 and 2024 for "exceptionally meritorious service" and for "outstanding achievement," respectively, his service records show.

Staff Sgt. Mariytzah Gillis, who serves in the same Army battalion at Fort Eisenhower with Thomas, has been impressed with his work ethic and resilience. Thomas has performed, Gillis said, above his rank and has taken on extra responsibilities.

"Thomas is an amazing soldier," Gillis said. "We are losing a good one because people don't like them? It doesn't make sense to me. It doesn't make sense to Thomas. It doesn't make sense to anybody but Trump."

Fort Eisenhower and the Defense Department referred questions about Thomas' case to the U.S. Army, which did not respond to requests for comment.

The Defense Department also said it would not provide information about how many other military service members like Thomas who are voluntarily leaving the military are stationed in each state, including Georgia.

Thomas received his gender dysphoria diagnosis from the military in September 2021 before proceeding with his medical transition the following month.

He decided to voluntarily resign this year, partly because he knew it was possible the Trump administration could access his military medical records and force him out.

"If they were to continue with involuntary separations, you wouldn't have to do a whole lot of digging to find that. That is definitely the reason why I self-identified," he said.

"I just don't want to be forced out under someone else's terms," he added. "If it were up to me, I would like to stay in."

Service members with a gender dysphoria diagnosis who leave voluntarily like Thomas will be honorably discharged and be eligible for separation pay[10] that is twice as high as those who are involuntarily forced out, according to the Defense Department[11].

Thomas hasn't decided how he will support himself after he leaves the Army, though he wonders if he could do a similar job as a civilian at Fort Eisenhower.

"I was someone who wanted to continue serving my country for 20 years," he said. "That was my plan. It has always been my plan to continue my service for as long as possible because I really do enjoy what I do. I always have."

Thomas emphasized that he rejects the Trump administration's ban, saying he and other transgender people have served successfully in the military for many years.

"We can perform our duties just like any other soldier," he said. "We are more than capable. We are more than qualified."

© 2025 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Visit at ajc.com[12].

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.[13]

© Copyright 2025 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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