The U.S. military presence along the U.S.-Mexico border will once again grow in the coming months, this time due to an influx of troops from two of the Army’s most iconic and storied units: the 101st Airborne Division and the 10th Mountain Division. While the announcement of troop deployments to our nation’s border with Mexico is not uncommon these days, every new influx of troops is always worth examining.
Beginning in early October, approximately 500 soldiers from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, will deploy to the border, including troops of the 101st Airborne (the legendary division this writer’s father served in during the Vietnam War), to establish and lead the Joint Task Force operations, operating under U.S. Northern Command in coordination with DHS and CBP.
Why the 101st Airborne Division Is Heading to the Border
The 101st Airborne Division's southern border deployment is part of the Army’s regular force rotation designed to sustain support for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Soldiers will enhance operational, engineering, sustainment, and communications capabilities while helping secure national defense areas along the border.
These troops provide vital support in areas where service members help patrol, install barriers, operate sensors, and assist with temporary holding facilities—all under the coordination of U.S. Northern Command.
Specific Army Units and Numbers Deploying to the US–Mexico Border
Several units are rotating in and out of the border mission this fall.
Key changes include:
- 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Headquarters – The HQ unit of the storied Screaming Eagles will take over from the 10th Mountain Division Headquarters as the unit overseeing the subordinate units operating along the border.
- 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division - This division is replacing the 1st Infantry Division Combat Aviation Brigade. The Army’s 10th CAB, out of Fort Drum, NY, dates back to the Vietnam War, during which it established itself as a crack helicopter formation.
- 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division - They will take over from the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. One of the oldest still-serving tank units in the Army, the 2nd Brigade’s tanks have rolled and fought on numerous battlefields since they fired their first shots in the North African campaign of World War II.
- 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Division Artillery - This division will replace the 89th Military Police Brigade. Ever since the Screaming Eagles’ founding in 1942, these artillery batteries have provided the thunderous heavy gunfire that supported the division's infantrymen in every conflict they fought in since then.
- 11th Corps Signal Brigade, III Armored Corps - This Corps is taking over the role previously filled by the 35th Corps Signal Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps. Based in Fort Hood, TX, this signal brigade, known as the “Desert Thunderbirds,” is technically a relatively new unit, having been established on the backbone of another signals unit in 2021. Not that the age of a unit affects the capability of its soldiers, because the men and women on the 11th are as capable as those in any signals unit of the US armed forces.
- 130th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, North Carolina National Guard - This brigade is taking over the role of the 90th Sustainment Brigade, U.S. Army Reserve. The 130th is a multi-purpose unit of the Army National Guard capable of carrying out a variety of valuable military capabilities. As their own website succinctly puts it, the brigade “typically, but not exclusively,... is composed of engineer, military police, chemical, air defense, and other units that routinely function together during protection, stability, and support operations.”
The exact number of soldiers being deployed this fall has not been specified, but current troop levels supporting Joint Task Force–Southern Border stand at around 7,600 personnel.
Historical Legacy Meets Modern Mission
For the 101st Airborne Division, this border deployment is another chapter in a long history of service that spans from the beaches of Normandy to the jungles of Vietnam to operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Now, the Screaming Eagles are applying their command expertise to a mission much closer to home—securing the US–Mexico border and supporting national defense.
This deployment is part of the planned rotation of forces to sustain the military’s ongoing border mission, with the 101st Airborne Division Headquarters and associated units taking command and replacing existing brigades.
This 101st Airborne Division southern border deployment reflects a broader Pentagon strategy: maintain a steady presence while rotating fresh units to sustain the mission without overextending any single formation.
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