Approximately 2,000 additional active duty U.S. service members are expected to deploy to the southern border, many of whom will be used to build and reinforce about 160 miles of concertina wire.
At a Pentagon news conference Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told reporters “several thousand” more troops would head to the U.S.-Mexico border, joining about 2,350 already deployed across Texas, Arizona and California. The additional forces will bring the total number of troops to nearly 4,500, but that number will be temporary as some units are expected to return to their bases. In December, about 5,900 service members were deployed. There are also about 2,200 National Guard troops who have been serving on the southern border since last April.
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