Alaskan Troops Heading to the Border: National Guard to Support Efforts at Southern Border

The Alaska National Guard is sending a small force - approximately 20 personnel and two helicopters - to the southern border on what is, for now, a routine support mission. The mission is reportedly not related to the ongoing confrontation between Texas Governor Abbott and the Biden Administration, although Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has joined 24 other Republican Governors in signing a statement of support for Texas.

The deployment of the Alaska Guard is a semi-regular mission to provide support for border operations.

Planned for months and involving several other states, the Alaska National Guard may be once again going to the southern border to assist with border protection.
The action is not in direct response to the current border standoff between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and President Joe Biden, who has demanded that Abbott remove razor wire from land along the border of Mexico.
It is also not a major deployment, as has been characterized by some in social media, but consists of just 20 Guardsmen and two helicopters. The Department of Defense has asked Alaska and other states to train guardsmen for possible help with the border.
It happens on a semi-regular basis. In 2019, about 10 members of the Alaska National Guard were deployed to the American side of the U.S.-Mexico border to help with border security.

In a statement, the Alaska National Guard said:

The Alaska Army National Guard has been notified by the National Guard Bureau that it is authorized to begin training in preparation for possible mobilization to support the federal Southwest Border Mission in early FY 2025.

Two helicopters can make a big difference along a high-traffic stretch of the border; although it is unclear yet precisely where the Alaska Guardsmen will be assigned to operate.

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Former Republican presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, also a signatory to the abovementioned resolution, has offered to send Florida National Guard troops to Texas to help directly with the installation of barricades and razor wire.

While the Alaska Guard deployment is a routine one, it has become apparent that the Biden Administration has no intention of taking any meaningful action to get the southern border under control. Only the application of state forces will resolve this, as each governor has control of not only the National Guard but also, there are state militias that are not subject to being called into federal command.

We are fortunate here in the Great Land, as we are less affected by the mess at the southern border than most locations in the lower 48. Illegal aliens aren't flooding through Canada to get here; walking convoys such as we see in Central America wouldn't enjoy walking the Alaska Highway even in summer, as that route has several stretches of over a hundred miles where it is a ribbon of asphalt running through a howling wilderness. Not many illegals are swarming into the Great Land from the Yukon, and not many are asking for free government transport to Anchorage or Fairbanks. But while we are Alaskans, we are also Americans. Our Governor stands with Texas. My experience, from talking to folks around the Mat-Su, is that plenty of Alaskans stand with Texas as well.

We must do what it takes. Close the border.