After a presidential directive, the DoD now has 40 days to craft a commander’s estimate of just what it will take to “seal the borders and maintain the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security of the United States.” By Ashley Roque, Theresa Hitchens, January 21, 2025
The directives come as the Pentagon is temporarily under the leadership of Robert Salesses, formerly a relatively low-level official in an acting secretary of defense role as Fox News host Pete Hegseth’s congressional confirmation proceeds. The Pentagon previously told reporters that it is “fully committed” to carrying out Trump’s orders.
This specific executive order could potentially lead to an influx of troops along the southern border, adding to those already there as part of the Texas National Guard’s Operation Lone Star and the approximate 2,500 soldiers supporting the US Customs and Border Protection mission, according to one military official.
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“It will likely challenge” the entire department, the former official said, as these “are major decisions” that will “require people.”
The issue is that NORTHCOM does not have standing forces per se; rather troops are allocated to the command for exercises and any deployments deemed necessary. So shifting personnel from another military service or another combatant command “is a zero sum game,” meaning that “someone will have to pay in readiness or future response,” said the former official, speaking candidly on the condition of anonymity.
