Taylor Tinsley of OAN
Friday, May 31, 2024 5:38 PM
Hundreds of Texas National Guard troops have been moved to a new base camp at Eagle Pass.
advertisement
Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas) welcomed 300 troops to the new base camp in Eagle Pass on Friday.
The first phase of construction of the new base began on Friday, with hundreds of soldiers moving into the 80-acre site.
Abbott said the second phase would be completed two weeks from Friday, with a further 300 soldiers being moved, a process that will continue until November and will house up to 17,000 troops in total.
“Let’s not forget that this unprecedented effort was only made necessary because of President Biden’s unprecedented open border policies,” the governor said.
Abbott said the new base would not only allow Texas to station troops along the border, but would also provide housing and other standards that would “improve the quality of life” for soldiers.
He said Texas won’t stop until it has full operational control of the border.
“The number of people crossing the border illegally has reached an all-time high. More than 10 million people have been apprehended crossing the border illegally,” Abbott said. “Think about that: here in Texas, in just the three-and-a-half years of President Joe Biden’s term, we’ve had more than four people like Houston cross the border illegally.”
Officials say having bases along the border will increase operational efficiency and effectiveness.
This is also part of Prime Minister Abbott’s border security plan, “Operation Lone Star,” and the joint task force will now move to the command base.
The official added that once the project is completed, three other base camps will also be closed and soldiers stationed in local hotels will also be relocated, saving time and money for soldiers staying in local hotels who have to travel 30 minutes to an hour to the border.
In total, the project is expected to save more than $11 million per month.
“We estimate that if we filled up this base camp, moved everyone out of the hotels and closed the three base camps, we could save $11.5 million a month in lodging costs for our soldiers,” said Brigadier General Thomas Suelzer, “and that doesn’t even include the fuel our soldiers currently use to drive to the border.”
Stay up to date! Receive the latest news directly in your email for free. Sign up here: https://www.oann.com/alerts
Please share this post!
