U.S. Army soldiers stationed at Fort Campbell deployed to the southern border on Saturday to assist the U.S. Northern Command’s mission in carrying out President Donald Trump’s executive orders on protecting the territorial integrity of the United States.
Soldiers assigned to the 716th Military Police Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) are among the approximately 1,600 active-duty personnel from the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps that have since deployed to the southern border to carry out the president’s executive orders, joining around 2,500 service members who were previously deployed to the border.
Soldiers assigned to the 716th Military Police Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) will integrate with military forces already along the border and work together with the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection. #airassault pic.twitter.com/0ABeJZ7jKV
— 101st Airborne Div. (@101stAASLTDIV) January 26, 2025
Prior to departing for the southern border, soldiers with the 716th Military Police Battalion unit were awarded the historic 101st Airborne Division’s “Screaming Eagle” patch to don on their uniforms during the mission.
“We are trained and ready to support this important mission,” Lt. Col. Phillip Mason, 716th Military Police Battalion commander said in a statement.
“Our Soldiers are committed to protecting all Americans and supporting our civilian partners in defending the territorial integrity of the United States. We’re also proud to mobilize for this mission wearing the Screaming Eagle patch, which has historical significance to the 716th,” Mason added.
The 716th Military Police Battalion, 101st Airborne Division is one of fifteen units activated to secure the southern border.
U.S. Northern Command is the U.S. Department of Defense’s operational lead for the employment of U.S. military forces to carry out the president’s executive orders.
The military forces deployed to the southern border will be tasked with enhancing detection and monitoring efforts and repairing and emplacing physical barriers, according to the U.S. Northern Command.
On Monday upon his arrival to the Pentagon, Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said warfighters are “ready to go” and that his department is committed to supporting the “defense of the territorial integrity of the United States of America’s southern border, including reservists, National Guardsmen and active-duty [personnel] in compliance with the Constitution and the laws of our land, and the directives of the commander in chief.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
