Shanahan Said Military Won’t Leave Until Border is Secure

MCALLEN (AP)Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan Said Military Won’t Leave Until Border is Secure. He offered assurances to the officials in the McAllen Border Patrol Station along with possibly two dozen Border Patrol agents.

“We are not planning to leave till the boundary is protected,” he stated, adding, “That is not about identifying an issue. It is about fixing a problem faster.”

While flying into Texas, he declined any suggestion that their active-duty forces mission will extend for the long haul.

Shanahan also said he’d instructed a two-star Army general, Ricky Waddell, to create a strategy shortly that’ll answer this question: “How can we get more badges back to the boundary?” — a reference to ensuring Homeland Security Department is capable of securing its core mission, the boundary.

Shortfalls in employees and other sources have prompted DHS to occasionally request the army’s aid on the U.S.-Mexico border, with no strategy for how to fix the basic resource issues.

“What we need for DHS is to be effective and stand alone,” Shanahan said, the Pentagon always readily available to aid in crisis, as it’s in the past.

Defense officials said DHS filed another request on Friday for Pentagon assistance. That request, which hasn’t previously revealed, is for refuge for detained migrants, also might include things like tents to be installed but not secured by army troops, according to the officials, who talked on condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning.

Shanahan has supported using active-duty troops, along with the National Guard, to reinforce Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) attempts to manage. But he’s hinted at impatience with the absence of a long-term plan to ensure border security.

He added, “We really must return to our major assignments and continue to create readiness” to tackle traditional military operations. Shanahan told that the boundary crisis had grown more quickly than anybody had expected, putting additional pressure on DHS.

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