FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. – The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) transferred authority of the Joint Task Force – Southern Border (JTF-SB) mission today to the 1st Armored Division in a transfer of authority (TOA) ceremony held at Fort Huachuca. Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, commander of U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), presided over the ceremony.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. David Gardner, the outgoing JTF-SB commander and commander of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), assumed authority from 10th Mountain Division on Oct. 10, 2025. Gardner turned over authority to U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, commander of the 1st Armored Division, making him the third commander to lead the JTF-SB’s headquarters. JTF-SB operates under the direction of USNORTHCOM providing unique military capabilities to protect the territorial integrity of the U.S. southern border.
“Over the past seven months, through synchronized planning, rapid mobility and persistent presence, we’ve enhanced southern border security with expanded detection and monitoring, improved data sharing, and agile capabilities in coordination with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other key partners,” said Gardner. “We take great pride in what we accomplished over the last eight months as we pass the colors for this vital mission to our 1st Armored Division teammates.”
Since March 2025, more than 20,000 service members have deployed to support this historic homeland defense mission and conducted over33,000 enhanced detection andmonitoringmissions, enabling greater awareness of illegal crossings from Mexico into the United States. Of these missions,nearly4,500were joint patrols alongside CBP agents, and close to1,100were joint, mirrored patrols withthe Mexican Secretariat of National Defense (DEFENSA) each on their respective sides of the shared border.
Furthermore, the joint task force is executing the largest barrier reinforcement in U.S. history with the emplacement of approximately 59,000 rolls of concertina wire. Units also installed nearly 8,000 signs and more than 3,100 buoys across 656 miles to demarcate five established National Defense Areas.
JTF-SB is an operational proving ground for emerging technology with service members putting emerging equipment in drones, counter drones, sensors and more to the test across the entire 1,954 miles of border. During the TOA ceremony, Taylor thanked the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) for positioning JTF-SB for future success and underscored the 1st Armored Division’s commitment to continuing the joint task force’s mission of conducting full-scale, agile, and all-domain operations in support of the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to secure the U.S. southern border.
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