FORT BLISS, Texas – A stationary guard shift on the border is about staying focused when nothing is happening. For U.S. Army Pfc. Charley Stewart and Spc. Christopher Miller, two combat engineers with the 591st Sapper Company, 326th Engineer Battalion, 101st Airborne Division, (Air Assault), staying sharp paid off during their first week with Joint Task Force–Southern Border in support of Operation Ardent Vanguard.
On August 4, 2026, a few hours into their shift around 5:00 p.m., on guard duty watching over assets in their sector near Alamo Alto, Texas, Stewart spotted movement through his binoculars.
“I saw a man dressed in all black with sunglasses on top of the barrier,” said Stewart. “We drove over towards him, and he jumped down to the Mexico side of the wall.”
The Soldiers followed established protocols and reported the unfolding events. After they relayed their coordinates to their command team and U.S. Border Patrol (USBP), they stood their ground, keeping an eye on the man they spotted. Initially, the two thought they just deterred one man trying to scale the wall. As time went on, they realized what was really happening.
“At first it was just the one guy,” Stewart said. “Then we could hear several sets of footsteps.”
This prompted the Soldiers to dismount on foot and investigate. They got closer to the barrier to see what they could find.
“I turned the truck off to see if we could listen,” said Miller. “Maybe there is more than one person.”
As they approached the barrier and made their presence known, it became clear to them that they were dealing with a large group of potential trespassers.
“We saw them cross back over the river towards Mexico,” said Miller. “Twenty to 30 of them were wearing black hats, black hoodies and black pants. They were organized, it was almost like they were in uniform.”
When USBP arrived, they were able to safely secure the area and ward off the suspected trespassers, but it was Miller and Stewart’s efforts that allowed this to happen.
“They started to migrate back over the hillside,” said Miller. “It was because they were deterred by our presence at the crossing point.”
Miller, from Portland, Oregon and Stewart, from Doylestown, Ohio, didn't set out to make headlines. They were just doing their job and protecting the territorial integrity of the southern border.
“A lot of people don’t realize how often drug smugglers and human traffickers attempt to cross the border,” Stewart said. “It’s what motivates me to do my job. That incident made me proud that I was able to contribute to the security of our border.”
U.S. Northern Command is working side-by-side with the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection within narrowly defined authorities to provide unique military capabilities to protect the territorial integrity of the U.S. southern border.