U.S. Soldiers with the 62nd Engineer Battalion, 26th Engineer Brigade, assigned to Joint Task Force-Southern Border in support of Operation Ardent Vanguard, place concertina wire along the southern border barrier near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, Sept. 9, 2026. Sgt. Gabriela Lopez and Staff Sgt. Jarin Holland, both with the 326th Engineer Battalion, 101st Airborne Division, and 2nd Lt. Jonah Posada, 591st Combat Engineer Company-Improved, 62nd Engineer Battalion, 26th Engineer Brigade, discuss the barrier reinforcement operation, which installs additional obstacles to deter suspected illegal entry into the United States. U.S. Northern Command works alongside the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection within...
Army S-UAS operators provide aerial surveillance along the southern border, helping Soldiers and Customs and Border Protection agents identify groups crossing or preparing to cross the Rio Grande. Sgt. Mauri Sanchez, a combat engineer with the 350th Engineer Company, serves as an S-UAS master trainer, preparing Soldiers to operate multiple drone systems and support border operations. Sanchez also discusses how his personal background and...
U.S Army Sgt. 1st Class Mark Davis, a 12Y (Geospatial Engineer) and the non-commissioned officer in charge of the S-2 (Intel) section assigned to the 130th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, is deployed with Joint Task Force-Southern Border in support of Operation Ardent Vanguard. His responsibilities directly influence soldier and equipment placement based on maps he creates and analyzes.
Moving a joint task force headquarters from one installation to another is more than loading equipment onto trucks and driving it home. For a small team of military intelligence systems maintainers and integrators, the move of Joint Task Force-Southern Border’s headquarters from Fort Huachuca, Ariz. to Fort Bliss required months of planning, troubleshooting and adapting to constantly changing requirements.
The teams, forward and...
