In damning report, Texas Guard members call Gov. Greg Abbott's border deployment a disaster
A report published Tuesday by the Military Times and Texas Tribune provides what may the most scathing look yet into the hardships wrought by Gov. Greg Abbott's mobilization of up to 10,000 guard members to the border.
Based on interviews with 38 current and former Texas National Guard troops and bolstered with official documents, the story highlights the troops themselves calling out the Republican governor for the "deplorable conditions" and "unclear mission" they face in South Texas.
In a move widely decried as a political stunt, Abbott last year called up thousands of Texas Guard troops on days' notice and deployed them to the U.S.-Mexico border, claiming he'd done so because the Biden White House ignored a surge in illegal crossings.
Among the problems with the mobilization detailed in the Military Times-Tribune investigation:
• As many as 1 in 5 guard members sent to the border reported pay issues, including late paychecks, incorrect paychecks or no paychecks at all.
• Troops face key equipment shortages, including medical supplies, cold-weather gear and components for their ballistic vests.
• Personnel are living in cramped trailers, sometimes with dozens of colleagues.
• Some guard members say they feel the mission is pointless and that they rarely see immigrants while in their isolated posts.
• Some troops have lacked portable toilets for months at their observation posts.
Read more: https://www.sacurrent.com/sanantonio/in-damning-report-texas-guard-members-call-gov-greg-abbotts-border-deployment-a-disaster/Content?oid=28121084
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