South Dakota to Send Additional Troops to Border Beyond Donor-Funded Mission

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Soldier places concertina wire on the Arizona-Mexico border wall
Pfc. Nicholas Young places concertina wire on the Arizona-Mexico border wall, Nov. 10, 2018. (U.S. Army/2nd Lt. Corey Maisch)

The South Dakota National Guard will send 125 troops to the border on federal orders in addition to the deployment of 50 soldiers funded by a Republican billionaire mega-donor on state orders.

Republican Gov. Kristi Noem approved the deployment Wednesday, according to a statement from the South Dakota Guard. The state will send 125 soldiers from the 1742nd Transportation Company to the southern border for nine to 12 months sometime this year.

"The guard members will provide non-law enforcement support to U.S. customs agents as part of the government's southwest border mission," according to a statement from the Guard.

Read Next: Military's Border Mission Will Continue for at Least Another Year

The announcement comes a week after a controversial announcement from Noem that she will be using state authority to deploy 50 troops to the border, with the $1 million tab being picked up by Willis and Reba Johnson's Foundation, helmed by billionaire Willis Johnson.

He is a wealthy donor who regularly makes large contributions to Republicans, including $200,000 to the Trump Victory political action committee.

The two deployments are unrelated, according to the Guard. The 125 troops on federal orders are in addition to the 50 funded by Johnson.

The donation was met with scorn and confusion from both Democrats and Republican legislators in South Dakota, who said the state has plenty of money to pay for the deployment and that a private citizen funding military operations raises serious ethical concerns.

Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., chair of the House Armed Services Committee, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that the National Guard shouldn't be treated like a "private militia."

There are 3,600 troops on the border on federal orders, according to a spokesperson with U.S. Northern Command. It's unclear why Noem is choosing to deploy a small number of troops on state orders. A spokesman for her office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Biden administration recently extended the Guard's mission on the U.S.-Mexico border through at least 2022, adding to the accumulation of missions it juggles, such as those related to the pandemic, combating wildfires, hurricane relief, and operations abroad including war zones.

However, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said Tuesday that the overall number of troops will be reduced to 3,000. According to a Northern Command spokesperson, the slight drawdown will start in October to coincide with the new fiscal year for the Defense Department.

-- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.

Related: Pentagon, National Guard Silent on Whether Troops Are for Hire After GOP Billionaire Funds Border Mission

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