DOW Support to the Southern Border

Marine Corps Lance Cpls. Samuel Sosa, left, and Sebastian Robles, assigned to Joint Task Force Southern Border, operate a boom lift to replace concertina wire during barrier reinforcement operations in Nogales, Ariz., May 15, 2026. U.S. Northern Command is working side-by-side with the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to provide unique military capabilities to protect the territorial integrity of the U.S. southern border.

Marine Corps Lance Cpls. Allen Tomb, left, and Dylan Lindsey, assigned to Joint Task Force Southern Border, weld prefabricated brackets onto the southern barrier during reinforcement operations in Naco, Ariz., May 20, 2026. U.S. Northern Command is working side-by-side with the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to provide unique military capabilities to protect the territorial integrity of the U.S. southern border.

Marines assigned to Joint Task Force Southern Border extend concertina wire for barrier reinforcement operations in Naco, Ariz., May 20, 2026. U.S. Northern Command is working side-by-side with the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to provide unique military capabilities to protect the territorial integrity of the U.S. southern border.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Luke Smith, assigned to Joint Task Force Southern Border, provides security along the southern barrier as part of barrier reinforcement operations in Nogales, Ariz., May 15, 2026. U.S. Northern Command is working side-by-side with the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to provide unique military capabilities to protect the territorial integrity of the U.S. southern border.

Marines assigned to Joint Task Force Southern Border stand in a line to board a UH-60 Black Hawk during a simulated casualty evacuation exercise near San Ysidro, Calif., May 20, 2026. U.S. Northern Command is working side-by-side with the Department of Homeland Security and 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.

Marine Corps Lance Cpls. Rey Gonzalez, left, and Terence Hall, assigned to Joint Task Force Southern Border, patrol along the U.S.-Mexico border near El Centro, Calif., May 21, 2026. 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.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Carter Gil, assigned to Joint Task Force Southern Border, launches a Skydio X10 small unmanned aerial system to maintain situational awareness along the U.S.-Mexico border near El Centro, Calif., May 21, 2026.

Army Sgt. Todd Kelly hand-launches a Peregrine one-way attack unmanned aerial system during Project Flytrap at Pabradė Training Area, Lithuania, May 15, 2026. Project Flytrap is part of a series of exercises that allow soldiers to integrate counter-unmanned systems, artificial intelligence-enabled command and control, and live data networks to move faster, decide faster and fight more effectively across all domains.

Army Spc. Kincaide Bunfill, assigned to Joint Task Force Southern Border, uses binoculars to monitor the barrier near Bisbee, Ariz., as part of Operation Strike Kraken, May 7, 2026. Monitoring cartel scout sites, maintaining a ready posture to defeat enemy drones and ensuring shared communications with U.S. Customs and Border Protection are the operation's key tasks.

Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Maxwell Carlson, assigned to the III Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group, prepares to move an Opterra drone during Kaiju Rain on Ie Shima, Japan, May 8, 2026. Kaiju Rain 26 is an exercise focused on supporting stability in the Indo-Pacific.

U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Brandon Toro, a Seabee diver, and a Philippine navy diver, prepare to conduct an underwater infrastructure assessment during Exercise Balikatan 2026 in Subic Bay, Philippines, May 4, 2026. Balikatan is an annual exercise between U.S. and Philippine forces designed to demonstrate a commitment to security in the Indo-Pacific region.

Marines assigned to Joint Task Force Southern Border install triple-strand concertina wire using boom lifts during barrier reinforcement operations in Douglas, Ariz., April 17, 2026. U.S. Northern Command is working 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.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Avery Lindberg, left, and Cpl. Sergio Garcia, both combat engineers assigned to Joint Task Force Southern Border, position triple-strand concertina wire from a boom lift during barrier reinforcement operations in Douglas, Ariz., April 17, 2026.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Christian Koch, a combat engineer assigned to Joint Task Force Southern Border, uses a tie gun to secure triple-strand concertina wire during barrier reinforcement operations in Douglas, Ariz., Friday, April 17, 2026.

Soldiers construct a Vanilla unmanned aerial system during the annual Fleet Experimentation 2026 event in Key West, Fla., April 25, 2026. The exercise, hosted by U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command, U.S. 4th Fleet, integrates commercially developed unmanned systems and artificial intelligence with traditional manned naval platforms.

Marine Corps Pfc. Conner Kammerer, left, and Lance Cpl. Noah Hardon, assigned to Joint Task Force Southern Border, depressurize a fuel gravity flow nozzle to ensure safe equipment storage after refueling 5-gallon jerry cans for barrier reinforcement operations along the southern border in Douglas, Ariz., April 20, 2026.

Army 2nd Lt. Samuel May and Capt. Manuel Biskaduros, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, participate in night land navigation during the Lt. Gen. Robert B. Flowers Best Sapper Competition at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., April 20, 2026. The competition showcases elite soldiers in combat engineering occupation specialties.

Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Viadoy Nicolas conducts preflight inspections on a CH-47F Chinook helicopter at Libby Army Airfield, Fort Huachuca, Ariz., April 16, 2026. Nicolas is assigned to Joint Task Force-Southern Border, which provides unique military capabilities to protect the territorial integrity of the U.S. southern border.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the GPS III-8 mission successfully launches from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., April 21, 2026. The Space Force's Space Systems Command and Combat Forces Command successfully delivered the GPS III-8 satellite into orbit, providing GPS capabilities to the warfighter that are three times as accurate and eight times as resistant to jamming as the previous constellation.

An observer, controller and trainer assigned to the Joint Multinational Readiness Center oversees a soldier assigned to the 6th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, as he flies an ADM4 drone during a drone pilot validation course for Exercise Combined Resolve 26-07 in Hohenfels, Germany, April 15, 2026.