Gov. Greg Abbott announced that the state is building an 80-acre base camp in Eagle Pass for Texas National Guard soldiers who are deployed for Operation Lone Star. The price tag on the base has not yet been revealed.
According to Abbott, the new facility will house between 1,800 to 2,300 soldiers and each will have individual rooms. He noted that troops are scattered throughout the area, living in tents, hotels and private residences.
Texas Major Gen. Thomas Suelzer said that by mid-April the base will be able to hold 300 soldiers and will add 300 more beds roughly every 30 days until the base is complete.
Abbott said during a news conference in Eagle Pass. “Because of the magnitude of what we’re doing, because of the need to sustain and actually expand our efforts of what we’re doing, it’s essential that we build this base camp for the soldiers.”
Since launching Operation Lone Star in March 2021, Abbott has sent state troopers and the National Guard to different parts of the state’s 1,200-mile border with Mexico. An estimated 3,000 Texas soldiers are now deployed to the border.
Operation Lone Star has been wrought with problems since the beginning, according to an investigation by Military Times and the Texas Tribune, with one in five troops reporting problems with pay being late, too little or not at all for months. Also, there were reports of shortages of critical equipment, including cold weather gear, medical equipment and plates for their ballistic vests; and troops living in cramped trailers.