Over A Dozen Texas National Guard Members Have Died While Deployed At Southern Border Since 2021; At least 17 Guard Members Have Died While Deployed to Texas Border to Help Deter Crime

Over A Dozen Texas National Guard Members Have Died While Deployed At Southern Border Since 2021

At least 17 Texas National Guard members have died while deployed at the southern border since 2021, according to state military officials.

The number of troops that have died in connection to Gov. Abbott’s Operation Lone Star was revealed during a hearing last week of the Texas House Committee on Defense and Veterans’ Affairs, despite the Texas Military Department keeping a tightlipped approach about troops serving at the border.

Incidents leading to troops dying have varied in their nature. Some deaths reported include one who died from a medical emergency, one who was accidentally shot, and two others who died in a traffic accident — one in the accident itself and the other by suicide minutes after the crash. At least four additional soldiers have died by suicide while assigned at the border, according to the report.

When Gov. Abbott launched his Operation Lone Star mission, troop levels deployed at the border peaked during the first year, reaching roughly 10,000 Texas National Guard members.

Since March 2021, service members have complained about poor living conditions, inadequate training and equipment, problems getting paid and a lack of a sense of mission. These issues have also led to the deaths of National Guard members. --->READ MORE HERE

Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes

At least 17 Guard members have died while deployed to Texas border to help deter crime

At least 17 Texas National Guard members have died while deployed on the state’s three-year-old mission to deter criminal activity at the U.S. border with Mexico, according to state military officials.

Of those, the families of four service members received the newly authorized $500,000 death benefit and six families are waiting for a determination on whether they are eligible for the money. The remaining cases were denied the benefit or the service member had no eligible relative to receive the money.

The Texas Military Department has been tightlipped about troops serving at the border, though how many troops have died in connection to the mission came out during a hearing last week of the Texas House Committee on Defense and Veterans’ Affairs. Members heard from state officials regarding implementation of a new law to provide death benefits for troops who die while on state missions.

The state passed the Bishop Evans Act into law in 2023 following the death of the 22-year-old sergeant who drowned in the Rio Grande while trying to rescue two migrants struggling in the water’s current in April 2022. The law created the access to the death benefit.

Evans was serving on the border mission, which is known as Operation Lone Star. The deployment puts Texas National Guard members alongside state police at the border with Mexico to deter illegal activity such as human smuggling and drug trafficking. It is separate from a federal mission that sends National Guard troops to support Customs and Border Protection agents along the entire southwest U.S. border.

The incidents on the border mission that led to troops dying have varied. Some of the soldier deaths reported include one who died from a medical emergency at a hotel where troops were staying in McAllen, and another who was accidentally shot in Fort Clark Springs. Two other soldiers died in a traffic accident in Laredo — one in the accident and the other by suicide in the minutes after the crash. At least four additional soldiers have died by suicide while assigned to the border.

Unlike state police officers with whom Guard members worked at the border, troops were not eligible for death benefits from Texas. Only those on a federal mission could trust their families would be compensated should they die while on assignment.

The Bishop Evans Act added Guard members on state missions to the list of state employees eligible to identify a beneficiary to receive a lump sum payment of $500,000 from the Employees Retirement System beginning Sept. 1, 2023. If the service member had minor children, they are eligible to receive monthly payments until age 18. --->READ MORE HERE

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