CHARLESTON, W.Va. — State Adjutant General Bill Crane said the 50 members of the West Virginia National Guard who are heading to the U.S.-Mexico border will be armed when they arrive in August.
“It’s really more of a self-defense thing for our folks to make sure that if something were to occur that they would be able to defend themselves,” Crane said recently on MetroNews “Talkline.”
Gov. Jim Justice last week announced the Guard will be deployed for at least 30 days in August to help with Operation Lone Star. No specific Guard units are being mobilized.
Crane said their role will be to assist Border Patrol and the Texas National Guard.
“It’s just an extra set of set of eyes to see if folks are illegally crossing the border. Their mission will be to direct them to the ports of entry to be used for processing. They may assist in detaining,” he explained.
The 50 soldiers and airmen volunteered for the mission. The governor said the state will have to foot the bill for the deployment. Crane said the members will be paid for a “state active duty mission.”
Crane said he doesn’t believe there will be a shortage of volunteers for this mission.
“Every time we ask and every time the governor has a need, our people respond to it, so I don’t think we’ll have any issues getting the volunteers that we need,” he said.
On top of the Texas deployment, the Guard is also helping with staffing shortages in the state’s jails and prisons. The governor last week said he doesn’t believe the border response should impact efforts in the correctional system.
“We have it completely covered,” Justice previously said. “We do not want to take away from the commitment toward Corrections and we won’t. We’re not going to drop the ball on Corrections.”
Crane said the Guard is not being overextended.
“We have about 380 in the prisons. This mission is about 50 and it’s only for a 30 day period. The folks that are on the COVID response, we could always use them as well, but I don’t see us having an issue responding,” he said.
Justice said part of his decision to help Texas was due to issues of fentanyl and human trafficking at the border.