PHOTO-OP

Operation Lone Star Soldiers Say They’re ‘Putting On A Show’

“It seems like it’s meant to be a show of force, but it is doing absolutely nothing to stem the tide of migrants,” one Texas National Guard soldier said.

Texas Army National Guard soldiers stationed in Eagle Pass’ Shelby Park as a part of Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star said their mission is little more than a photo-op, according to HuffPost. “If anything, I think it makes for better pictures for campaign ads,” said Hunter Schuler, a former Texas Army National Guard medic who served in Shelby Park on Operation Lone Star before his service ended last year. He explained that members of the National Guard was made to perform “elaborate demonstrations” complete with riot gear, helicopters, and speed boats on the adjacent Rio Grande. “It seems like it’s meant to be a show of force, but it is doing absolutely nothing to stem the tide of migrants,” he said. Another soldier who used a pseudonym said that he and his fellow soldiers are meant to do little more than “look intimidating,” and unspool millions of dollars worth of razor wire. “I definitely don’t believe in the mission,” he said. “I don’t think that it really was about stopping migration. I think it was just putting on a show.” He went on to say that this method of preventing border crossings is inefficient and entirely ineffective, considering that the high concentration of soldiers in Eagle Pass does nothing to prevent crossings further down the river. Gov. Greg Abbott has claimed control of the 47-acre slice of land that makes up Shelby Park, and blocked federal law enforcement from entering.