101st Airborne Transfers Joint Task Force Southern Border Authority to 1st Armored Division

FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. — The 101st Airborne Division transferred authority of the Joint Task Force Southern Border mission to the 1st Armored Division during a ceremony held here on June 2, according to a U.S. Central Command release.

The transfer affects the entire Joint Task Force Southern Border command structure, which coordinates Department of Defense support to U.S. Customs and Border Protection along the U.S.-Mexico border. The 1st Armored Division now assumes full operational responsibility for the mission that the 101st Airborne Division had led since its own assumption of command.

The change takes effect immediately upon the June 2 transfer-of-authority ceremony. Prior to the ceremony the 101st Airborne Division headquarters held command; afterward the 1st Armored Division headquarters assumed that role with no gap in authority.

Downstream, the 1st Armored Division must now execute all current task-force orders, maintain existing support relationships with Customs and Border Protection, and sustain the deployed force posture already in place. Any future adjustments to troop levels, mission scope, or rules of engagement will route through the new headquarters.

Congress and the Pentagon will receive the next routine operational update from the 1st Armored Division instead of the 101st Airborne Division.

This marks the latest routine rotation of headquarters elements for the southern border support mission. The Defense Department has periodically shifted lead divisions for the task force since its establishment, maintaining continuous command while rotating fresh leadership every 9 to 12 months.