A third United States Army division has assumed command of security operations on the southern frontier with Mexico as the 1st Armored Division in May 2026 took control in a transfer of authority ceremony at Fort Huachuca in Arizona, the headquarters of the Joint Task Force-Southern Border (JTF-SB). Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, commander of the United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), presided over the May 29 ceremony that saw the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) hand over the reins after a seven-month deployment.
“Over the past seven months, through synchronized planning, rapid mobility and persistent presence, we’ve enhanced southern border security with expanded detection and monitoring, improved data sharing, and agile capabilities in coordination with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other key partners,” U.S. Army Maj. Gen. David Gardner, the outgoing JTF-SB commander and commander of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), said in a USNORTHCOM news release. “We take great pride in what we accomplished over the last eight months as we pass the colors for this vital mission to our 1st Armored Division teammates.”
USNORTHCOM operates JTF-SB and the ceremony marked the third shift of command since the task force was created in 2025. The U.S. Army 10th Mountain Division was the first Army unit to deploy to the 3,145-kilometer border in February 2025, sending 500 Soldiers to Fort Huachuca. The 101st replaced the Fort Drum, New York-based unit in October. The 1st Armored is based at Fort Bliss, Texas, and is equipped with artillery, attack and transport helicopters, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, and tanks, which deploy to each U.S. Army command, according to the division’s website.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, commander of the 1st Armored Division, will now lead JTF-SB. During the ceremony, Taylor thanked the 101st for its service and said his division, nicknamed Old Ironsides, will continue “the task force’s mission of conducting full-scale, agile, and all-domain operations in support of the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to secure the U.S. southern border,” according to the release.
Taylor, who has served in armor, cavalry and infantry leadership roles since graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1994, also commanded the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team at Fort Carson, Colorado, between 2015 and 2017. Taylor is credited with transforming it into its current reconnaissance and surveillance role, according to his official biography. The Stryker Brigade Combat units have served in a high-profile roles along the border under JTF-SB command.
Since March 2025, more than 20,000 service members have deployed under the operational command of JTF-SB. Soldiers have conducted over 33,000 enhanced detection and monitoring missions including 4,500 joint patrols alongside U.S. Custom and Border Protection agents, and another 1,100 concurrent patrols with the Mexican Secretariat of National Defense, which has sent Soldiers to its side of the border to patrol across the border from U.S. Soldiers. Soldiers also have installed about 59,000 rolls of concertina wire, nearly 8,000 signs and more than 3,100 buoys across 1,054 kilometers to demarcate five established National Defense Areas, the release stated.