https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/16/us/texas ... index.html
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday announced plans to build an 80-acre base to house up to 1,800 Texas National Guard members near Eagle Pass – the border city at the center of a contentious feud between the state and Biden administration over federal immigration policy.
“Before now, the Texas National Guard had been scattered across this entire region in cramped quarters, away from fellow soldiers and sometimes traveling long distances to do their job,” Abbott said during a news conference while flanked by a banner that read “Future Home of the Texas Military Department, Forward Operating Base.”
The base camp, which Abbott said would “dramatically improve conditions” for soldiers, will have the ability to expand to incorporate up to 2,300 personnel, the governor said.
Abbott, who was accompanied by the state’s border czar, Mike Banks, and Texas military department Maj. Gen. Thomas M. Suelzer, said the cost of base construction would be “minimal.” He cited savings from housing guard members for Operation Lone Star at the base rather than in hotel rooms, where many guard members are currently housed. The cost for the construction of the new base was not given during the news conference.
The camp is set to feature a dining facility, a recreation center, laundry facilities, individual rooms for troops and health care facilities, a statement from Abbott’s office says.
