HOUSTON, Texas–The team of fact finders from the Department of Defense has come and gone from Texas and will now make their recommendations without having spoken with either Texas Governor Rick Perry or Texas Military Forces Commander, Major General John Nichols. The team was dispatched by the White House to study whether deploying the Texas National Guard to the border would be “helpful”.
The Pentagon confirmed to Breitbart Texas in a phone interview today that the members of the Department of Defense fact finding team arrived in Texas on Tuesday and returned to the Pentagon on Thursday according to Pentagon Public Information Officer, Lt. Colonel Tom Crosson. “The team met with a representative of the Texas National Guard,” Colonel Crosson stated.
Upon further questioning and a follow up phone call, it was learned the “representative” of the Texas National Guard was a warrant officer who “spent some time with the representatives on the team and then departed,” Crosson said.
It is not known at this time if the warrant officer was officially speaking on behalf of the Texas National Guard or not. The Texas Military Forces Public Affairs Office has not responded to an inquiry from Breitbart Texas on this issue, however, they did confirm in an email received earlier today that General Nichols was not asked to speak with the fact finding team.
Governor Perry’s office also confirmed with Breitbart Texas that a meeting with Governor Perry was not requested by the fact finding team.
Colonel Crosson said the team’s focus was on meeting with members of the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) management. He said the fact finding team would be preparing a briefing for Secretary of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel who will then brief the President at some point.
While it is not clear what CBP management or a single warrant officer of the Texas National Guard could inform the team about the plans and capabilities of the Texas National Guard, it is clear that CBP has not been able to manage its own resources and keep Border Patrol Agents properly equipped for the currently levels of activity along the Texas Border. Over the weekend Breitbart Texas conducted its own fact finding tour for grassroots and Tea Party leaders across Texas where they learned from Border Patrol Agents speaking on behalf of the agent’s union about the lack of properly functioning equipment and reduced numbers of hours agents are allowed to work. The tour revealed gaping holes in the current border security plans.
At one point, Breitbart Texas and the leaders on the tour witnessed the illegal crossing of a mother and two-year-old child in a park that was filled with Border Patrol Agents, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and local law enforcement officers.
Bob Price is a staff writer and a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.
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