A long-running military mission at Fort Bliss is taking on a new role, as Joint Task Force North shifts from border support to a broader effort targeting drug cartels.
The change was formalized Wednesday, June 3, during a ceremony at Fort Bliss, where Joint Task Force North uncased its new colors as part of its rebranding under U.S. Northern Command.
During the ceremony, soldiers rolled the Joint Task Force North flag into its Army green protective sleeve before unveiling the unit’s new name: U.S. Northern Command Joint Interagency Task Force–Counter Cartel.
The motto of “identify, disrupt, dismantle” also signals a much more aggressive approach to stopping the flow of illegal drugs and human trafficking and increasing immigration enforcement.
“We recognized the service of Joint Task Force North for its 36 years in the military,” said Maj. Gen. Henry Dixon, commanding general of Joint Task Force North. “We had a change in the environment and the character of the criminal elements, like narcotics on the border and human trafficking. So there’s a change in the approach. This is multiple agencies coming together and enhancing our capabilities.”
Among the tactics the task force will now use is bringing several agencies, including law enforcement, to have a unified strategy to go after multiple cartels at the same time.
A successful mission would bring about a multinational approach where “our Mexican partners are arresting individuals and possibly extraditing them to the United States,” Dixon said.
Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, commander of the North American Aerospace Defense and U.S. Northern Command, echoed many of those sentiments, characterizing the rich history of Joint Task Force North as “defenders of the homeland.”
“Securing the United States is truly a whole government effort,” Guillot said. “The mission for Joint Task Force North grew again to support the disruption of transnational criminal organizations, denying terrorists freedom of maneuver and securing the approaches to the United States.”
Guillot noted the task force was behind 6,400 missions and stopped over $15.2 billion in illicit drugs from getting to American streets.
Kristian Jaime is the Top Story Reporter for the El Paso Times and is reachable at Kjaime@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Fort Bliss unit cases colors, shifts mission to target drug cartels
Reporting by Kristian Jaime, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kristian Jaime, El Paso Times | USA TODAY Network
