U.S. officials say active duty military troops are arriving in El Paso, Texas, and in San Diego on Thursday evening.

The president has directed the U.S. military to reinforce the border, and the acting secretary of defense on Wednesday announced the Pentagon is sending around 1,500 active duty troops to the country’s southern border, joining 2,500 active duty personnel already there.

A U.S. Border Patrol agent killed during a traffic stop near the Canadian border worked security duty at the Pentagon during the time of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The Senate on Thursday voted to advance Pete Hegseth's nomination to be President Donald Trump's defense secretary, putting him on a path to final confirmation at the end of the week.

The Pentagon said it has begun deploying 1,500 active duty troops to the southern border, including 500 Marines from Camp Pendleton.

Robert Salesses is a retired Marine who served in the Gulf War and has been deputy director of the Pentagon’s Washington Headquarters Service.

Following executive orders from President Donald Trump related to border security, a large number of troops will deploy to the border.

WASHINGTON (AP) — It is unclear who will take over at the Pentagon and the military services when the top leaders all step down Monday as President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office.

Active-duty military troops are set to begin arriving in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego on Thursday evening, marking the initial phase of deploying new forces to secure the southern border, according to defense officials.

Troops will begin arriving on Thursday evening in what defense officials said is the first batch of new forces headed to the border.

The Pentagon is sending at least 1,500 active-duty troops to the southern border to enhance security and assist with a major military airlift of undocumented migrants. The deployment, announced by the Defense Department,