Pentagon creates medal to honor troops serving on southern border

The Pentagon has created a new medal to recognize U.S. service members deployed to the country’s border with Mexico, military officials said Saturday.

Troops serving alongside U.S. Customs and Border Protection on the southern border previously were honored with the Armed Forces Service Medal. But officials said the new medal, the Mexican Border Defense Medal, specifically recognizes the border mission.

“Securing the southern border, protecting the territorial integrity of the U.S. and defending our homeland are Department of Defense priorities,” Anthony J. Tata, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said in a press release.

“The service members deployed to support this national security imperative deserve to be recognized for their bravery and contributions — and we look forward to pinning the Mexican Border Defense Medal on them soon,” Mr. Tata said.

As of last month, there were about 8,500 troops supporting CBP missions along the southern border.

To qualify for the pedal, the Pentagon said that service members must have been “permanently assigned, attached or detailed to a unit that deployed to participate in a designated DoD military operation supporting CBP within the area of eligibility for 30 consecutive or nonconsecutive days,” beginning on Jan. 20 of this year.

The area of eligibility is American land within 100 miles from the border with Mexico within Texas, as well as New Mexico, Arizona, California and waters off the U.S. coast up to 24 nautical miles, the Pentagon said.