DEPARTING: Deploying Arkansas National Guard members stand at parade rest during a departure ceremony on Oct. 5, 2025. | Photo by John Oldham/Arkansas National Guard
By ANTOINETTE GRAJEDA | Arkansas Advocate
More than 100 Arkansas National Guard members traveled to the nation’s southern border this weekend to support U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.
The 13-month deployment supports a federal requirement and is a routine rotation to replace National Guard units currently serving along the southern border, according to a news release.
A departure ceremony was held Sunday morning for nearly 120 troops and four UH-72 Lakota aircraft from 1st Battalion,114th Security and Support Aviation Regiment, 77th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade. The helicopter unit, which includes pilots, crew chiefs, mechanics, flight operations personnel, fuelers and battalion staff, was mobilized for a Title 10 federal active duty deployment and is expected to return in November 2026.
Brig. Gen. Chad Bridges, Arkansas’ adjutant general, said he is “immensely proud” of the guardsmen “as they answer the call to serve our state and nation.”
“As Governor Sanders has often highlighted, their unwavering dedication, exceptional skills, and profound professionalism are a true testament to the strength and commitment of Arkansas,” Bridges said in the release. “They embody the very best of our state as they undertake this critical mission.”
The 1-114th has subordinate units in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma and Puerto Rico. The Arkansas guard crews will deploy with roughly 170 troops and more than a dozen other UH-72s from Bravo Company, 1-114th, from Texas and Oklahoma, and Charlie Company, 1-114th, from Mississippi and Louisiana, according to the release.
After traveling to a mobilization station in Fort Hood, Texas, the troops will disperse to various locations along the border with Mexico.
The Arkansas National Guard has been to southern border states numerous times on federal missions, according to the release. Most recently the 875th Engineer Battalion in Jonesboro deployed 50 troops in 2022 and 2023 to Texas for one year to perform command and control of subordinate military companies on Title 10 orders.
Arkansas governors have also deployed guardsmen to the southern border. In 2021, then-Gov. Asa Hutchinson ordered 13 guard members to Texas to provide vehicle maintenance support to the Texas National Guard for 90 days, according to the release.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders ordered 80 guard members to Texas for 40 days in 2023 to perform lookout and observation post duties. In 2024, Sanders sent 40 troops to support the Texas National Guard for 60 days.
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