PORTLAND, Maine — About 120 Maine National Guard soldiers are deploying to the southern border.
The soldiers from the 488th Military Police Company departed from the Portland International Jetport on Monday.
They’ll be assisting U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Their job? Keep an eye on surveillance video to ensure no one enters the country illegally.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills joined the soldiers at the airport, wishing them a safe deployment.
The soldiers will be performing a similar mission to the Maine National Guard 262nd Engineer Company, which has been in Arizona for a year. That mission concludes this fall.
"When you're going down and you're given a mission, especially when it's something like supporting CBP who have been overworked and stretched to the limit, you feel good about what you're doing; you're helping fellow people in the uniform and just trying to serve the citizens of the United States," Master General Doug Farnham said. "Bottom line is we are there to support and when we are given a mission we do our best to do it right."