MILITARY DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR OF TRAINING AND MILITARY OPERATIONS, LIEUTENANT COLONEL RODNEY KELLY. LIEUTENANT COLONEL, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE THIS MORNING. I'M A NATIVE TEXAN, I'M FAMILIAR WITH THE TEXAS ARMY NATIONAL GUARD, TALKING WITH MY FRIEND AND COHOST PETE HEGSETH HERE, TELL ME ABOUT THE TEXAS MILITARY DEPARTMENT REALLY QUICKLY HERE. I WANT TO UNDERSTAND ITS ROLE IN TEXAS AND HOW UNIQUE OR NOT THIS MIGHT BE IN THE UNITED STATES FOR A TEXAS MILITARY DEPARTMENT TO TAKE MATTERS INTO ITS OWN HANDS. >> HEY, GOOD MORNING, THANK YOU. SO TEXAS MILITARY DEPARTMENT IS THE PIECE THAT YOU TALKED TO, THE TEXAS AIR AND ARMY NATIONAL FORWARD AND SOME OTHER RESOURCES THAT MAKE UP OUR STATE AGENCY. SO AS FAR AS WHAT WE'RE DOING, UNDER THE DIRECTION OF GOVERNOR ABBOTT IN DIRECT SUPPORT OF DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, SO WE STARTED INITIATING WHAT WE'RE CALLING OPERATION LONE STAR IN MARCH OF THIS PAST YEAR, SIR. WILL: AND OPERATION LONE STAR ENTAILS BUILDING, AS WE UNDERSTAND IT, A FENCE TO HELP SPECIFICALLY IN DEL RIO, NOT JUST IN RESPONSE TO WHAT WE SAW IN THE PAST, BUT WHAT WE MIGHT KNOW IS COMING IN THE FUTURE WHEN IT COMES TO THIS CRISIS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ON THE TEXAS SIDE OF THE BORDER? >> ABSOLUTELY. THERE'S MULTIPLE PARTS TO THE MISSION, BUT AS YOU TALKED SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE FENCING, WE STARTED THAT IN JUNE OF THIS YEAR, AND WE WORKED BRINGING OUR MILITARY ENGINEERS OUT OF THE TEXAS NATIONAL GUARD AND STARTING TO WORK WITH OUR GREAT PARTNERS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND FINDING WAYS TO CONSTRUCT WHAT WE'RE CALLING REALLY SOME TEMPORARY BORDER INFRASTRUCTURE TO GO AHEAD AND GET THAT STARTED IN DEL RIO AFTER A SECURITY SUMMIT THAT THE GOVERNOR HOSTED IN MAY TO DISCUSS SOME OF THE ISSUES AND CONCERNS BY LANDOWNERS THERE, SIR. WILL: AND WHAT DOES TEXAS ANTICIPATE IS COMING ITS WAY? IF WHAT WILL THIS FENCE HELP? >> SO CURRENTLY WE'VE CONSTRUCTED ABOUT 3 MILES OF THIS FENCING IN THE DEL RIO AREA. AS YOU SEEN ON THE NEWS, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF ILLEGAL CROSSING INTO THAT AREA, AND SO WITH THE FENCE TO HELP WITH THAT, WE'RE TRYING TO HELP OUR PARTNERS BOTH STATE, LOCALLY AND FEDERALLY AND SAFEGUARD TEXANS AND THEIR PRIVATE PROPERTY WHERE SOME OF THIS HAS BEEN CROSSING. WILL: CRISIS STEPPING UP HERE. OTHERS ARE LETTING IT DOWN. LIEUTENANT COLONEL, I WANT TO CIRCLE BACK TO WHERE WE STARTED THIS INTERVIEW. THE TEXAS MILITARY DEPARTMENT IS STEPPING UP, WHAT DO YOU NORMALLY DO WITHOUT THIS TYPE OF CRISIS AS THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE, WHAT IS IT NORMAL THROUGH THERE TO SERVE? IS. >> SO THE TEXAS MILITARY DEPARTMENT DOES A VAST AMOUNT OF THINGS. WE'RE DEPLOYING OVERSEAS FOR CONTINGENCY OPERATIONS WITH BOTH THE AIR AND ARMY NATIONAL GUARD, WE ALSO RESPOND TO, YOU KNOW, MULTIPLE DISASTERS, HURRICANES, FLOODING, FIRES AND ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU SEE, YOU KNOW, ARE THE MISSION SENTS THAT WE STANDARD DO. AND I'LL TELL YOU EVEN WITH GOING ON, WE'RE STILL THE ABLE TO RESPOND TO THESE THINGS, AND WE CONTINUE BOTH TRAINING AND PREPARING FOR THOSE TYPES OF MISSIONS EVERY DAY. WILL: LOVE TO SEE IT. WE APPRECIATE YOU JUMPING ON THE PROGRAM WITH US THIS
