Details scant on Guard’s border deployment as Noem visits troops
Governor visits border, participates in a briefing with the Guard troops
Gov. Kristi Noem confirmed Tuesday that 50 South Dakota National Guard soldiers are on a previously announced deployment to the nation’s southern border, but she didn’t say what unit they’re from, how long they’ll be there, what it’ll cost, or exactly what they’re doing.
South Dakota Searchlight sent messages about those and other aspects of the deployment to Noem’s office and the South Dakota National Guard. Noem’s spokesman, Ian Fury, responded with a message that said the best summary of the Guard’s work is provided by the office of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
“Beyond that, I will not be able to answer further questions until after the unit’s return for operational security reasons,” Fury said.
He included a link to a page on Abbott’s website, which says the operation aims to “secure the border; stop the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people into Texas; and prevent, detect, and interdict transnational criminal activity between ports of entry.”
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Noem’s office said in a news release Tuesday that she visited the border and participated in a briefing with the Guard troops. She announced plans for the deployment in June and said last month that the troops would deploy Sept. 1.
Noem, a Republican, and some other states’ governors are sending troops to the border in Texas at the invitation of Abbott. The operation is intended to strengthen border protections against illegal immigration beyond the actions taken by the federal government.
“With the federal response falling short, our National Guard troops are providing support alongside forces from Texas and other states to help manage the situation,” Noem said in Tuesday’s press release, which described the border as a “warzone.”
Accompanying Noem at the border were South Dakota Adjutant Gen. Mark Morrell and South Dakota Secretary of Public Safety Bob Perry.
In June, Noem’s office told South Dakota Searchlight the deployment would be funded by the state’s Emergency and Disaster Fund, which her own budget described as being for emergencies and disasters “in South Dakota.” Noem has not provided a cost estimate for the deployment.
Noem has sent National Guard troops to the nation’s southern border before. In 2021, she ignited controversy with her acceptance of a $1 million donation from Tennessee billionaire Willis Johnson to pay most of the cost for deploying 48 troops. That deployment cost a total of $1.45 million, according to records obtained by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. The $1 million donation was routed through the Emergency and Disaster Fund, and the fund covered the portion of the deployment’s cost not covered by the donation.
Also in 2021, Noem approved the sending of additional National Guard soldiers to the border at the request of the federal government. She said at the time that those additional troops were on “federal pay status.”
Content courtesy of South Dakota Searchlight.
 | A guest post by
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Noem never hesitates to use our National Guard as her own personal mercenary company for photo ops at the border.
This issue is reflective of one of the most fundamental problems with the Noem administration. Whether you think she is the second coming or a self-promoting bimbo, the fact of the matter is we deserve to know a lot more of the who, what, when, where, why and how of state government than we get. Our "leader" and her staff are unwilling to conduct routine briefing sessions or Q&A's with the media that would, in turn, inform the South Dakota public. In this case––deployment of SD National Guard to Texas––there are a multitude of unanswered questions. Noem's press secretary only appears in public to twirl her baton or be baptized, so she's a dead end. And Ian Fury, Noem's communications chief, is, essentially, a dead end, too, as he deflects, evades, ignores or impulsively attacks.
In this case, while it is true that we are all "Free" to do our own research on the state's National Guard vis a vis the Emergency Management Assistance Compact [EMAC], I can assure you it leads to a raft of questions that it is our governor's job to answer. Her job is not to provide herself with photo opportunities or FoxNews appearances, which is all that she really seems interested in doing.
So whether you are for her or against her, ask yourself when was the last time she actually provided any substantive explanation or justification, behind spouting her banal generalities about "Freedom." Although she presents a smug, self-satisfied arrogance, I think her refusal to engage in any non-scripted discourse is a sign of intellectual cowardice.