The Defense Department has established the Mexican Border Defense Medal for U.S. troops who have deployed to the southern border since Jan. 20 to support agents with U.S. Border and Customs Protection, or CBP, according to a Pentagon memo shared on social media.
A defense official confirmed to Task & Purpose that the Aug. 13 Defense Department memo is authentic but had no further information on the medal.
To qualify for the Mexican Border Defense Medal, troops must have been “permanently assigned, attached, or detailed” to a unit that deployed as part of a designated Defense Department operation supporting CBP for 30 consecutive or nonconsecutive days, the memo says.
Troops must also have deployed within 100 nautical miles of the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas (including San Antonio), New Mexico, Arizona, and California, or in U.S. waters up to 24 nautical miles from the border, the memo says.
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Eligible service members will now receive the Mexican Border Defense Medal instead of the Armed Forces Service Medal, which had been awarded to troops supporting federal agents along the U.S.-Mexico border starting in 2019, the memo says.
Troops and veterans who have already been awarded the Armed Forces Service Medal can apply with their military branches to receive the Mexican Border Defense Medal, but they cannot receive both medals for the same period of service, the memo says.
On the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring a national emergency on the southern border, and he directed the Defense Department to assist the Department of Homeland Security with border security.
Roughly 7,500 U.S. service members are currently deployed to the southern border, of which about 1,500 are National Guard troops on federal orders, according to U.S.Northern Command, or NORTHCOM. Their mission is to support U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents.
The Defense Department has also established four “national defense areas” along the U.S.-Mexico border, in which U.S. troops can temporarily detain trespassers until they can be handed off to federal law enforcement officers.
Additionally, the Pentagon has also shifted $200 million from Army, Navy, Air Force and Defense Department programs to replace a 12-foot-tall mesh barrier with a 30-foot-tall permanent protective barrier at the Barry M. Goldwater Range in Arizona.
The order of precedence of the Mexican Border Defense Medal will be before the Armed Forces Service Medal and after the Korea Defense Service Medal, the memo says.
Similarly named medals were created more than a century ago. The Mexico Service Medal was created in 1917 for troops who took part in operations along the Mexican border or in Mexico itself between 1911 and 1917. Those included cross-border fights that began in 1916 against the forces of Pancho Villa. Another award, the Mexico Border Service Medal, was established by Congress in 1918 for service members who supported those operations but stayed on the U.S. side of the southern border.
On Aug. 22, Hegseth posted on social media that the Mexican Border Defense Medal would have the same mold, ribbon, and design as the 1918 Mexico Border Service Medal.
“We look forward to pinning the award on brave border soldiers soon,” Hegseth posted on X
UPDATE: 8/22/2025; This article was updated after publication with additional information from a social media post by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about the Mexican Border Defense Medal’s design.
