Border agents await masses with gear made for combat

From head to toe, he is ready for war.

The M4 semi-automatic rifle in his hands is tipped with a suppressor favored by Special Operations to muffle gunshots during clandestine missions.

Just above that is a PEQ-15 sight, which projects an infrared beam visible with night-vision goggles so the shooter can fire at night or point out targets for comrades and helicopters above.

A tactical flashlight and holographic sight round out the rifle. Magazines are at his hip for quick reloading during a firefight.

A mask obscures his face, and he wears a noisecanceling tactical headset that would look natural for scouting an Afghan valley for Taliban insurgents.

But photos taken Monday of U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents training weeks before a potential arrival of a caravan

of Central Americans reveal a southern border militarized — even before the arrival of thousands of active-duty soldiers.

There are no indications the mostly Honduran migrants, many of them women and children, pose a threat that would necessitate long- and short-range tactical engagements.

But CBP agents have drilled with armored vehicles, riot gear, helicopters and more, photos from the border have shown.

The preparations come amid questions about how much force active-duty soldiers and agents along the border can and should use.

President Donald Trump had suggested that troops should treat rock throwers as combatants and that rifle fire would constitute an appropriate response, but he backtracked on his comments.

Agents wielding military gear might belong to CBP’s Border Patrol Special Operations Group — the agency’s

premier tactical-response team.

CBP did not return a request for comment about which unit was shown training on the Texas-Mexico border.

Law enforcement agencies since 1990 have requested billions in militarygrade equipment thanks to a Pentagon initiative that diverts surplus military equipment to civilian authorities.

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq created a high-water mark in available equipment.

Critics have maintained the weapons produce an overly aggressive posture suitable for combat but not interactions with civilians. The Obama administration restricted the program late in his second term after images of officers atop armored vehicles pointing rifles at protesters in Ferguson, Mo., drew severe criticism.

Trump rolled back those restrictions in August 2017.