“FAITHFUL PATRIOT” NO LONGER NAME OF DEPLOYMENT

The Pentagon will change the name of deployment of troops to the U.S.-Mexico border.

WASHINGTON» The Pentagon has directed U.S. military commanders to stop calling the deployment of active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border “Operation Faithful Patriot,” a name derided by critics as overtly political while President Donald Trump played up the mission in stumping for Republican candidates.

The decision was acknowledged Wednesday after the midterm elections, and it was not immediately clear what name the military operation may ultimately take instead.

“We are no longer calling it Operation Faithful Patriot,” said a Pentagon spokesman, Army Lt. Col. Jamie Davis. “We are referring to it as border support. I have nothing further at this time.”

A second Pentagon spokesman, Chris Sherwood, said that simply referring to the military operation as “border support” is a “more accurate description” because the Department of Homeland Security is overseeing it. The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which said the directive was issued by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ office on Election Day. Mattis has sought to shield the military from politics, with mixed results.

The operation has come under fire from retired generals, who say it unnecessarily thrusts the military into politics. Trump sought to characterize migrants traveling north through Mexico from Central America in a “caravan” as an “invasion” of the U.S.