Joint Task Force North (JTF North), formerly Joint Task Force Six (JTF-6), is a multi-service operation by the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

for counterdrug and anti-terrorist operations. JTF-North is headquartered at

Biggs Army Airfield Biggs Army Airfield (formerly Biggs Air Force Base) is a United States Army military airbase located on the Fort Bliss military base in El Paso, Texas. History Biggs Field/Biggs Army Airfield (1916–47) On 15 June 1919, following an attack ...

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Established in 1848, the fort was renamed in 1854 to honor William Wallace Smith Bliss, Bvt.Lieut.Colonel William W.S. Bliss (1815–1853 ...

, Texas.

United States Northern Command The United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) is one of eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense. The command is tasked with providing military support for Civil authority, non-military authorities in t ...

is the controlling Unified Combatant Command. Major General Henry S. Dixon assumed command on 9 December 2024, and is the 12th Commander of JTF-N.

History

Well-known former members of Joint Task Force 6 include: General Kevin P. Byrnes, U.S. Army, Ret., JTF-6 Commanding General; Colonel Robert Love, USMC, Ret., and current Senior Executive Service (SES) member to the DoD's Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO); Special Forces LTC Eric Buckland, U.S. Army, Ret., and Captain Kirk Harrington, owner of EFMC, LLC.

Mission casualties

On 21 May 1995, during JTF-6 Mission "Smugglers Blues" (a joint air reconnaissance mission conducted along the US and Mexico border near Nogales, Arizona) Chief Warrant Officer 2 (CW2) Kevin L. Jenkins and Chief Warrant Officer 2 (CW2) John D. Peterson, both from Alpha Troop, 1st Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment (1/6 CAV) station in Fort Hood, Texas, died when their OH-58C helicopter crashed during a night surveillance mission. On 2 June 1996, during JTF-6 Mission JT177-96, (a ground reconnaissance mission conducted in the Angeles National Forest, California) Lance Corporal Eric D. Davis of Company B, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment (1/5) died as the result of a fall./ Coyne Report
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Scandals

On 20 May 1997, during an operation in Redford, Texas, near the

United States–Mexico border United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

, Corporal Clemente M. Banuelos, the leader of his squad, fatally shot 18-year-old American citizen Esequiel Hernández, Jr., on the American side of the border. He was holding a .22 caliber rifle he used to protect his herd of goats from predators. Marines alleged that he pointed the rifle at them, although they were some 200 yards away and heavily camouflaged in ghillie suits. No charges were brought at the time or subsequently. The shooting inspired the 2005 film '' The Three Burials of Melquíades Estrada'' by Tommy Lee Jones. The 2007

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

''The Ballad of Esequiel Hernández'' explores the killing, analyzing both sides of the issue by interviewing the Hernández family and friends, the Marines, and local officials.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.jtfn.northcom.mil/
Official factsheet

Congressman Reyes: "JTF-6 Adds Their Expertise to War on Terror"
Joint task forces of the United States Armed Forces Military units and formations established in 2004