SAN DIEGO – In an increasingly complex security environment, maintaining situational awareness along the U.S. border is vital. In support of the Joint Task Force-Southern Border (JTF- SB), the U.S. Army has deployed the Ground-Based Operational Surveillance System (Expeditionary), or G-BOSS-(E) to the San Diego Sector to help support the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Originally developed for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the G-BOSS-(E) is a mobile, rapidly deployable surveillance system equipped with advanced sensors, cameras, radar and infrared capabilities. Mounted on a mast, the system provides 360-degree awareness and can detect movement such as individuals or vehicles up to eight miles away, day or night, even in challenging weather conditions.
“It allows you to look out and sense much farther than the naked eye or basic optics like binoculars,” said Lt. Col. Phillip Mason, commander of Task Force 716. “From one position, a Soldier can see in a full circle up to five or eight miles. That’s a significant force multiplier.”
The system was originally scheduled to be fielded to multiple Military Police Battalions in 2026. However, due to the unique demands of this mission, the battalion requested the equipment early. Soldiers completed a two-week training course on system operation, maintenance, setup and teardown. Once deployed, support personnel from the Army's Program Executive Office – Intelligence, Electronic Warfare & Sensors (PEO IEW&S) provided additional on-site instruction to reinforce operational readiness.
“Our Soldiers not only trained to operate G-BOSS, they became the subject matter experts,” Mason said. “They're now training the rest of the soldiers that are in Task Force 716 and maintaining the system in a real-world environment.”
G-BOSS-(E) enhances both military and border security efforts by filling detection and monitoring gaps along the terrain. Task Force 716 is currently supporting Border Patrol across six stations in the San Diego Sector: Boulevard, Campo, Brown Field, Chula Vista, Imperial Beach and San Clemente. The area of responsibility stretches 80 miles along the Pacific coastline and 60 miles inland.
The close partnership between Soldiers and Border Patrol agents has become a key part of the mission's success.
“At the individual level, if a Soldier detects movement using G-BOSS-(E), they can contact a nearby Border Patrol agent often just minutes away to respond,” Mason said. “The technology allows us to guide agents precisely to the area of interest using real-time information.”
According to Mason, 100% of the camera systems available to Task Force 716 are being used in direct support of Border Patrol operations.
“This isn’t just an Army training opportunity, it's an operational enhancement for Border Patrol,” he said. “We’re using unique military capabilities to expand domain awareness and help secure the border.”
Mason also emphasized how operating the system in a live mission environment gives Soldiers a clearer understanding of its capabilities.
“If we’d received this during normal fielding back at home station, we would not understand the true capabilities of the system because we’d be employing on our home station,” he said. “Now that we're able to employ this in a real life operating environment we understand what we can and cannot do, our Soldiers are excited to take it to future training rotations at The Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) and National Training Center (NTC) and explore how it fits into large scale combat operations.”
As mission requirements evolve, so too does the partnership between the Army and Border Patrol.
“From the leadership level to the individual Soldier and agent, we’re constantly identifying new ways to integrate and improve,” Mason said. “As we continue to evolve this mission set we continue to find new and innovative ways that we can bring unique military capability in support of border patrol and securing our nation's borders.”
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