A group of National Guard troops from Texas, based along the U.S. Southern border with Mexico, have joined a union.
The group, assigned to the U.S.-Mexico border for Operation Lone Star, are the first-known troops to organize while on 'active duty' status.
Their unionization comes after a recent filing by the Justice Department that allows for troops with the Guard to join with their first meeting scheduled for next week.
A federal law that had previously prohibited members of the military from organizing unions 'does not apply to Guard members on state active duty or in the Inactive National Guard,' DoJ lawyers wrote in a court filing last month.
National Guard troops in Texas are legally organizing and forming unions while serving on state active duty orders. Pictured, National Guardsmen stands watch over a fence near the International bridge in Del Rio, Texas
The group involved on Operation Lone Star have been plagued with well-documented problems involving living conditions, equipment and pay, according to the Army Times.
'We're hoping to improve all [those] things,' said the soldier leading organizing efforts under the union known as the Texas State Employees Union's Military Caucus.
The soldier did not give is name, requesting anonymity over fears of retaliation from Texas Military Department leadership ahead of the meeting.
Those in the union consist entirely of troops on state active duty orders assigned to the border.
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