Texas military leader ousted after ongoing concerns over border security operation

The head of the Texas Military Department (TMD), Maj. Gen. Tracy Norris, has been replaced by Maj. Gen. Thomas Suelzer as Texas adjutant general months after critics called for her resignation over ongoing problems related to the TMD’s role in Operation Lone Star (OLS), Texas’ border security mission.

Gov. Greg Abbott announced that he appointed Suelzer to lead TMD, which consists of the Texas Army National Guard, the Texas Air National Guard, and the Texas State Guard.

He’ll be tasked with overseeing the roughly 10,000 Texas National Army and Air Guard troops deployed to the southern border.

"General Norris faithfully served the Texas Military Department with dignity, as Adjutant General beginning in January 2019, as Assistant Adjutant General in 2016, and over her decades of service,” Abbott said in his Monday announcement, thanking her for her “exceptional service.”

“Major General Suelzer brings a wealth of military experience to this new role, and I am confident that he will uphold the integrity of the Texas Military Department and exemplify servant leadership throughout every aspect of this position," Abbott said.

Abbott’s Republican primary challenger, Lt. Col. Allen West (Ret.), and others called for Norris’ resignation after whistleblowers came forward about ongoing problems within the TMD. Joining him was CSM (Ret.) Jason Featherston, former senior enlisted advisor for the Texas Army National Guard.

Neither Abbott’s office, campaign, or the TMD responded to requests from The Center Square for comment about the calls for Norris’ resignation.

Now that she’s been replaced, Featherston said, her legacy “will be the many failures in planning and executing Operation Lone Star by the general public. The many failed appointments inside the TMD will be remembered by the organization's members. How many of her appointments will remain?”

Abbott’s Democratic challenger, former congressman Robert “Beto” O’Rourke, said, “You can switch Generals, but we know where the buck stops. Abbott took 10,000 Guard members from their jobs and families, treated them with incredible disrespect. Pay delayed. Tuition benefits cut in half. Used as political pawns in his campaign. Time to bring them back home.”

Problems that existed during the TMD’s management of Hurricane Harvey relief efforts worsened under Norris’ leadership, Texas Scorecard reported. As a result of paycheck hardships, suicides, increasing concerns about sexual assault, and “punishment through physical exertion,” things have gotten so bad that soldiers most recently sought to unionize, the Army Times reported.

For months, the Army Times, The Texas Tribune, Texas Scorecard, Stars & Stripes and other news outlets reported on problems related to TMD’s role in OLS. The Center Square reported on conflicting TMD messages about the COVID-19 vaccine.

TMD initially issued a statement in January, saying it “has been the subject of scurrilous accusations by seemingly reputable media sources.”

Service members then expressed their concerns through a leaked survey. One said, “This doesn’t feel like we are helping any Texans besides the governor and his ability to say he has activated the [Guard] to the border.”

In response, O’Rourke said, “This isn’t what Guard members and their families signed up for. They wanted to serve our communities, our state.

On Feb. 1, the Military Times and Texas Tribune reported on TMD-OLS problems related to “hasty mobilization, alarming morale issues, meager living conditions, delays in payment and the perception by troops that the mission was politically motivated to score reelection points for Abbott. Those findings have been consistently denied or downplayed by Texas officials.”

Three weeks later, TMD issued another statement saying that Texas law “prohibits collective bargaining and strikes by public employees. This includes the state service members on Operation Lone Star. Service members should not be misled by union agitators into believing that Texas law allows them to engage in collective bargaining. It does not. As previously stated, Texas Military Department leadership continues to actively address concerns raised by service members on Operation Lone Star.”

It added that every service member assigned to OLS was being paid as of Feb. 24.

On March 10, Major Jason Cordaway announced that “non-AGR soldiers deployed to OLS would be receiving an additional $1,000 a month in bonus pay for every additional month past 365 days,” according to a statement he posted on an internal message board obtained by The Center Square.

TMD said it had resolved over 90% of pay discrepancies, adding that 78% of more than 1,100 hardship requests had been approved as of Feb. 24. TMD continued to review incoming hardship requests and evaluate each request on a case-by-case basis. A majority of approved requests were based on a significant impact to the service member’s civilian career, dependent care, or education, TMD says.

But problems with TMD’s role in OLS continued to be publicized. By March 12, one service member tweeted, “I am probably going to lose my civilian job soon because I've been forced onto OLS between the threat of arrests and ruining of my military career I am facing the end of my civilian career. I am just a number to them.

“This is the first time Beto and I agree. The deployment of the Guard had been a waste of time and money. A LARGE chunk of us on #OperationLoneStar are getting paid to do nothing. We ‘guard’ private property and BP refuses to work with us.”

Another tweeted March 11, “I’m at a point where I’m realizing everything I do is for nothing. Why go chase anyone down if they’re going to be released a day later? I’m just ready to go home, I’m tired of this border patrol larping we’ve been doing.”

The service member is referring to apprehending illegal immigrants and then turning them over to Border Patrol agents who then release them through the Biden administration’s “catch and release” policy.

U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, R-El Paso, said earlier this month, Abbott’s “deadly Operation Lone Star is creating a soldier welfare crisis that demoralizes our troops and fosters an environment where suicide is prevalent.”

She and 10 members of Texas’ Democratic congressional delegation sent a letter to the U.S. Inspector General asking him to launch a full investigation into TMD’s actions “related to OLS and how this mission is impacting the well-being, morale, and overall readiness of our troops.”

In response to Norris being ousted, Escobar said, “I’ll believe there is positive change when I see it. Maj. Gen. Suelzer, please let me be the first to say: send our Guard members home.”

Austin-based attorney Douglas O’Connell, a Special Forces (Green Beret) Colonel (Ret.) is offering free consultations and pro bono representation help to soldiers who have deployment-related legal issues related to OLS. Service members can call 512-547-7265 or email doug@dougoconnell.com to schedule a consultation.

“Hopefully we can help minimize the stress for some of the soldiers serving on the border,” O’Connell said.