July 17, 2006 -- Texas National Guard Troops are in El Paso already working in support of the president's plan to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.

This is the first time the media has been allowed to see some of the work National Guard Troops will be doing in El Paso.

At one East El Paso border patrol substation, guardsmen are already in place watching the Texas-Mexico border. They are working in surveillance rooms as part of the mission they'll be doing in El Paso.

"Currently we have less than 100 but it is an on-going mission, so we expect to be receiving soldiers as time goes," said Lt. Col. Paul Hernandez with the Texas National Guard. Without specifying exactly how many soldiers are in EL Paso, Hernandez did say troops are not yet out in the field. First there is training and orientation, then they hope within a matter of days to start sending them out.

"Eventually what we'll have in Texas and West Texas are entry identification teams, which essentially are surveillance sites," Doug Mosier, spokesperson for the U.S. Border Patrol, El Paso sector. Meantime, soldiers are also providing support in other areas, like the maintenance with automotive repair.

KFOX spoke with one soldier who has been in El Paso for two weeks. For security reasons we couldn't give you her name or even get a full shot of her face on camera. Officials say even though these troops are not doing law enforcement work, they're helping with border security, which always creates a risk.