Joint Task Force North holds colors casing ceremony at Fort Bliss; new unit is unveiled

FORT BLISS, Texas (KVIA) -- The U.S. Military's Joint Task Force North (JTF-North) held a colors casing ceremony at Fort Bliss, which was the deactivation of the command and the "successful completion" of its decades-long mission.

JTF-North was established in 1989, initially designated as Joint Task Force Six (JTF-6), in response to President George H.W. Bush's anti-drug initiatives.

In 2025, there was a transition of tactical border security missions and JTF-N began moving into a permanent Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) framework, which was unveiled at Fort Bliss today.

"This evolution reflects a strategic shift from executing periodic missions to providing a persistent, unified planning environment," JTF-N said in a statement. "This JIATF structure is designed to integrate Department of War capabilities with interagency partners to synchronize long-term regional policy and counter-transnational threat operations across the U.S. Northern Command Area of Responsibility (USNORTHCOM AOR)."

Watch the full story and reactions from the ceremony on ABC-7 after the NBA Finals Game 1.