Screenshot via ABC News.
Seven members of the Texas National Guard were sent home following their deployment to Illinois for failing to meet fitness standards — and in the aftermath of viral photos that sparked widespread mockery.
The photos, one example of which appears above, originally came from an ABC News report about the troops being deployed to Illinois as part of President Donald Trump’s crime and immigration crackdown.
Both Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson objected to the deployment of federal troops and filed a lawsuit seeking to block it.
Meanwhile, the photos of the Texas National Guard troops were subjected to brutal mockery regarding the heavyset troops — especially in the wake of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s declaration that “fat troops” were “completely unacceptable.”
Numerous social media users poked fun at the photos calling the troops “Meal Team Six,” “Operation Dessert Storm,” and other insults.
According to a report by Task and Purpose, seven of the Texas National Guard troops were sent back to Texas after being identified as “not in compliance.”
Neither the Texas Military Department nor the National Guard Bureau specified how many troops were sent back to Texas, the exact reason they were found to be out of compliance, or make any mention of the viral photos.
“National Guard Soldiers and Airman are required to meet service-specific height, weight, and physical fitness standards at all times,” the National Guard Bureau said in a statement. “When mobilizing for active duty, members go through a validation process to ensure they meet those requirements. On the rare occasions when members are found not in compliance, they will not go on mission. They will be returned to their home station, and replacements who do meet standards will take their places.”
San Antonio Express-News political reporter Bayliss Wagner confirmed with the Texas Military Department that “seven service members who did not meet mission requirements…were returned to home station.”
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