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(KSL News) -- Some Utah troops are getting national attention for their mission to work along the Mexico border.
As we told you yesterday, this group of National Guard members are the first of 6,000 troops to be deployed to the border. NBC News found them hard at work in Arizona today.
Their commanding officers say the troops will not be armed.
Major Hank McIntire, Utah National Guard: "We're not here in law enforcement role. We are in a supporting role helping with infrastructure. We leave law enforcement to the law enforcement experts, the border patrol."
The temperature reached a high of 113, but many troops said they do not mind the conditions because they remind them of Iraq.
Tina Frame, Utah National Guard: "I'm excited to be part of anything the military asks me to do."
Major Hank McIntire, Utah National Guard: "We have two weeks in order to do it, we also keep in mind that we are continuing the work of others and so there will others who will come in after we have left and continue our work."
The deployment has been scheduled for some time now but, it was just added to the President's plan to send up to six thousand National Guard troops to the boarder.
Critics say sending the guard in will do little to curb the flow of illegal immigrants.
