Bored on the border: The military's 'border support' mission is killing troop morale

• The military's border support mission is expected to involve over 7,000 active-duty troops from across the country.
• The mission has received intense scrutiny from critics who question its legality, necessity and implications.
• A report from The New York Times sheds light on what troops are doing along the border while they wait for the caravan to arrive.
• Soldiers are spending their days performing mindless tasks, are living without electricity or access to dining facilities, and without a mission to guide them, are facing low levels of morale.

The US military's border support mission has sparked ceaseless debate, with critics questioning aspects of the mission's legality, necessity and both short- and long-term implications.

The Department of Defense has yet to disclose an overall cost estimate of the deployment, which is expected to involve over 7,000 active-duty troops from across the country.

Read more: Trump is sending thousands of troops to the border with Mexico - here's everything we know so far

With the main migrant caravan still hundreds of miles from the closest point on the US-Mexico border, it remains unclear just how long troops will be deployed there. The New York Times reported they may have to wait until at least Thanksgiving to return home, and while the deployed troops were careful not to discuss politics with reporters, the prospect of spending another holiday away from home for the mundane missions along the border is very likely to dampen their spirits.

According to the Times, that is not the only blow to troop morale.

Photos taken from Base Camp Donna in Texas show soldiers playing cards and football, resting on cots and eating MREs. The camp appears almost desolate.

There is no dining facility on base, and showers were installed shortly before the report's publication on Saturday. Electricity is scarce, according to the Times, and used only to power "lights and communication gear" - making it harder for soldiers to charge their cellphone and personal electronics. Soldiers' tents are not fitted with electricity nor air conditioning, despite reports of heat exhaustion.

The Times likens the atmosphere to the early years in Afghanistan. And while it would be irresponsible to compare the situation along the border with the global war on terror, Rep. Anthony G. Brown, Maryland Democrat and Iraq war veteran, took the time to point out at least one key difference: In Afghanistan, soldiers have a mission.

Brown said that even on holidays, that mission - a sense of purpose - helps troops maintain morale. Along the border, it seems, that purpose is missing.

While some of the troops spend their days constructing barbed wire fences, others are just trying to make their bases livable, according to the Times. Many are performing the same tasks as previously deployed National Guard units.

Read more: Trump sent thousands of US troops to the border, but they're in the dark about what to do when the migrant caravans arrive

"When you send a soldier on a dubious mission, with no military value, over Thanksgiving, it doesn't help morale at all," Brown told the Times.

Mark T. Esper, secretary of the Army, has defended the deployments, arguing that border support is not a waste of time or military resources.

"We all recognize that one of the many missions of the military is defense of the homeland and security of our borders," he told the Times.

Outside the fences, the "invasion" President Donald Trump sent them to defend against - the caravan of migrant families fleeing from violence - inches forward, still some hundreds of miles in the distance.