Defense Secretary James Mattis James Norman MattisBiden courts veterans amid fallout from Trump military controversies Trump says he wanted to take out Syria's Assad but Mattis opposed it Gary Cohn: 'I haven't made up my mind' on vote for president in November MORE on Wednesday explained why the Pentagon last week announced they would no longer refer to the U.S. military mission at the southern border as "Operation Faithful Patriot."

Mattis told reporters that he felt calling the troop deployment an "operation" was misleading.

"When the name of the mission first came in, I had given instructions, 'I do not want to put this mission in some arcane military terms,'" Mattis said. "'If what we’re doing is laying wire, don’t talk about implementing a barrier plan.'"

ADVERTISEMENT

Mattis said he told defense officials, "'I want to talk to the American people because this is a highly politically visible issue and I want you to tell them what we’re doing.'"

Defense Sec. James Mattis on why name of Pentagon mission on southern border changed from "Operation Faithful Patriot" to a border support mission after midterms: "I had given instructions I do not want to put this mission in some arcane military terms" https://t.co/pEiLPPsGk4 pic.twitter.com/iEYkEuUS8O — This Week (@ThisWeekABC) November 14, 2018

Pentagon officials were instructed last week to refer to the deployment of more than 7,000 active-duty military personnel as "border support," Army Lt. Col. Jamie Davis told The Hill.

The troops were deployed at President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE's request in order to provide support to border police, Mattis said. He added the "reporting" about the name change was a result of his "continued direction to quit using military terms."

Trump directed that the Pentagon to deploy the troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in anticipation of a caravan of several thousand Central American migrants making its way through Mexico to the U.S. The shrinking group is still several weeks away from reaching the border.

Democrats and immigration rights advocates accused the president of seeking to stoke anti-immigrant and xenophobic fears ahead of the midterm elections by deploying troops to stave off the so-called migrant caravan. Trump spoke publicly about the caravan in dramatic terms, calling it an "invasion," in the weeks leading up to Election Day.

Pentagon officials have said the thousands of troops will not directly interact with the migrants approaching the U.S. border. They will assist Border Patrol staff to fill in gaps in physical barriers along the border.