The Department of Defense awarded its first contracts to two companies Tuesday for construction of a barrier along the U.S. border with Mexico, according to a notice posted on the DOD’s website. The Galveston, Texas-based company SLSCO was awarded a $789 million contract for “border replacement wall construction” in Santa Teresa, N.M., while Barnard Construction Co., a firm based in Bozeman, Mont., received a contract worth $187 million for “pedestrian wall replacement” in Yuma, Ariz., the DOD’s website stated. Nearly two months after President Trump declared a national emergency to secure funding for the construction of his border wall, the...