PHOENIX -- The federal lawmaker given the go-ahead to leak in May that the president was sending National Guard troops to the border wants to know where they are.

"We want boots on the ground, not federal foot-dragging,'' Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., said Wednesday in a prepared statement.

Giffords said the administration promised to have soldiers in Arizona at the beginning of August. Now, days into the month -- and no soldiers on the border -- she said no one in the government can tell her exactly when they will be deployed.

But Matthew Chandler, spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, said the first 140 of the 1,200 soldiers have, in fact, been moved to the "Southwest border region'' for the first stages of their training.

"August 1 was never intended to be a deadline,'' Chandler told Capitol Media Services. "We have been clear from the beginning that there will be an incremental deployment of additional Guard personnel to the border to ensure that Guardsmen are fully prepared for the mission at hand.''

Giffords' criticism is significant, and not just because she is of the same party as the president.

It was Giffords who got the first word from the White House in May that Obama intended to put soldiers on the border, and that 524 of them would be stationed in Arizona. That gave Giffords, facing a tough reelection bid, a chance to get some positive publicity by announcing what the president intended to do ahead of him actually doing it.

"Arizonans were able to breathe a little easier after the May 25 announcement that National Guard troops were on their way to help make our border communities safer,'' Giffords said Wednesday.

"But here we are 10 weeks later and the National Guard is nowhere near the border,'' she continued. "Despite suggestions from top administration officials that the deployment would begin on Aug. 1, no one can definitively say when the troops will be in Arizona.''

Chandler disputed that contention, saying that the deployment is "proceeding as planned.''

"Leadership from the departments of Homeland Security and Defense have been in frequent contact with members of Congress, state and local law enforcement officials, and other elected officials regarding our efforts to enhance border security,'' he said. Chandler said the soldiers will provide support for intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as efforts to stop the flow of drugs.

Giffords press aide C.J. Karamargin said that's not an answer.

"Where is the training taking place?'' he asked. "And when will the training be complete?''

Karamargin acknowledged that National Guard officials previously said there would be a "ramp up'' and "ramp down'' period, and that there would be the full complement of 524 soldiers for only about three months. But he said Giffords has been unable to get answers on exactly when that will be.

"That is the question the congresswoman wants answered,'' he said. "That is the question that people in Southeastern Arizona want answered.''