Oscar
Charleston, SC
Male, 31
Spent a bit over four years (2006-2010) serving as a Border Patrol Agent in Tucson Sector, AZ: the busiest sector in the country. Worked numerous positions, and spent the last year and a half operating/instructing ground radar installations. Duties included: field patrols, transport, processing, control room duties, transportation check, checkpoint operations, static watch duties, etc.
I have no idea. The exam is made for people who have no prior Border Patrol experience, so I am not sure you'd have a big advantage.
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I'd say that of the groups that we detected or spotted we apprehended around 30-35%. That figure improved quite a bit following 9/11, as DHS/CBP had a large hiring push and went from around 8,000 agents to around 16,000.
Since then it seems to have been pretty steady. As apprehensions increase the Mexicans and cartel guys become a bit more creative. It's a constant back and forth. There is no genuine progress being made toward "shutting down the border" or "stopping illegal immigration" etc. Unfortunately that is not a political goal of either party.
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You get very very basic intelligence training, but nothing that will make you stand out. In fact those courses were FLETC courses and not the BP courses, so they may not even include them anymore.
Like everything else, the BP does have intel units. However these units are small, and very difficult to land (normally going to senior agents). If you were able to get into intel in the BP, then yes I'd imagine there would be a decent amount of crossover.
I am currently doing a certificate in Intelligence Analysis with an online university as that field interests me as well. I would probably suggest getting some college credits or degrees in intelligence if that's really what your end goal is. Of course, working in the BP would give you the money to do so.
Good luck!
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The vast majority of our canines (at least our normal detection/tracking canines) were actually imported from the German Border Police (Bundesgrenschutz) canine school. Most of the dogs we received had actually failed bite-dog school, and had been repurposed. This is why our K9 operators use many commands in German, as opposed to English.
Right before I left the BP was starting its bite-dog program, but they had a silly politically correct name for it (Patrol K9's was the term they used) because they were afraid of scaring people (?). I do not know where the bite-dogs were sourced from.
All of the dogs I worked with were from the German schools.
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All of the above. While it depends a lot on terrain and your local conditions, you have a large array of operations.
In our area we had a few "X"s...these are static locations watching a particular point of interest. You then had patroling units, which would actively be cutting for sign (footprints, debris, trash, spoor) which would indicate a recent group or vehicles. You also had static ground-sweeping radar. You had bike units which would operate further in from the border. You also had occasional aviation units when we could spare them.
In addition to this you have a large number of magnetic and seismic sensors which would register back at the station. During the day, we also had a Horse Patrol unit which specialized in rougher terrain (they were quite good up in the more mountainous regions).
Now, in some places like Nogales (nicknamed "Nogadishu" for the level of violence about a decade ago) it's an entirely different situation, as the USBP there is operating inside a city etc. Likewise, some stations operate solely in the mountains and operate heavily by airlifting agents around in helicopters etc.
It varies immensely by station.
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Yes. Well technically not for you to leave the country, but if you come back into the US (even as a US citizen) it is illegal to enter without crossing through a designated Port of Entry. Likewise you have no protection if you are apprehended by Mexican authorities (though they rarely watch their border).
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Short answer: yes. Law enforcement work of any type has statistically been very hard on families and relationships. Unfortunately law enforcement officers have a much higher rate of substance abuse, suicide, etc. It's a high stress line of work, working long hours, and dealing with the bottom of society. A lot of people live fine, normal lives - but the numbers are pretty bad. High rate of divorce is common. I do think the BP might be better than some local LEO work. I was away for an average of 11 hours a day, so if you have loved ones or family, it can be very taxing.
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