Citizens get a look at SRT, BORSTAR and air operations
FROM STAFF REPORTS
October 4, 2008 - 5:57PM

Being a Border Patrol agent is not just about catching people and drugs that enter the country illegally.

At their class Friday night, students in the Yuma Sector Border Patrol's Citizens Academy learned about the sector's Special Response Team (SRT), which is used in high-risk missions; the Search Trauma and Rescue, used for rescue operations; and the sector's air branch.

Representatives of the SRT outlined the unit's mission of supporting the Border Patrol in high-risk missions critical in addressing illegal activity in the sector, which extends from the southeastern corner of California to the Yuma-Pima County line.

Students in the academy were allowed to see some of the tools the team uses while conducting enforcement operations. Among the items were sniper rifles, remotely deployable camera systems and specially modified M4 rifles.

The presentation on the Search Trauma and Rescue team - known by the acronym BORSTAR - focused on the life-saving and rescue services the team provides to people needing help in the Yuma-area deserts.

Students got a tour of BORSTAR's garage area, which houses different types of off-road vehicles used in rescue operations such as Hummers, all-terrain vehicles and Rhinos.

Friday night, the patrol's air unit landed an EC-120 helicopter outside of the Yuma Station. After the pilot explained the unit's supporting enforcement role for agents on the ground, students were allowed to look and sit inside the helicopter.

The academy, modeled after the academy aspiring Border Patrol agents must complete, exposes residents to the demands of being an agent.

The current session of the twice-yearly academy is filled to capacity but others will be held in the future.

Anyone with questions about the academy can call the patrol's Yuma Sector Public Affairs Office, 341-6559.

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