U.S. Customs and Border Protection

I got my first good look at one of our nation's U.S. Border Patrol Headquarters, right here in Colville, Washington. 

Today was open house day and we were invited in small group tours, with an agent and I was allowed to photograph anything other than a bulletin board that showed a photo of criminals they are in the process of looking for.

We were first ushered into a conference room where the 6 of us were given some history of the department. The first border station was in El Peso, TX, back in 1924. After 9/11, a group of what were formerly independent departments were assembled under the umbrella of Department of Homeland Security. The problem was that every department, be it Customs, Border, Immigration and Naturalization, U.S Coast Guard, Federal Emergency Management and a host of others all operated on their own set of procedures and interpretation of local and national law. Now suddenly, they had to synchronize with all these other agencies in terms of paperwork, filing systems pay grades and much more. It sounds like they all have made good progress but more still needs to be done.

Felix Morales is fairly new to the area, having transferred here from duty in San Diego...he now is in charge of this station. He answered all of our question other than the exact location of sensors along the border that will send them an alert when tripped. I had a question about the border crossing into Canada and after answering it he asked if I noticed the color of their uniforms...no, not really. U.S. Customs handles all of the "entry" station (what I assume most of us call border crossing) and although they occasionally will work together, two different departments altogether. U.S. Customs uniforms are blue, Border Protection... green. (since I know a person quite well in Customs you'd think I would noticed the color difference, ugg)

These cement obelisks stretch for 5,525 miles across our northern border with Canada. A 20-foot clearing also marks the border. It is said that you can always see the next marker from the saddle of a horse. Where water is concerned, like on the Columbia River...you may cross the border many times without being stopped with the exception that you can never drop anchor or pull up to shore...if that happens expect a visitor.

Besides all the offices, computer rooms and a weight gym there was this tactical training room where they practice hand to hand combat and different technique to subdue an assault.

Ok...we are getting closer to the toys...yes, they said tools, but I still think of them as toys. Out of the 35 agents that work here, only Felix gets to park here in the winter.

The quads behind me are part of the toys, I mean tools at their disposal.

Ok...now we are getting into some fun stuff.

Yep, you can put these puppies away for the next few months.

The only time Felix hesitated an answer was about drones. They would be an immense help in protecting our border here with its rugged wilderness and remoteness...but. As Felix expertly dodged the question he did say that the border patrol up in Northern Washington, Idaho and Montana must be sensitive to the local constitutionalists who might view this as "big brother spying".

It doesn't get any better than this 25 foot bad boy, with twin Merc 225's sitting on the stern. 

I did not get a picture of the "Specialized" mountain bikes they also use.

They have three canine dogs who act as drug and person sniffers. The dogs are always with their handler so when the agent is off, so is the dog.

The horse patrol has a long history with border patrol, originally, you had to have your own horse to be hired.

The Border Patrol horses are all former wild mustangs. They were free and a prison in Colorado breaks and trains the horses for them so cost is kept low. As much as possible the headquarters tries to buy locally, #1 to support the community and #2 to stay in the good graces of its anti-government segment of the society.

(my words, not Felix's)

The detention room where suspects are brought in and held, rarely more than one night. From the TV's above they can monitor the whole complex from just this room.

Besides a men and womens holding room is this Bio-hazard room. I was thinking, maybe someone who had radiation...but no, the room does not circulate the air to other parts of the build and if they bring in some who has crossed the border illigally...and has a caugh...he/she goes straight into this room. Felix said with all the world travelers, spreading who knows what around, they perfer to play it safe. I guess he could never handle casino work.

On the way out we got the sales pitch (even though not one of us were under 60) for joining the Border Patrol and all the benefits it provides. He did outline what you would be going through...and they don't just pick whomever...they only want the smartest and most fit to apply.

I will say in this day and age of "Black lives matter", Blue lives matter" and "Support the Vets" movement...I'd sure like to see us supporting many other worthy departments, like the Custom and Border Protection in the government...minus congress! (sorry, that slipped out)