Border Patrol Agent - NB Take 2

[Gringe]

Hey Guys,

I already know there is a BPA thread open, but I would like this one specified to those applying for the Northern Border. That way us NB applicants don't have to go on a hunt for information.

Anyone applied for this new announcement? I have compressed testing in Orlando, FL on Feb 14. Geo Preference: Buffalo, NY

[Drew23]

I have compressed testing February 10 in Buffalo, NY.
Geographic Preference: Buffalo Sector

[500pearl]

Drew, are you from Buffalo? I was looking at the notice, it states 15 months down at SB is required (10 months after training is completed) before transferring back to the NB. Is that accurate?

[Drew23]

500,

Yes, I'm from the Buffalo area.

Yes, it is 15 months on the SB and then you are transferred to your NB station

[500pearl]

went to college up near you. you a sabres fan? duff's fan?

[slami]

Is there a current opening for the Northern Border? I am scheduled to take the exam in mid February in Buffalo but was only allowed to select Texas, Arizona or California during the online application.

[audi0xpl0de]

Is there a current opening for the Northern Border? I am scheduled to take the exam in mid February in Buffalo but was only allowed to select Texas, Arizona or California during the online application.


Yes, if you go a little into the new application it will have a screen where you can select the NB sector you would like to apply for.

[Drew23]

went to college up near you. you a sabres fan? duff's fan?


I went to Canisius.

Love the Sabres, but believe it or not, I've never been to Duff's go figure lol.

[slami]

Yes, if you go a little into the new application it will have a screen where you can select the NB sector you would like to apply for.

Thank you, sir. This is fantastic since I much prefer the Northern Border to the Southern Border.

Off topic - is Duff's the one on Sheridan Dr.? I think I pass it every time I go to the car dealer and have yet to stop by, but I hear amazing things about their wings.

[TXICE]

Anyone venture to guess what the most sought after NB Sectors will be? Im guessing Buffalo, Blaine and Spokane will be the top three in which applicants choose.

[brandonthelaw]

There is considerable angst expressed from many senior agents who have wanted to go north for several years against this program that sends nuggets up there almost immediately. For years, the NB has been thought of as a privilege that salty dogs can put in for in order to spend the waning days of their career in (for most NB stations) a quieter, less stressful environment near their hometowns.

The source of the contention lies in the fact that the last process for tranferring agents north ran into trouble with the union, which believed that it was an unfair process. Consequently, the administration has gone over the head of the union, and has now (apparently) pulled the option for moves north for senior agents at least for the foreseeable future. These NB stations are not undermanned for lack of agents' interest in transferring there (except stations in Maine, Montana, and North Dakota), but rather for lack of agreement on how the transfers can be accomplished (funded). There are many agents stuck on the SB who want to get back home to the NB for a variety of reasons. Many of these agents will be your instructors at the academy and your FTOs and Journeymen if you eventually get back to your station. Despite what you may hear elsewhere, the academy and the post-academy training is no joke. My class suffered nearly 50% attrition at the academy, and several more have been fired/quit since getting back to their stations. If you put in for a NB slot and get selected for the position, you will have a target on your back during your entire time down here and I can assure you that your experience will be even more miserable than the average nugget. :cool: Good luck nonetheless. No one can blame you for your choices, I'm just giving you a heads up for the potential consequences should you choose to shirk what many agents believe is your necessary time (several years) on the line (SB).:rolleyes:

[Hugh Huckner]

I took the test, and passed, back in October. I had the oral board and medical scheduled, but due to family reasons, I had to back out.
But now with those issues resolved, and the NB option, I re-applied and I'm starting the process over, with the exception of the test obviously.

Oh, and I applied for Grand Forks Sector, and I'm hoping to get one specific station there.

[SHU]

I'm also in the FTU on the SW Border and I agree with most of what you are saying but I say let them go. If anybody is applying to the patrol and they want to be close to there home and they have the chance to do it with this program I say let them go. I don't want anything to do with the northern border and I'd probably quit if I had to go there but I don't think anybody should hold it against them for going there but some probably will. But even if you are not going to the northern border people are still going to treat you like crap so go ahead and do it if you want the cold. But I strongly suspect that the agents up on the northern border will probably treat them even worse than the agents training them on the southern border for quite some time.:D
And in my sector, a PAIC told some of my fellow trainees that when they were finished with their probationary period he would not stand in their way as far as a unpaid move to the northern border.

[madchiken]

But SHU, the experience you gain in the next 18 months is more than most NB trainees will see in their entire career. Especially at your station, with the checkpoints and the large area and terrain we cover.

[SHU]

But SHU, the experience you gain in the next 18 months is more than most NB trainees will see in their entire career. Especially at your station, with the checkpoints and the large area and terrain we cover.

I totally agree with you. They will not have the opportunity to learn the job in the same way a agent would around here. In one month a journeyman agent at my station probably does the same amount of aps that the average agent on the NB does in a couple of years. But a lot of these guys who want to go up north, if they can't go, they will probably quit. And most people I know do not want to go up there but that maybe different in other sectors. I don't have a answer to it. All I know is I like where I'm at and I would start looking for another position if they forced me to go up there. I suspect many of the agents in the sector we work in feel the same way but I know some do not. I've had enough cold weather in my life. But I would not stand in the way of anybody who wants to go home. I do know that PA take home pay goes a lot farther up north but its still not worth it to me. Money is not everything. I'd rather spend my days off at the beach.:D

[Red Swan]

I work in Grand Forks Sector.. not as BP but deputy in border county.. anyways Border Patrol Agents hear are mostly bored 24/7 and follow us around to calls so they have something to do. Sector here they have had no calls since Dec 13th to date.. Feb 1... They have hourly status checks so they are required to wake up every hour... some just find a spot that nobody can get to and they sleep... And they can't perform traffic stops unless they see some buddy run border which never happens, only way they can do anything is if a Deputy gives them permission on radio, or they get a border related call.. And yet they still want to double there force in the sector.. LOL... Bureaucracy in action


but I guess they pay good

[GreenLine]

I am not a Border Patrol Agent, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night :)...

Actually, I have had the opportunity in my career to work with BPA's on both the southern and now the northern border. I agree with the sentiments mentioned by Brandon as far as how the "old guys" who had to wait for years to get up there regard the "new guys" who are getting to go right out of the academy. I have yet to meet anyone up here who is that new, but there are some who were only on for a year or so before moving north. If you don't mind being thought of that way, no big deal I guess. Though I can't imagine that NOT having served on the southern border will ever help you if you want to get promoted and have to compete with guys who have BT/DT down there, but that will surely be part of the tradeoff for getting a plum duty station fresh out of the academy.

I do think a lot of the new guys I've met up here feel that they are somehow "missing out" on some things because of the difference in enforcement tempo between the north and south. Something to consider if you're one of those people who get into law enforcement for the "action."

My personal opinion, part of what makes BP agents so special and so experienced is what they get on the busy southern border. I'm not so sure I'd want to give that up in order to get a great duty station right off the bat. Yeah, the agency is allowing people to do it, but I think that's mainly a recruiting decision - not one made based on enhancing an agent's experience level.

Also, I think the thing that makes former BP agents so sought after in federal law enforcement is the massive amount of experience they get, and I don't think you'll get that up north: you'll probably get some (unless you're in Bottineau, ND :)), but I doubt as much as the guys in almost any southern border station. Just food for thought.

But of course, you have to do what you have to do, especially if duty location is a deal-breaker for the family unit. Sometimes you just have to give up career opportunities for the good of those you care about, which is why many people take jobs they might not be ecstatic about, to begin with.

As I said, though, I am not a BP Agent - these are just personal reflections from working with them over the years.

[mcdoogs]

I applied for both the SW border and Houlton, ME sector, have the test 2/24

I honestly wouldn't mind 'paying my dues' in the SW, but if I can get into Maine after 15 months that is preferable from a family standpoint than being on the SW border and never being able to transfer.

How popular is the Houlton sector among applicants and transferees?

[audi0xpl0de]

I applied for both the SW border and Houlton, ME sector, have the test 2/24

I honestly wouldn't mind 'paying my dues' in the SW, but if I can get into Maine after 15 months that is preferable from a family standpoint than being on the SW border and never being able to transfer.

How popular is the Houlton sector among applicants and transferees?

Well for those in Maine it's very popular. The testing dates were all filled up as soon as the announcement came out.

[flyfrog]

I switched from NM to Spokane Sector. I understand being an FNG at NB may be a bit unfair to some of the guys who have served. I don't make the rules, but if they aren't VRPing these days, I'm happy to be going to the snowy NW 'early'. Though some of us haven't been BP for 10 years, many of us have extensive experience in military, etc. Personally, I am excited at the option of ONLY a 50 hour week so I can spend some time with my (newborn) family. Good luck to all, SB & NB.

[GreenLine]

Though some of us haven't been BP for 10 years, many of us have extensive experience in military, etc.

I'm sure it's a good gig if you can get it, but I was talking about being inexperienced as far as actually BEING a Border Patrol Agent - if you only serve on the NB, I think you'll miss a lot of the experience that's gained down South, and military experience is vastly different from federal law enforcement. But like I said, if they're allowing it, go for it.

[SHU]

I think it is safe to say that people who want to go to the NB right off the bat are looking at the job in a very different manner than those of us who have moved across the country to our permanent duty station. You have to have different goals as far as what you want to do on the job if you are going to the NB a couple of months after the academy. They are not going to be doing much title 21 or making many aps but they are closer to home and they do not have to deal with living around the southern border. Each to his or her own but I think it is safe to say they will be viewed differently by those who work on the southern border. I wish them all the best of luck regardless of where they work.