see also: in October 2007 News Releases:   Cocaine Smuggler Tries To Trick El Paso CBP Officers by Hiding Drugs in Car Body   Border Patrol Agents in Texas Seize Marijuana Worth $1 Million Hidden Under Watermelons   Fingerprint Check Allows Border Patrol to Arrest Murder Suspect   Border Patrol Texas Task Force Seizes 500 Pounds of Marijuana   CBP Officers at Mail Facility Find Marijuana in Cement Statues, Opium   Tecate, Calif. Cargo Processing Port to Resume Operations Wednesday Morning   CBP at Newark Airport Discovers Man with Fraudulent Documents, False Claim to U.S. Citizenship ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Yuma, Ariz. — With more than 36 recruiting events behind them during fiscal year 2007, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol’s Yuma sector recruiting team is well on its way to helping the Border Patrol reach it goal of hiring a total of 6,000 agents by the end of 2008.

Charged with enticing applicants to pursue a rewarding career as a Border Patrol agent, the recruiting team is doing all it can as it prepares to start the FY ‘08 recruiting season, which began Oct. 1.

"We are committed to attracting and recruiting the best and the brightest," said Yuma Sector’s Chief Patrol Agent Paul Beeson. "We are pulling out all the stops and using some non-traditional methods to attract new recruits."

According to Beeson, some of the methods the Border Patrol has incorporated include Internet advertising, attendance at sporting events, sponsorship of sports teams and franchises and showcasing all the patrol has to offer on its recruiting vehicles, which resemble mobile billboards.

In fact, aside from attending several sports venues, such as Yuma Scorpions and Reno, Nev., Silversox baseball games, as well as NASCAR events, the Yuma sector prominently displays itself on two newly wrapped vehicles—a 2007 Chevy Tahoe and Dodge Charger. And both vehicles draw attention wherever they go.

"We’ve had an overwhelmingly positive response to our vehicles from people of all ages," Chief Beeson said. "The wraps are an inexpensive way to advertise and these new vehicles are intended to be an attention grabber for prospective applicants."

Along with the vehicle wraps, the distinctive Border Patrol logo can be seen at various NASCAR events thanks to a sponsorship of the #28 Busch Cup race car driven by Derrike Cope, Johnny Sauter, Jeff Green and Robert Richardson Jr.

As a result of the Yuma Sector’s recruiting efforts, manpower has increased to about 850 agents from a little more than 500 just one year ago. And the sector is slated to receive nearly 350 additional agents in FY ‘08.

To ensure the goal is met, Yuma Sector recruiters will be out in force, planning to attend 108 events next year.

"In order for us to meet our goal of hiring 350 agents, we realistically have to have about 13,000 applicants" Chief Beeson said. "We are looking for a specific type of individual, so not everyone who applies is going to make it through the entire hiring process."

According to Chief Beeson, the hiring process to become a Border Patrol agent, which includes written, oral, physical and medical exams, an extensive background investigation and successful completion of the Border Patrol Academy, can be daunting for those who don’t know what to expect.

But, through innovative advertising, the Border Patrol and the Yuma sector are working hard to getting the word out that they are looking for men and women who are up to the challenge.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of the nation’s borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.