Border Patrol 'search and rescue' agents train to save lives
Lauren Villagran
El Paso Times
FORT BLISS ARMY POST — A dozen U.S. Border Patrol agents trained in search and rescue ran into rolling hills of red sand carrying medical gear and blank-firing rifles.
The story went that a rancher had reported two migrants were stranded; one was shot and struggling to breathe. Blue, a black Labrador K-9, led the team through mesquite and creosote brush, tracking scent and sign to find the men.
The scenario was a controlled simulation of a deadly serious rescue: the final exam for an elite class of Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue, better known as BORSTAR.
“With BORSTAR we’re trained differently compared with a medic in an urban environment,” said Philip Vanous, Border Patrol Special Operations supervisor during the August training event. “We train our folks in security and long-term field care, how we are going to treat a patient when we don’t have a hospital six to 10 minutes away.”
https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/2022/08/27/border-patrol-borstar-agents-train-dangerous-terrain/65459992007/
