New graduates welcomed to the U.S. Border Patrol BORSTAR team

The U.S. Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue team (BORSTAR) hosted a graduation ceremony Tuesday morning, welcoming new agents to their special operations unit.

According to the Customs and Border Patrol website (cbp.gov), the special unit for the federal agency was created in 1998 in response to the growing number of injuries to Border Patrol agents and migrant deaths along our nation’s borders. Their headquarters is at the U.S. Border Patrol’s Special Operations Group (SOG) Headquarters in El Paso, Texas.

The ceremony was at the Wyndham hotel on Airway at 10 a.m. with Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kathryn Brinsfield as the keynote speaker.

Agents for this unit receive specialized training in emergency medical, tactical medicine, paramedic, tactical combat casualty care, operations and management, and cold-weather operations, among other specialized training.