“Our end goal is to create more agents,” said April McKee, a senior Border Patrol agent and mentor at the session here.
IMPERIAL, Calif. — Ten minutes into arrant mayhem in this town near the Mexican border, and the gunman, a disgruntled Iraq war veteran, has already taken out two people, one slumped in his desk, the other covered in blood on the floor. The responding officers — eight teenage boys and girls, the youngest 14 — face tripwire, a thin cloud of poisonous gas and loud shots — BAM! BAM! — fired from behind a flimsy wall. They move quickly, pellet guns drawn and masks affixed.
“United States Border Patrol! Put your hands up!” screams one in a voice cracking with adolescent determination as the suspect is subdued.
It is all quite a step up from the square knot.
The Explorers program, a coeducational affiliate of the Boy Scouts of America that began 60 years ago, is training thousands of young people in skills used to confront terrorism, illegal immigration and escalating border violence — an intense ratcheting up of one of the group’s longtime missions to prepare youths for more traditional jobs as police officers and firefighters. The training, which leaders say is not intended to be applied outside the simulated Explorer setting, can involve chasing down illegal border crossers as well as more dangerous situations that include facing down terrorists and taking out “active shooters,” like those who bring gunfire and death to college campuses. In a simulation here of a raid on a marijuana field, several Explorers were instructed on how to quiet an obstreperous lookout.
“Put him on his face and put a knee in his back,” a Border Patrol agent explained. “I guarantee that he’ll shut up.” Cathy Noriego, also 16, said she was attracted by the guns. The group uses compressed-air guns — known as airsoft guns, which fire tiny plastic pellets — in the training exercises, and sometimes they shoot real guns on a closed range.
“I like shooting them,” Cathy said. “I like the sound they make. It gets me excited.”
Oh Brother…..does anyone else see a problem here? Here’s a hint…the terrorist in this scenario is a disgruntled Iraq War Vet.
So, is there a merit badge for waterboarding yet?
Those shirts need to be a browner shade of blue.
Border Patrol taking out terrorists? Bah. If they want to explore their role in law enforcement, these Explorers should be pummeling peacefully protesting pastors (nice unintentional alliteration!) far from any international border.
There’s a difference between training kids to be prepared and having them take action.
Still something doesn’t smell right here. This is not training “to be prepared” it’s job training.
Surely its important for children to be taught to hate at an early age. Otherwise they might grow up with ‘liberal’ ideas like ‘killing is wrong’, ‘being gay is OK’ and ‘racism is bad’. When enough kids have developed enough hate, the pure Christian police state will be possible and a new dawn will emerge for America.
Why are non of those kids white? Also seems crazy like the people above mentioned.
# 26 Nathan said, “Why are non of those kids white?” Am I missing some point of humor? In the photograph, there are 6 children four of whom are undeniably white or Hispanic (which, taxonomically is still caucasian), one is probably Hispanic but may be Asian and one is clearly of doofus ethnicity. If you mean, why are they (almost) all Hispanic, RTFA – it’s the Imperial Valley in California!
The article also mentions: “Adult Explorer leaders are now required to take an online training program on sexual misconduct.” I’m unclear. Is that a “how to” course?
#15:
“So.. Gay kids are not allowed because it’s immoral yet teaching the (apparently) heterosexual kids how to hunt down and kill someone is okay? Hurray for double standards.”
This is not a ‘double standard.’
McCullough wrote:
Oh Brother…..does anyone else see a problem here? Here’s a hint…the terrorist in this scenario is a disgruntled Iraq War Vet.
The only problem I see is that these so called “Boy Scouts” should be called by their proper name… “Brown Shirts”.
As former scout and participant in the explorers this is very very very old news.
What they can’t find anything else to waggle in our faces to try and instill fear?
I am so sick of both sides using fear to try and motivate us to rally behind their pathetic useless causes.
Cursor_
We never had anything as exciting as this when I was in the Scouts!
Liberals can no longer gripe about the BSA. Obama met with them in the White House.
http://tinyurl.com/apjont
In fact, he pushed aside a state event to meet with them.
http://tinyurl.com/r4v4t9
/trolling on
If the majority approved of this president, then everybody else needs to accept his actions as “the will of the people.” You other 47% can go f*ck yourself.
/trolling off
Sorry, the NY Times isn’t a credible source.
#28, brm,
This is not a ‘double standard.’
OK, then lets call it plain old hypocrisy.
#32, Lieberty Loser,
So what is your point? Obama met with a delegation from the Boy Scouts. Big deal, that doesn’t mean he endorses anything they do.
Obama also met with Hugo Chavez. Are you claiming he espouses Chavez’s positions? He has met with Dennis Kusinich too. In fact, he met a few times with George W. Bush !!!
BTW, there was nothing in either link that suggested Obama promised the BSA anything or agreed with their program.
Taught to hate? I thought they were being taught how to protect our boarders. I guess I need to put on my liberal douchebag, self hating sunglasses to see that truth.
Sounds like they are trying to give truth to the stories that the Boy Scouts are just like the Nazi Brown Shirt group that encompassed the Hitler Youth.
# 19 McCullough,
Thanks! Mwahahaha, will try to send him the really nasty links during lunch hour >:)
In the 60s at least, there was at least one police oriented vocational Explorer post in Indianapolis, and I don’t think they were all that uncommon elsewhere at the time. A friend of mine was in that post; they used 22s for target practice on a range. I think that friend mentioned that they got to ride with police in squad cars, but they left the scene if there was potential for shooting.
The assault weapon appearance of the range rifles in the picture is odd, though, as is the post’s association with the Border Patrol.
Apparently the Pentagon has its claws into every youth organization, where wearing uniforms are the norm. Para-militarizing everything they can, in the absence of the draft. They started off by “taking over” the states’ Nation Guards, under Reagan. Which was a move to get around a restricted military budget. The states were funding the Guard. But Reagan was using them to go ABROAD, on politically shaky foreign missions. Like getting Noriega. Now that most know that the Guard isn’t a safe haven from getting shot at. The Pentagon is enticing the Scouts into the fold. Starting with “border patrol”, for now. But trust me, it won’t stop there.
A relative of mine was involved in something called Free State Youth Challenge, that gives “at risk youth” a chance to learn to fly. But it’s mainly a recruiting tool, run by the states’ National Guard. Hiding the involvement of the US military. Interesting that there is no such program rewarding good students with flying lessons. ONLY the dropouts, that the military can count on for facing a dead end job market, or joining up to fly (NOT!!) some planes. Now paintball orgies are going to be the next enticing recruitment tool.