The United States Army faces significant budget cuts as the national debt rises and combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan end. Budgets cuts will decrease funding for training across the operational force as the Army moves to train for operations across the full spectrum of war. This monograph recommends that the Active Component (AC) of the Army maximize training opportunities by supporting the United States Border Patrol (USBP) at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels of border security. USBP works in a complex operating environment where the agency remains undermanned securing the border of the United States and Mexico and the border of the United States and Canada. The AC supports USBP at the tactical level by providing intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and infrastructure support by building fences and walls along the border with Mexico. At the operational level, AC officers assigned to Joint Task Force North support USBP around the country by planning joint federal law enforcement operations. At the strategic level the Command and General Staff College sends one AC officer per year to USBP's Strategic Plans-Policy and Analysis Division in Washington D.C. to help in a myriad of tasks pertaining to national policy and planning. Sustained support to USBP by the AC gives commanders opportunities to become more proficient in Core Mission Essential Tasks and Mission Essential Tasks using joint dollars. In 2005, a Stryker reconnaissance squadron supported USBP for 30 days prior to training at the Joint Readiness Training Center before the unit's deployment to Iraq. This invaluable training prepared the squadron for combat operations and increased USBP illegal immigrant interdictions near the Deming Station in Deming, New Mexico. If AC battalions fail to maximize training opportunities in complex environments on the borders of the United States, then we limit unique soldier and leader experience as operations in Iraq and Afghanistan come to a close. The AC can choose to take advantage of unique training opportunities by providing support to USBP, or cling to the idea that support to border security is for the Army National Guard. The purpose of this study is to make the case for the USBP and the AC to understand each other's capabilities and what the AC can offer in the 21ST century.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student-authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. References to these studies should include the foregoing statement.