TexasCHLforum.com

He very quickly earned the nickname "Shakespeare" (from his ready supply of quotes for all occasions) at the Academy. Yesterday, he earned his badge.



He still has several weeks of intensive Spanish classes before he heads to his first duty station, but he's now, officially, US Border Patrol Agent Thane. Needless to say, we're button-busting proud of our son.

There were a total of 38 men and 3 women in his graduating class, and they're being stationed in Yuma, Willcox, Tucson, and Deming NM. They're now brethren in the "Thin Green Line." Please pray that God will keep all the graduates of the 722d class in His care, and that they will each be a credit to their respective teams, their families, and to our country.

Congrats Thane. You have a special place in my heart. I am tickled to get to see more than that one eye.
Good job young man.
LT

Congratulations Agent Thane! Be safe.
Although I pity you on the Spanish classes.

Outstanding!! Good for him!

Dan

Congrats, Thane! We're thankful that you do what you do, so that we can do what we do.

God bless you and keep you and make His eyes to shine upon you and give you safety and peace.

Blessings!!

Congratulations young fella!
Here's wishing you a long, safe and rewarding career as a member of our nations first line of defense.

Oh..and a big congratulations to mom and dad too. Speaking from experience, it's not easy raising a young man with the proper values in this day and age. Good Job!

Thane thanks for your service and the best of luck on your new career.

Many thanks.

The Spanish isn't all that bad. Yes, it's pretty intensive immersion, but we've got four superb instructors and a pretty good program. In four days, I've learned more Spanish than I had in two years during high school.

I'll be heading to Deming somewhere around the end of March.

And no, I'm not as young as I look in that picture. The bald head just makes me look younger; I'm 23, but I think it makes me appear to be sixteen. As for why my head is shaved... well... I lost a bet, and we'll leave it at that.

Looking forward to finishing up my training and getting to work.

Thane.

Congrats and best of luck to you.

Jason

Congradulatons an best of luck. I know your mom and dad have to be proud.

congrats Thane, im actualy going through the process myself. i have my oral review comming up. any advice would be welcome. how is the room and board at the acadamy?

Congratulations, Agent Thane.

bigdook wrote:congrats Thane, i'm actually going through the process myself. i have my oral review coming up. any advice would be welcome. how is the room and board at the academy?

Congratulations and good luck. We need lots of good men and women on the border, and I'm glad to see others choosing this field as well.

As for how the room and board are, well... The Academy has fully switched over to the 55/40 day program; that is, 55 days of "regular" training and 40 days of Spanish training for non-speakers. During the 55 days, you'll be packed into a tiny room with a roommate. There really isn't enough space to turn around in those little rooms. They're furnished reasonably; it's just that they're rather small. After graduation, non-Spanish-speakers enter the 40-day Spanish program, while those who already know the language go directly to the field. If you go into the Spanish program, they will have you move to a different dorm. These rooms are slightly larger; more importantly, they're single rooms. They're far more comfortable.
Room and board are not charged to you; those expenses are part of your training.
The food is decent, but it won't win any five-star rating (or even a three-star). Even so, it beats cooking for oneself.

Advice? Study well, and don't get hurt. Injury and poor grades are the two biggest reasons trainees have to leave the Academy. We lost two trainees to bad grades in the final two weeks of the regular program. Neither studied well, if at all.

Oh, and getting sprayed with OC is the worst pain imaginable.

All in all, keep your grades up, don't give up, and keep your nose clean, and you'll do just fine.

Good luck on your application process, and I'll see you in the field.