Riding The Line
The ATV Desert Safety Unit (DSU) of the U.S. Border Patrol was formed in October '01 with the mission to apprehend and detour illegal entrance of narcotics and to prevent or catch terrorists and weapons of mass destruction. That translates into keeping the bad people and their drugs out, as well as stopping anyone from entering the country illegally.
A group of about 15 officers, headed up by Captain Travis Darling, is tasked with this job. They often spend up to 10 hours (per shift) a day looking for potential "runners" who hope to cross the international line. With the use of nine Suzuki LT-Z400 and its Kawasaki and Arctic Cat cousins, the DSU prevented 5000 people from illegal entry into the country within their 37-mile jurisdiction of the border in '05. They mostly catch people, but there is the occasional smuggler in an ATV or SUV loaded down with drugs trying to make it across the border without detection.
Darling said an ATV really is the best vehicle for this terrain. An airplane or a sand rail (dune buggy) is good, too, but is easily spotted by criminals. Since any interception would require the help of ATVs anyway, the choice is obvious. From time to time, hiding is what the DSU has to do while keeping a specific area under surveillance. They even have a special vehicle they use for doing that, the Scope ATV. Named so because of the night vision scope it carries that can be raised above the dune ridge using a telescoping lift, the device allows the surveillance officer to remain unobserved while he radios fellow officers to the exact location to make a bust.
Some of you may be thinking this would be a great job-getting paid to ride quads in sand while patrolling the border. At first, I thought so until I rode part of a shift with them. The first question they asked after I signed the release waiver was, "Do you want a [bulletproof] vest to wear?" Stupidly, I asked if they were wearing vests and they all quickly said yes. So I took one and asked myself if this story was such a good idea after all.
If you've never visited Southern California, it's hard to imagine what spending 40-plus hours a week on an ATV in the sand would be like. Temperatures reach 115 degrees in the summer and drops to just above freezing in the winter-just barely. The nearly ever-present wind is a natural cause for grief with this job. Blowing sand is hard enough to see in, let alone patrolling the dunes while looking for illegal aliens and staying out of trouble. This is a 24/7-job that requires a lot of personal sacrifice.
Cruising the border during nice weather isn't bad, it is the waiting in the bushes and dune bowls that takes the glamour out of the job. "I've spent some of my shifts laying on my belly in a bowl while keeping an eye on one particular area. It's no fun eating a sandwich while baking in 100-degree sand," explained border patrol officer Mark Battaglini. The busy season for the border patrol officers is the same as for the dune enthusiasts-from about Halloween to Easter. "They take advantage of the crowds and try to blend in," Darling said. Staying one step ahead of the bad guys, the DSU implemented undercover ATVs to look like typical duners, to make blending in much easier. Of course, they wouldn't share any of these secrets with me (not even what model they use) for security reasons.
Training to be in the DSU takes a full week. The first day is completing the ATV Safety Institute (ASI) course, with the remaining time spent training in the dunes, in the patrol areas. The 400cc units are in stock form, for the most part. Larger fuel tanks, additional lights, some underbody armor and the occasional small rear rack are the only modifications. "It is important to have ATVs that are liquid-cooled with enough power to negotiate the bigger dunes easily," Darling said.
He also mentioned that this is one of the most-desired units within the U.S. Border Patrol. Rotations for this detail last six months with one chance to extend, and there is a waiting list to get into the unit. "Most of the people in this detail are ATV enthusiasts already. They may not ride as much on their own time after becoming part of the DSU, but they enjoy the sport," Darling said.