Bringing the private citizen into the effort is an ongoing policy of the Department of Homeland Security and DHS supports citizens and citizen watch groups by offering training. BPAUX will provide that training and a coordinated link between the citizen and DHS. Additionally BPAUX will provide training and support for local Disaster Preparedness Programs.
“We wanted to find a way that Citizen Watch Groups could become properly trained in border watch activities and more actively involved in the entire homeland security process. The DHS Certified Training for Citizen Watch Groups is the answer and BPAUX will be offering it nationwide” noted Ken Dreger BPAUX Leader. “In addition, our leadership has more than 125,000 hours of border watch experience and have developed a solid working relationship with BP and DHS. Some members are former Border Patrol Agents themselves.”
Members can participate in a wide variety of activities and living on or near the US Borders is not a requirement. BPAUX has a Nationwide BPAUX CYBERWATCH program where members can surf the web looking for threats to the country and forward that information to a central threat center for dissemination to DHS. Cyber Watchers can also monitor Border Cams and report incursions to the threat center as well.
A Marine Division is in the works whereby members can watch waterways in border areas for unusual activity and report that activity to Border Patrol. Many areas like San Diego, Texas and Florida as well as northern Border States report daily incursions. Members will be required to complete Coast Guard Boater Safety Training as well as specialized BPAUX training.
A Light Air Wing for Ultra-Lite enthusiasts, Disaster Preparedness and Civil Defense Training as well as boots on the ground border watch efforts round out the BPAUX activities.
“There are more than 300 citizen border watch groups in this country today. Our goal is to provide proper training and a coordinated effort to maximize their effectiveness. This is a non-political, synergistic approach to border security. We applaud those citizen watch groups who have taken the bold step to bring about significant change. This is not about competing but more about bringing a collective national voice to their efforts.” reported Carl Braun, BPAUX Leader. “This is a great way to work with BP and DHS in a semi-official capacity.” he added.
Prospective members must successfully complete a felony background check provided by BPAUX and be interviewed to ensure no racist, bigoted, nativist or xenophobic tendencies or beliefs are exhibited. Citizens with no other border watch experience or affiliation may join as well as individuals involved in current border watch efforts provided they comply with BPAUX rules and guidelines.
BPAUX is non-political and is focused exclusively on Homeland Security. It has no direct affiliations with any other organization except the Homeland Security Policy Institute Group.
Citizens interested in membership should visit http://www.BPAUX.org for more information. Membership benefits include monthly newsletter, The Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report (threat report) that goes to the White House Staff as well as many local, state, & federal agencies across America, a voucher for use in the BPAUX Pro Shop and ability to participate in all BPAUX activities.
