U.S. border agents recruited to train Iraqis on securing their borders

PHOENIX — A military contractor is recruiting current and former agents with the U.S. Border Patrol to teach Iraqis how to secure their national borders.

The U.S. State Department has asked Virginia-based DynCorp International to find 120 people with Customs and Border Enforcement experience to go to Iraq for the training.

The company already has 700 police trainers in Iraq. The department made the request for border security trainers in late March.

Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano said she was worried that DynCorp's effort is distracting from security along the U.S.-Mexico border. She and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson wrote President Bush this week to say the deal "makes no sense."

"We should be focused on supporting our nation's security efforts along the Mexican and Canadian border instead of hampering (the Customs and Border Patrol) by sending our best agents to a war zone in Iraq," the governors wrote.

Agent Shannon Stevens, a Border Patrol spokeswoman, said the number of personnel DynCorp is looking for is "a very small number compared to the agents we have."

DynCorp is offering recruits $134,100 for a one-year stay, plus a $25,000 signing bonus. The first $90,000 in income is tax free, and housing and food are free, company spokesman Gregory Lagana said.

Border Patrol agents with at least two years' experience make roughly $55,000.

Arizona's Tucson sector employs 2,600 agents, and there are more than 13,350 nationwide.