Ft. Benning vets top U.S. Border Patrol 'get list'

The U.S. Border patrol will hold a job fair in Columbus on Friday and Saturday.

A 10-member team will be signing up potential recruits at The Columbus Convention & Trade Center from 9 nine am to five pm.

Agency officials say military vets from nearby Ft. Benning are at the top of their recruiting lists, according to a report in the Ledger-Enquirer newspaper.

The event is part of a hiring drive at several US bases, aimed at attracting military personnel. Discharged vets have the background and job skills the agency wants.

On Tuesday, President George Bush visited the organization's training facility at Glynco, GA and met with officers and recruits.

After training, agents will be stationed along the Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California borders with Mexico. They will also take an intensive, Spanish-language course.

The agency wants to add 6,000 personnel to its staff, and hopes to field a total force of 20,000 by the end of 2008.

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