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CBP recruiting drive visits Veterans' job fair

Posted at 7:30 PM, May 04, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-05 12:38:19-04

TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - There's a hiring boom for Customs and Border Protection.  With more attention on border issues, the agency is looking to hire five thousand Border Patrol Agents and Customs Officers.

Thursday, a job fair tailored for military veterans was an ideal place to recruit.

As Customs and Border Protection works to fill more than five thousand positions, recruiters know ex military people can be a good fit.

Greg Coppo of CBP says:  "They bring that sense of duty, that sense of commitment that we're looking for.”  

Elisardo Lopez with Border Patrol add:  “Discipline and just good work ethic."

Ex Military hired by CBP can get on the job faster now that a change in Federal law lets their military security clearances apply to Customs and Border Patrol background checks.

Both Lopez and Coppo served in the military before joining CBP.  Elisardo Lopez spent 27 years in the Air Force and Air National Guard before starting a 25 year career with Border Patrol.  Greg Coppo was a military policeman in the Army.

Guy Peabody is fresh out of the Army after 26 years there.  He thinks the skills he learned as a soldier should help him find a good job for phase two of his career.

"When you do that many years in the service, a lot of times you have managerial experience, taking care of troops and stuff like that which should directly correlate to many different civilian jobs."

He says civilian jobs with the government do appeal to a lot of military vets and for him CBP might be an attractive option.