uniforms of the border patrol

Throughout the museum are various samples of Border Patrol uniforms worn throughout the years. When the Border Patrol was established in May of 1924, there was no money allocated for uniforms, an additional funding bill rectified this in December of 1924, and uniforms began being distributed throughout the service the following year.  Early pictures of Border Patrolmen generally show them in dress uniform, as was mandated by policy. Rough duty uniforms did not begin to appear until the late 1940s, and early 1950.

Examples of those early rough duty uniforms as well as the better-known uniforms of the late fifties, through 2007 are also on display. In 2007 the Department of Homeland Security approved a change from the more police type uniform to a more useful and paramilitary style uniform.  This rough duty uniform was made of lighter fatigue like rip-stop material and for the first time in Border Patrol history displayed a permanent additional patch beside the Border Patrol patch. The metal badge was replace with a cloth badge, and the leather pistol belt was changed to a ballistic nylon material with plastic buckles. The new uniform is also on display.