Driver Lifestyles

On The Border: Matt and Katy Foscue

The typical Expediters Online Driver Profile is a mini-biography of a driver or couple; it details their careers before discovering expedited trucking, their thoughts about the industry, their business techniques and other information of interest. 

It's not typical for us to report on the folks who leave this business for other careers but Matt and Katy Foscue are not your typical couple.

The Foscues were the subjects of a Driver Profiles article in 2002.  For an in-depth look at the couple and their backgrounds, click here.

When the Hours of Service regulations were changed last year, the Foscues felt it was time for a change of vocation.  But, when these veteran expediters purchased a house outside of Tucson, Arizona, little did they suspect that a new career and lifestyle opportunity was awaiting them.

"What drove us out of trucking was the HOS change when they eliminated the split sleeper berth," says Matt.  "That, along with some growing concerns for our health, forced us to look for a new way to make a living."

Matt says that the physical aspect was one of the key components in their decision to leave expedite.  "On the longer driving shifts, we noticed pain in the knees and ankles when we would get out of the truck.  Eight years of sitting behind a steering wheel had taken their toll." 

"It was basically a matter of, what do we do now?" he says.  "We had already purchased our home in the Tucson area and we wanted to retire there.   For sure, we had to keep working until then, so we considered our options. Should Katy go back into occupational therapy, should I go back into real estate?  What can we do in our area to make a living?"

Exploring the options
"It's tough to find a good paying job in the Southwest. I thought about maybe a temporary job driving a truck locally but you can have a CDL and will find a job only paying 10 bucks an hour."
 
"We even gave thought to purchasing another straight truck and outfitting it as a water tender/fire fighting truck.  One that carries a 3,000-4,000 gallon water tank and a compressed-air foam system with cannon.  An owner can contract with fire fighting agencies and the pay for that is pretty amazing."

Matt tells us that it was a trip to the barber that set the couple on their new career paths.

"When I was getting a haircut," he explains, "the barber told me about a few of his customers who were Border Patrol agents and it sounded like a great job.  We met some agents and what they told us really piqued our interest.  Katy's reaction was 'let's take a look at it and find out what it's all about.'"

But, he says, there was little time to consider the opportunity:  "It was a now or never career change, because I'm 36 and Katy's 35. There is an age cutoff at 37 and we were fast approaching it."  
 
Matt says that the lengthy application process for a position in federal law enforcement is more than just filling out forms:  "We had to deadhead home for interviews and so on, so we lost substantial revenue during the vetting process.  One time we deadheaded from Manhattan to Arizona for a background interview."

"I don't know how a person with a regular job could take the time off to go through the process.  Luckily, we could just take ourselves out of service and get home."

Matt continues, "The vetting/background check of applicants takes a very long time. We started the paperwork in August 2005 and were finally approved in April and May 2006.  And, although our paperwork went in at exactly the same time, Katy "Entered on Duty" in May and I EoD'd a month later. Bureaucracy!"

Matt says that they had some loose ends to tie up:  "We focused on making sure the truck was in great shape to enhance its resale value and maintaining our safety record.  We wanted to leave the business on a good note."

He says, "The day after I listed the truck on EO's Free Classifieds, some friends of ours passed out fliers about the truck at a contractor's breakfast and I got a call shortly after that.  We sold the truck to another White Glove couple who have a matching KW, except their truck is a little fancier.  It turns out that we could have sold the truck five times over through the classified ad, so it all worked out." 

"We delivered the truck to the White Glove couple in Illinois, flew home and called it a career." 

Matt states that expedited trucking still holds appeal for the Foscues:
"We love expediting and we will happily go back to it if we need to. We've maintained our qualifications with FedEx and some friends of ours have us listed as their drivers.  We want to keep our options open because our new careers are still up in the air.  We have four more tests to pass, at the seven month and ten month periods.  These tests are in Spanish and Law and if we fail either one, we'll be let go on the spot."

A new life
Katy reported for training in May and Matt began his new adventure in June.  The U.S. Border Patrol Academy is located in Artesia, NM, 450 miles from their Tucson home.  Matt describes the accommodations as "college-style dorm room, the size and quality level of a Motel 6." However, he says, "The food was pretty good."

Click here to read about Katy's training experience.

The Border Patrol academy is five months long and the trainees are subject to a seemingly endless barrage of tests.  If a trainee scores below 70 percent in any category, he's gone.

"For five months,” says Matt,  "you are in intensive physically-oriented training all day long and you have to study late into the night.  Eight hours of sleep is almost unheard of - four or five hours is more typical."

"The academy is legendary for its PT (Physical Techniques) and it's very tough.  To my surprise, I was awarded top in the class for my PT score.  Being one of the oldest guys in the class, I was very proud to win that award."

Katy explains that the instructors expect the recruits to be in top physical shape when they arrive at the school and she says that she and Matt witnessed a number of their classmates drop out or fail in their respective classes.

She tells us, "As soon as we found out how strenuous the physical requirements were, we started training before we left for the school."

"It's really tough on the women.  The instructors say that they expect the women to do everything the men can do.  They aren't kidding! The training can be very violent, with heavy emphasis on combat skills and defensive tactics."

One example of the extreme physical tests imposed on the trainees was an exercise in which Matt squared off against three of his classmates armed with only a padded baton.  He says, "You pretty much get clobbered!"

Another exercise found Matt being pepper-sprayed and then required to subdue an assault suspect. 
 
The training had more than its share of book learnin' too, Matt says:
"We had 3 hours of Spanish instruction every day for a total of 220 hours over the 5 month training cycle.  It's surprising how hard it is to learn; I'm still at or below a beginner level.  I can give commands, understand basic sentences and I can ask questions - the stuff I need to do my job."

The training covered pursuit driving on both high-speed and low speed courses along with a Teflon-coated skid pad with sprinkler system.  An instructor off-course can remotely lock up the rear brakes and send the trainee's vehicle into a slide. 

Matt remembers, "We spent a lot of time on the range with the .40 caliber handgun and the 12 gauge shotgun.  We also spent many hours on Operations - how to process aliens, complete paperwork, operate the radio, cut signs and track and perform vehicle inspections, etc."

The couple admits that there were fleeting moments of self-doubt:   Katy says, "There were times when I thought, I don't want to get up and do this today or I don't want to study for that test. Fortunately, Matt and I were never on the bubble, but we had a few classmates who were on the verge of being sent home with every test."

On the job
Upon graduation from the academy, Matt explains there was little time for the couple to celebrate: "You find out your assignment before you even take the job and go through training. 

"Katy is assigned to the Tucson station and I'm assigned to Soninga, AZ, so we're both able to commute to our stations.  But, because the illegal immigration problem is fluid and ever-changing in area, a Border Patrol agent can be detailed to a station anywhere in the country."

"Our primary mission is stopping terrorism and immigration is secondary.  We put in some long hours in this job; we work a minimum of 50 hours a week.  Katy has been working up to 11 hours a day. We're in a probationary status for the next two years so we have to keep our noses clean."

Katy has been riding in an SUV with a training officer and tells us, "It's a lot of fun, driving down a dirt road at night with the lights out, wearing night vision goggles.  It's very exciting!"  She adds that she was surprised to discover just how heavy her duty belt and equipment turned out to be.

She states that it's a tough job and, "it's cold in the desert at night!" 

She's already been involved in a number of apprehensions of illegal’s. "It can be dangerous and you don't want to become complacent.  I'm very thankful that they really drill officer safety into you at the academy."

For his part, Matt says that his first day on the job included carrying 80 pound bundles of marijuana out of a canyon, the evidence from a previous night's apprehension.

"It's pretty cool," he says.  "That day, we also went four-wheeling across the desert and I spent time processing aliens.  It's a lot of action and the day flies by!"

Matt says that even though he and Katy are still in the early stages of this career, he's been impressed with the dedication of his fellow agents:  "There's a good group of people out here working and doing the best job they can under a lot of pressure."

"We hope that it will be easier to save money because of the automatic saving programs in place with the new jobs.  This is basically my first venture outside of self-employment, so it's interesting.  Another benefit of federal law enforcement is we'll be eligible for retirement in twenty years and that's a real incentive."

Ironically, Matt says that he had never considered a career in law enforcement. 

"Look where we are now!"