CHAPARRAL, New Mexico (Border Report) – They call it muscle memory – an instant reaction stemming from constant practice. That’s what highly trained law enforcement officers rely on when they burst through a door and someone reaches for the back of their pants. It could be a firearm tha t will leave your spouse a widow or widower, or a cellphone meant to record a home intrusion. You have a split second to decide. Cartel drones ‘pose threat’ to US service members on border duty In the case of El Paso FBI agents, that reflex is put to the test three times a year in a firing range in the southern New Mexico desert. “The point is to prepare for the worst-case scenario none of us wants to see but all of us need to be ready for,” said John Morales, special agent in charge of the FBI El Paso Field Office. “We can do all the planning in the world, but once you go through that door, you never know what you walk into.” Cartel spy drones monitoring US Border Patrol agents Cardboard targets flip mercilessly at the Doña Ana Range Complex. Some will show a man with a gun pointed right at you. In others, the man or the woman will be holding a flashlight or a cell phone. Agents standing 5 or 15 yards away will pull the trigger or not. If a mistake is made, it’s only cardboard. A weapons instructor is at the ready to assess weaknesses and provide pointers for real-life situations where the agents cannot make mistakes. US special forces landing in Mexico to train marine infantry “The reason we practice so often and why we keep ingraining that muscle memory into our agents is that when we do go out, when we are executing an operation, we make sure it is done in the safest way possible so that our agents come out safe and unharmed,” Morales said, “but more importantly, that the public whom we serve is safe and unharmed as well.” Few can remember the last time an FBI agent, if ever, shot a suspect in El Paso. That’s not because of lack of occasions where things could have gone wrong. “We do search warrants, arrest warrants. A lot of the time if the individuals are in their house, in their yard they’re not just going to stand still. They’re going to move back and forth,” said George H., an FBI weapons instructor. The agents are taught to keep their eye on the subject, true, but they’re also trained to deter and de-escalate. “When the FBI carries out an operation, we take an overwhelming force of professional, highly trained agents who have been instructed since the academy to defuse any unexpected situation,” Morales said. Up to a dozen agents may show up at a house – backed by local uniformed police in their squad cars. Most suspects or fugitives will do the math and give up without incident. But things have gotten more complicated in recent years. All it takes is finding a video with your smart phone and have access to a 3-D printer to turn a semi-automatic gun or rifle fully automatic. “These are not the times when one has a six-shooter,” Morales said. “Nowadays, it’s extremely easy for someone to take a semi-automatic weapon and modify it and turn it into an automatic weapon. On top of that, we have high-powered, high-caliber rifles that are readily available, and we encounter them very frequently.” Visit the BorderReport.com homepage for the latest exclusive stories and breaking news about issues along the U.S.-Mexico border Other than the muscle memory from their training, the other element federal agents rely on in times of danger is trust in each other. "Teamwork is the key to success," Morales said. ...read more read less