The specific character of border troops' performance of their operational and service tasks at border security posts and "hot spots" makes it necessary to analyze in depth and study the problems of how to improve the training of graduates and how to motivate the cadets enrolled in higher educational institutions of Russia's Federal Security Service to learn and to pursue service in the future. This is doubly important as the border security service has been placed under a new jurisdiction, and because of the increasing difficulty of the tasks and conditions. With this aim, a survey was conducted at the Khabarovsk Border Security Institute for the purpose of determining what motivates cadets to enroll in an institution of that profile, to study and learn, and to acquire the skills of professionalism and the qualities that can ensure the formation of a new system for the defense and security of the state borders of the Russian Federation. The sample included half of the cadets in the fourth and fifth years of study, one-third in the first and second years of study, and half of the instructors. Analysis showed that the overwhelming majority of the cadets are proud to point out that they belong to the Federal Security Service of Russia, an elite security structure. Of particular importance in this analysis is the study of motivational attitudes. On the whole, the practice of admitting school students who were enrolled in classes of a military orientation before entering a higher military educational institution has proved to be successful. In two years of such school instruction it is possible to assess objectively the future cadet's potential to learn as well as his personal qualities, and to give him some idea about the overall nature of the military service that awaits him. From 1999 through 2004, about 35 percent of the cadets were dismissed from the institute because of "lack of willingness to learn." Practically all of these had no motivation to learn and to enter military service or were poorly motivated when they enrolled in the institute, or else they became disillusioned with the profession while in the institute. (Contains 1 table.)