TOPICS
TOPICS
Homeland Security unit to consolidate aviation, marine assets
In a long-awaited move, the Homeland Security Department's Customs and Border Protection bureau announced earlier this week that it is consolidating all marine and aviation assets into an organization known as CBP Air and Marine.
The reorganization, which took effect on Tuesday, spells the final chapter in the contentious dismantling of the former Air and Marine Operations office, a former Customs Service agency originally established to conduct counternarcotics operations in support of several federal agencies.
Last fall, in an effort to streamline operations and consolidate aviation-related training, maintenance and procurement, CBP merged aviation assets from AMO and the Border Patrol to create CBP Air. That organization has been subsumed by CBP Air and Marine, which seeks to gain similar efficiencies across marine programs.
The new agency will command a force of 651 CBP Air and Marine officers and 500 pilots, and will manage 200 boats and 263 aircraft, said Lucia Ross, a CBP Air and Marine spokeswoman.
For employees formerly with AMO, the organizational changes over the last year have been deeply frustrating. After Homeland Security absorbed Customs and 21 other agencies in 2003, AMO failed to find a comfortable fit in the new organization. In 2004, AMO was moved to CBP from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau after a funding shortfall threatened to shortchange AMO operations by $6.5 million, internal agency documents show.
In a message to employees Tuesday, acting CBP commissioner Deborah Spero said the reorganization "enable[s] us to increase our mission effectiveness and gain efficiencies in a number of key areas" as the new organization oversees marine training, safety and standards, vessel procurement and maintenance.
Tactical control over marine assets will mirror control previously established for aviation assets: Day to day, Border Patrol sector chiefs will command assets in their area of operations along the northern and southern borders, while directors of air operations will exercise tactical control of marine assets in Miami, New Orleans and what is known as the Ramey Sector, which includes Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Operational control of marine assets, like that of aviation assets, rests with the CBP commissioner, who ultimately will decide if assets need to be redistributed to better meet the bureau's priorities.
Additionally, two new occupational specialties will be established to reflect the diverse working environments within the organization.
The "CBP Marine Interdiction Agent" specialty will designate captaining skills and expertise in coastal and lake environments, and will fall under the administrative control of the Office of CBP Air and Marine. The "Border Patrol Agent (Marine)" position will designate Border Patrol agents who work in marine environments, and will be under the administrative control of the Border Patrol.
Marine enforcement officers formerly with AMO will be converted to the CBP marine interdiction agent position by March 1.
COMMENTS
- Well, that's just great. Just like the government when you think we've gone about as low as we can go, the government stays true to form. If it makes sense, they do the opposite. Every OIG report, think tank, employees and most of the SES' agree that splintering the investigative arm of an agency from their 1st line officers makes absolutely no sense. Soooo, that's what they're going to do. I don't know if anyone has read the latest revision of the bill that was for the merger of CBP and ICE with specialized divisions for immigration, customs and agriculture. It's changed drastically since it was first submitted (check it out on Thomas). Now it calls for no merger of our agencies -- just better coordination (yeah, that'll work just like it has for the past three years.). And . . . they intend to splinter off Air and Marine creating a new AMO agency! OI will no longer have any air support. Another cutting off of the limbs of OI. Headquarters says that we still conduct complex investigations concerning Homeland Security, yet, they tie our hands by continuing to erode the tools that allow us to perform our sworn duties. Congress better wake up before another 9/11! We were the only agencies that proactively (not reactively like the FBI) sought violators of our strategic, fraud, immigration, money laundering, etc. laws. I never thought these words would come out of my mouth but I give up! GovExec.com reader Posted January 27, 2006 8:16 PM
- As a 19-year veteran of legacy Customs (Air & Marine), a better "fit" would have been to transfer the entire program to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Our time spent within DHS, first at ICE, and now in CBP has successfully turned quarter horses into pack mules. Historically, we have successfully executed a wide variety of classified and unclassified missions throughout the Western Hemisphere. We contributed significantly to our Nation’s safety prior to, and after 9/11. Border Patrol is only interested in whether or not the person and aircraft are capable of “cutting sign.” I, and my fellow colleagues, respect the Border Patrol mission. However, AMO personnel and equipment bring much more to the table. The vast majority of our aircraft are not designed to “cut sign.” Therefore, the Border Patrol is perplexed as to how to utilize many of these resources that now fall under their tactical control. All of these resources could be integrated fully into DEA’s mission tomorrow. Anyone heard of the “War on Drugs”? Anyone realize that drug trafficking organizations and terrorist organizations have forged a symbiotic relationship? Has anyone heard of the FARC and ELN in Colombia and the Shining Path in Peru? What about the Taliban and its relationship to heroin production? Terrorist and drug trafficking organizations have hit the trifecta. They reap billions of dollars in the narcotics trade to fund criminal and terror activity. They poison our population with cocaine, heroin, and other drugs. And, by virtue of their existence, they de-stabilize democratic nations and institutions. It is too bad the subject matter experts so called the Gang of Five (www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ article/2005/12/21/AR2005122102327_pf.html) did not have a clue. It is also unfortunate that CBP is not capable of managing these resources for the department. Shouldn’t FEMA, Secret Service, Coast Guard, and ICE have unfettered access to these resources should the need arise? These are national assets, not Border Patrol Sector Chief assets. The national spotlight on immigration will diminish just as the “War on Drugs” has. I, like many others within AMO, will be opting for retirement from this train wreck at the earliest opportunity. GovExec.com reader Posted January 20, 2006 7:04 PM
