DHS directorate to restructure aviation assets
New organization will have about 250 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
In what appears to be the first step in dismantling the Air and Marine Operations organization within Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection bureau, aviation assets in AMO and the Border Patrol will be integrated into a single structure within CBP, Commissioner Robert Bonner said Thursday in a message to employees.
The move will consolidate aviation-related training, maintenance and procurement across the bureau, and follows months of analysis on how best to manage aviation programs that had evolved over time for different purposes. AMO, formerly part of the U.S. Customs Service before it was rolled into the Homeland Security Department in 2003, was created to interdict drug smuggling in the Caribbean and across the Southwest border. The Border Patrol uses aircraft to track and apprehend illegal immigrants.
The new aviation organization, which will be known as "CBP Air", will be headed by a new assistant commissioner. It will have about 250 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, nearly 600 pilots and hundreds of other ground personnel, said Gary Bracken, communications director for CBP Air.
According to Bonner's message, CBP Air will be "the largest federal air force outside the Department of Defense."
The assistant commissioner will provide administrative management of CBP Air, ensuring pilots are trained and aircraft are maintained. Charles Stallworth, formerly director of AMO, will become acting assistant commissioner.
Because the aviation requirement varies widely across CBP, "field commanders" will direct the day-to-day operations of personnel assigned to their geographical area based on mission priorities.
"By more closely aligning tactical control with operational field managers, we will make more effective use of our air assets to support our operational strategy," Bonner said.
A CBP Air Operations Council will "consider cross-cutting issues and make recommendations on key operational and tactical control matters," Bonner said. The council will be chaired by Bonner and include the deputy commissioner, the assistant commissioner for CBP Air, the chief of the Border Patrol and other senior leaders.
According to Bonner, the new organization will open up training and career opportunities for pilots: "Those of you who have chosen a career as a pilot in CBP have done so for two reasons: You want to be a law enforcement officer and you want to fly. With the new CBP Air, you will get to do more of both."
Implementation will be phased in by Oct. 1.
In addition, Bonner said, decisions about merging marine assets in AMO and the Border Patrol will be announced in the near future.