Lawmakers seek inquiry into Homeland Security aviation program

Two Republican lawmakers are seeking an inquiry into the recent reorganization of aviation assets at Homeland Security.

In a Nov. 4 letter to Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, Reps. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., say the reorganization has "altered fundamental missions… and put national security at risk."

The lawmakers' four-page letter, written by Sessions, cites a new "bifurcated chain of command" and a fixation on border security to the exclusion of other missions as factors that have hurt efficiency and compromised broader national security needs. Aides to Sessions and Rogers did not respond to requests for comment.

The lawmakers' concerns stem from Homeland Security's decision earlier this year to merge aviation assets in the Customs and Border Protection bureau. The organization formerly known as Air and Marine Operations, a legacy Customs unit whose historic mission was to provide support for counter-drug operations, was joined with aviation assets controlled by the Border Patrol.

The new organization, known as CBP Air, is now largely under the operational control of the Border Patrol, and its top priority is border security.

Homeland Security is increasingly under pressure from the public and Congress to improve border security and stem the tide of illegal immigration. The merger of aviation assets was seen by some senior department officials as a way to streamline operations and redirect what some believed were underused aviation assets toward border security.

But the merger has not gone down well with some pilots and administrators formerly with AMO who believe it is hurting broader security missions, such as counter-drug and counterterrorism support to other law enforcement agencies, including Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau, and outside agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI.

Contributing to the rancor between the old AMO and the Border Patrol is the fact that the two stem from vastly different cultures. AMO aviators view themselves as members of a professional air force trained to support a variety of law-enforcement missions, whereas in the Border Patrol, air operations are viewed as just one tool among many in achieving the agency's mission. Border Patrol pilots must first become successful ground agents before they can apply for pilot positions.

Since Homeland Security absorbed both agencies two and a half years ago, the Border Patrol, with its clear mission to secure the land borders, has seen its stature grow in the new bureaucracy, whereas the multimission AMO has struggled to find its place. When Homeland Security was first created, AMO was part of ICE, but last November the agency was moved to CBP. The turmoil is only expected to increase as some members of Congress and other outside observers are recommending the department merge those two organizations.

Sessions and Blackburn said in their letter that, on Oct. 14, they visited CBP Air operations in Texas at the El Paso Border Patrol Sector and in San Angelo and found that "Border Patrol Sector Chiefs with limited or no aviation experience are ill prepared to carry on this sophisticated multimission air strategy within CBP Air." Such criticism riles Border Patrol officials. Although none reached by Government Executive were willing to discuss the issue on the record, one veteran agent with broad experience says, "The Customs pilots simply do not like the fact that they are being directed to fly border security."

CBP spokeswoman Kristi Clemens could not be reached for comment.

Before requesting the inquiry from the House Appropriations Committee, Sessions articulated his concerns to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in an Oct. 27 letter: "To Border Patrol, border security comes first--as it should, this is their main responsibility. However, managing CBP Air with this same border-focused approach risks compromising other efforts equally critical to our national security."

Chertoff's spokesman, Russ Knocke, said, "We have received the representative's letter, and we will address his concerns in a prompt response."