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.