DHS consolidates all marine, air operations

Published 20 January 2006

DHS’ Customs and Border Protection bureau announced that it is consolidating all marine and aviation assets into an organization known as CBP Air and Marine. The reorganization, which took effect last Tuesday, is the final chapter in the controversial dismantling of the former Air and Marine Operations (AMO) 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.

-read more in this report