January 2006 Cover Story:
Homeland Guardians:
U.S. Customs & Border Protection

Story by Ron Edwards

"The unsuspecting smugglers are unable to hide. They can hear the helicopter before they see it. And when they see it, it’s too late."

Tragic disasters around the world have created a demand for a new approach to prevent deadly terrorist attacks. New challenges require enduring solutions. On September 11, 2001, the protection of America’s homeland changed from being alert to terrorist acts to daily patrols over possible national targets. These missions are assigned to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Before this could be implemented, several changes were made involving various security agencies. The functions of these federal agencies were transferred on March 1, 2003 into the Directorate of Border Transportation within the Department of Homeland Security. U.S. Customs and the U.S. Border Patrol were separate organizations. The government combined two agencies and formed the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). As a result of this transition, the role of each agency changed, along with its designation. The Air and Marine Interdiction Division (AMID) became the Office of Air and Marine Operations (AMO). As an entity within Customs and Border Protection, AMO has become a multi-mission organization whose personnel have specialized skills and persistent awareness to handle a wide variety of threats while supporting state and local law enforcement departments, including the Secret Service, Energy, and Federal Emergency Management Agency. For example, CBP provided law enforcement support, search-and-rescue operations, and delivery of food and supplies to victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita along the Gulf Coast.Beginning in January 2003, U.S. Customs aircraft began air security flights above the nation’s capitol as part of the Department of Defense deployment in the Washington, D.C. area. Security was also provided at special public events, such as the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and the 2003-2005 Super Bowls to prevent unauthorized overflights of restricted airspace.Today's missions place CBP on the frontline of the war on terrorism, keeping terrorists and weapons from entering America. The job includes traditional border-related responsibilities, such as stemming the tide of illegal narcotics and aliens, plus securing legitimate global trade and travel.It takes a special kind of person with a broad range of experience to handle a wide range of tasks using a variety of equipment. Nationally, AMO personnel operate a huge fleet of aircraft and water craft. Aircraft include Black Hawk and A-Star helicopters, single-engine Cessna 210s, twin-engine C-12 King Airs, Cessna Citation jets, and long-range four-engine turboprop Lockheed P-3 Orions. With over 250 aircraft, CBP Air is the largest law enforcement air force in the world. The Marine Division uses 39-foot Interceptors, 33-foot Safe boats, various utility vessels, plus oceangoing support and radar ships.AMO operates these aircraft and boats along U.S. coastlines, seaports, and borders. The P-3 Orions frequently support counter-drug missions in coordination with the Coast Guard and the Department of Defense. AMO is comprised of 11 air units, 16 Marine units, and two surveillance support branches, located throughout the continental United States and Puerto Rico.The air branch in Tucson, Arizona is based at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Martin Vaughan is director of Air Operations, CBP Air. Vaughan logs a lot of time behind his desk. He has the enormous responsibility of managing aircraft maintenance and pilot flight schedules, keeping tabs on checkrides, training, and a maze of additional duties. Operations Officer Lavon Duncan and Associate Field Director Pete McNail assist Vaughan in the day-to-day activities. The CBP Air Branch in Tucson has a pair of Cessna 210s, five UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, two AS-350 A-Star helicopters, and three Cessna Citation jets.When asked what kind of person becomes a successful CBP pilot, Pete McNail said, "This is not an organization that has guys driving airplanes. We have law enforcement officers who operate aircraft in the enforcement of laws and regulations. The first requirement to become a Customs pilot, beyond a love of aviation, is a love of law enforcement." It's not like being an airline or corporate pilot. A candidate must have logged 1500 hours and hold a Commercial Pilot license with multiengine and instrument ratings plus an FAA Second Class Medical Certificate. Although CBP operates under Federal Air Regulation Part 91, most pilots hold an Airline Transport Pilot license and are dual rated for both airplanes and helicopters. McNail continued, "One day a pilot could fly an A-Star helicopter, then the next day a Citation jet, then a Black Hawk the following day. The duty day is 16 hours but we rarely bump up against that. We have enough personnel and the shifts are managed so a new crew comes in after eight hours. If a particular mission becomes extended, we can always send out another aircraft to take over." Applicants must pass a background check and a written exam, and have not reached their 37th birthday. Those selected attend the Federal Law Enforcement Center and go through basic investigator and Customs Basic School for 18 weeks. Graduates receive advanced tactical training in criminal enforcement. A supervisor will then assign the pilot to fly a Cessna 210 on surveillance missions for 12 months as a CS-11 until the initial probationary period ends. Next comes qualification as a copilot in the Cessna Citation jet for another year as a GS-l2 before becoming a Citation captain and GS-l3. Four weeks are required to qualify in the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. Every six months, CBP pilots undergo a recurrency flight check in a helicopter or fixed wing aircraft. AMO operates the Training and Standardization Branch in Oklahoma City and the Air and Marine Operations Center in Riverside, California.Confiscating drugs is one of the primary missions. "We get marijuana, heroin, and a lot of cocaine that comes up through South America and transits Mexico into the United States," adds McNail. "We also get a lot of methamphetamine made in Mexico because it’s getting more difficult to manufacture in the U.S."Another job for CBP air crews is rescuing illegal aliens that have run out of water in the sweltering desert. A recent heat wave in Arizona was blamed for a record number of deaths among intruders crossing the border hoping to find employment. At least 229 immigrants perished in the staggering heat, a 57 percent increase from the previous year. Officials in one county bordering Mexico hired a refrigerated tractor-trailer to serve as a temporary morgue to cope with the spike in the number of deaths. An estimated 1.1 million immigrants entered the United States illegally in 2004. More than half came across the Arizona-Mexico border. A typical aerial mission starts as the crew arrives on the ramp to inspect a Black Hawk helicopter. Pilot John Manheimer and Copilot Wayne Gore strap themselves into the cockpit. Behind them, CBP Aviation Enforcement Officer Valerie McCarthy settles into one of the gunner's seats, next to a pair of Border Patrol agents armed with automatic rifles.

The huge rotor blades are soon swirling the crisp morning air as the Black Hawk taxies into position. When Davis-Monthan Control tower clears the flight to depart, Manheimer soon has the huge aerial workhorse airborne and cruising at 500 feet over the desert landscape at 150 knots. The Black Hawk can carry 12 people 600 miles at 20,000 feet and remain airborne four hours before refueling. The pilots cruise southwest seeking signs of intruders, but find only debris left by previous illegal gypsies. The crew always spots a large number of deer, rabbits and other wildlife that occupy the area. An Indian tracker on the ground alerts the pilots by radio to a pair of smugglers. Manheimer acknowledges the report and turns the Black Hawk quickly to the new search area. The unsuspecting smugglers are unable to hide. They can hear the helicopter before they see it. And when they see it, it's too late. After the Black Hawk lands, CBP Officer Valerie McCarthy and the Border Patrol agents grab their weapons and jump out. They capture the men, handcuff them, and place them face down on the ground. Nearby are five 50-pound bales of marijuana wrapped in burlap to blend with the sandy desert. A van arrives to take the smugglers to be processed in Tucson while the Black Hawk delivers the contraband to a Customs office in Sells, Arizona. After refueling, the crew is once again airborne to search for more smugglers trying to hide in the desert thickets. The CBP aircrews are more than a match for any likely opponent. No one is seen after another hour and Manheimer turns to a course that takes the Black Hawk back to Davis-Monthan. Customs pilots never know what to expect when they get to the office each day. The mission may occasionally change, but the objective remains the same. The job has become increasingly dangerous and even life-threatening. In August 2005, drug smugglers downed a CBP helicopter by throwing rocks into its rotor blades. Customs pilots use Citation jets to follow suspicious airplanes that may be carrying a load of narcotics. The twin-engine plane can cruise a thousand miles at 350 knots up to 43,000 feet. It is equipped with Forward Looking Infrared Radar, and the same Westinghouse APG-66 radar that is used on F-l6 fighter planes. The crew, two pilots and an aviation enforcement officer (AEO), keeps a suspicious plane in sight visually or by radar. The AEO has four different radio sets for communication with other government agencies. A target aircraft can be photographed with a conventional or video camera. The AEO uses binoculars to read the aircraft tail number, then makes a call to a flight service station or Air Route Traffic Control Center to determine if the plane is on a flight plan. If the information indicates a plausible explanation, the intercept is abandoned. However, if the pilot happens to be flying low in mountainous terrain without a transponder, he is almost guaranteed to attract the interest of the Customs pilots. Critical decisions require the best intelligence, and CBP’s aerial warriors never have to fight the battle alone. The AEO maintains radio contact with the Domestic Air Interdiction Coordination Center at March Air Force Base in Riverside, California. The DAICC coordinates regular ATC radar data with military radars and aerostat balloon-mounted radar to provide an impressive level of real-time coverage. If a target is larger than an eagle, it doesn’t fly without DAICC following it. The Citation crew can even access information from DAICC computers to learn a suspicious airplane's IFR history, and whether its known pilots have ever been involved in criminal activities.The Citation follows a target to its destination and local law enforcement officers are alerted to intercept the pilot upon landing. Customs pilots are trained to shadow a target without being seen. Citations can fly as slow as 100 knots, sometimes making S-turns up to a mile behind another plane. More than half the cocaine and large amounts of heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine on the streets come across the Southwest border. Illegal drugs are hidden in every mode of conveyance—cars, trucks, pack trains and the backs of human "mules." Narcotics are tossed over border fences and whisked away on foot or in vehicles. Rapidly growing legal commerce between the U.S. and Mexico complicates attempts to prevent drugs from entering through cross-border traffic. On a typical day, U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel will process more than a million passengers, including 724,000 aliens. They will make 135 arrests and seize over 2000 pounds of narcotics and 50 vehicles at 317 ports of entry. CBP officers will monitor 5000 miles of border with Canada and 1900 miles along Mexico’s border.