The Office of Air and Marine Operations has been moved to
Customs and Border Protection, the Department of Homeland
Security has announced.
It said the AMO office has been transferred intact from
Immigration and Customs Enforcement in order to integrate
air and marine law enforcement personnel, missions and
assets, something DHS maintains is consistent with congressional
action in the fiscal 2005 DHS appropriations bill.
To carry out the move, DHS said it chartered a transition
team with representatives from CBP, ICE and Border and
Transportation Security to try to limit employee and
service disruptions, and will now move on to a second
integration phase set for completion by the end of fiscal 2005.
The former ICE air and marine operations office is made up
of more than 1,000 pilots, air and marine enforcement
officers, detection systems specialists, support personnel
and HQ staff, according to DHS.
It said there are about 470 pilots and 50 AEO’s that operate
42 helicopters and 92 fixed wing aircraft, as well as 93
MEOs operating 73 high-performance vessels
