Office Of Air News

Jordan Tilton has rejoined the Marine Jet Power (MJP) sales team as Program Manager responsible for key account management and aftermarket business development in the Americas.Tilton has more than 15 years experience in the commercial marine sector. He began his career on the Great Lakes captaining high speed ferries and also worked as a captain on board yachts and commercial vessels in the Gulf Coast and Caribbean before joining U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Air…

On July 31, Border Patrol Search Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) agents and CBP Office of Air and Marine rescued a man who was reported missing the previous morning. “Beyond our daily enforcement duties, we also have a responsibility to assist those in distress and our local communities,” said Chief Rodolfo Karisch. On July 30 at approximately 6 p.m., U.S. Border Patrol agents, assigned to the Brackettville Station, received a call from the Kinney County Sheriff's Office requesting assistance in the search for a missing person who suffers from dementia. The subject, who lives on a local ranch, had not been seen since going for a walk around 10 a.m. Brackettville agents and local law enforcement personnel searched throughout the night. At approximately 7:45 a.m.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Air and Marine agents and interagency partners disrupted two separate drug smuggling attempts off the coast of Costa Rica resulting in the interdiction of more than $74 million in illegal drugs. Fla. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Air and Marine agents and interagency partners disrupted two separate drug smuggling attempts off the coast of Costa Rica resulting in the interdiction of more than $74 million in illegal drugs. On Jan. 20, a Jacksonville-based OAM aircrew aboard a P-3 was on a patrol approximately 190 miles northwest of Isla de Coco when they detected a suspicious speedboat. U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard aircraft continued to maintain surveillance until a maritime asset could intercept the smugglers.

The Coast Guard has suspended the search for a crabber reported overdue near Anacortes, Wednesday. Dean Harvey, 48, of Bremerton, remains missing. Search crews spent 24 hours completing a total of 24 searches that covered a 909 square mile area with no signs of Harvey. “Suspending the search for a missing person is one of the most difficult decisions we must make,” said Cmdr. Brian Meier, chief of response for Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound. “Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Mr. An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles located an overturned and aground vessel reportedly matching the description of Harvey’s near the southeast corner of Lopez Island around 9 a.m. The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Adelie towed the vessel to shore.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Air and Marine P-3 aircrew operating out of National Air Security Operations Center (NASOC)-Jacksonville, Florida, detected a suspicious vessel carrying more than 1,100 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of more than $82.3 million. While patrolling the Pacific Ocean on Nov. 9 during a counter-drug mission, an aircrew aboard a P-3 Airborne Early Warning (AEW) aircraft spotted a high speed vessel moving through an area routinely used by drug smugglers. With the assistance of an additional CBP P-3 Long Range Tracker (LRT), OAM agents coordinated with the U.S. Navy to intercept the vessel. A U.S.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Air and Marine agents assigned to the North Dakota Air Branch have located four people on Red Lake after a call for assistance came in from the Red Lake Police Department. The incident began at approximately 2 a.m. on August 20, when the North Dakota Air Branch was called to assist the Red Lake Police Department with a search and rescue mission of a vessel in distress that was carrying four individuals. Two air interdiction agents assigned to the North Dakota Air Branch immediately responded by launching an OAM AS350 helicopter. Upon arriving on scene the crew searched the Red Lake area using night vision goggles and a forward looking infrared system.

Scheduled for Thursday and Friday, federal, state, local and Canadian law enforcement partners will be brought together in a multi-agency exercise designed to prepare for and prevent cross-border terrorist and criminal activity on the Niagara River, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. There are no known threats against the area, but boaters may notice increased assets of law enforcement on the water. Organized by The Monroe County Emergency Management Office, the multi-jurisdictional exercise will be sponsored by The Department of Homeland Security.

The Coast Guard says it repatriated 19 Haitian migrants from an intediction in the Mona Passage, including a pair of migrants who had to be rescued after they were thrown into the sea by the people-smugglers. A group of 19 migrants was detected by a Coast Guard aircraft west of Mona Island, Puerto Rico. Coast Guard Sector San Juan diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Key Largo to interdict the migrant vessel and informed federal law enforcement partner agencies. Upon the cutter Key Largo’s arrival on scene, the smugglers, in an attempt to flee the area and avoid interdiction, allegedly threatened the migrants onboard and forced two Haitians, including a minor, overboard without life jackets. The crew of the Key Largo saved the two Haitians and continued to pursue the suspect vessel.

EPA is announcing the availability of $4 million in grant funding to establish clean diesel projects aimed at reducing emissions from marine and inland water ports, many of which are in areas that face environmental justice challenges. “Ports are essential to the nation’s economy and transportation infrastructure, but they also are home to some of the nation’s toughest environmental challenges,” said Janet McCabe, acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. Most of the country’s busiest ports are located near large metropolitan areas and, as a result, people in nearby communities can be exposed to high levels of diesel emissions. Older diesel engines can emit large amounts of air pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides (NOX) and particulate matter (PM).

U.S. Coast Guard personnel, working with members of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, interdicted a Canadian commercial fishing vessel allegedly fishing illegally on Lake Erie in waters subject to U.S. and Ohio jurisdiction. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources personnel contacted Coast Guard Sector Detroit, alerting watchstanders in Sector Detroit’s Command Center of a commercial vessel potentially fishing in U.S./Ohio waters near North Bass Island. A law enforcement team from Coast Guard Station Marblehead, Ohio, launched aboard a 33-foot Special Purpose Craft-Law Enforcement and determined that the ADCO II was actively engaged in fishing about 160 yards inside U.S. waters. Aircrews from Coast Guard Air Station Detroit and U.S.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of up to $20 million in FY 2012 grant funding to establish clean diesel projects aimed at reducing harmful pollution from the nation's existing fleet of diesel engines and improving air quality and Americans' health. In addition to these grants, approximately $9 million will be available through direct state allocations. EPA estimates that for every $1 spent on clean diesel funding up to $13 of public health benefit is realized. "Technology has evolved to make diesel engines more efficient and cleaner than ever," said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Air and Radiation.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of up to $20 million in FY 2012 grant funding to establish clean diesel projects aimed at reducing harmful pollution from the nation's existing fleet of diesel engines and improving air quality and Americans’ health. In addition to these grants, approximately $9 million will be available through direct state allocations. EPA estimates that for every $1 spent on clean diesel funding up to $13 of public health benefit is realized. "Technology has evolved to make diesel engines more efficient and cleaner than ever," said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. This is the first competition since the Diesel Emission Reduction Program, also known as DERA, was reauthorized in 2011.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in conjunction with the Coalition for Responsible Transportation and the Environmental Defense Fund, is launching a new initiative to protect public health and the environment and promote sustainable economic growth by reducing pollution from thousands of short-haul trucks that service the nation’s ports. The new EPA SmartWay initiative will green the nation’s supply chain by reducing harmful diesel emissions from dray trucks – large diesel trucks that are widely used in port facilities to haul freight from cargo ships to nearby local distribution points. “U.S. ports generate jobs and are critical to our nation’s economy,” said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation.

Defining priorities, building partnerships, and modernizing capabilities have recently been at the forefront of the Maritime Community’s agenda. The U.S. Coast Guard’s leadership vision for the 21st Century and the Department of Homeland Security’s release of the Implementation Plan for the Small Vessel Security Strategy are two focal points being addressed to enhance the national capacity for maritime homeland Sscurity. In keeping with theses current matters of the maritime community, IDGA’s 9th Annual Maritime Homeland Security Summit will bring together departmental policy makers, uniformed service leaders, law enforcement, and industry partners to exchange and share best practices and opportunities to improve the security of our Nation's maritime borders.

1844-Captain Alexander Fraser of Revenue Marine Bureau reported to Congress on the failure of the service's first steam cutters Spencer and Legare. 1944-Office of Air-Sea Rescue set up in the Coast Guard. The Secretary of the Navy at the request of the Joint Chiefs of Staff early in 1944 established the Air-Sea Rescue Agency, an inter-department and inter-agency body, for study and improvement of rescue work with the Commandant of Coast Guard as head. (Source: USCG Historian’s Office)

President Obama has appointed Alan Bersin Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Commissioner Bersin oversees the operations of CBP’s 57,000-employee work force and manages an operating budget of more than $11b. CBP’s mission is to protect the nation’s borders at and between the ports of entry from all threats while facilitating legitimate travel and trade. Commissioner Bersin is CBP’s third Commissioner following former Commissioner’s Robert C. Bonner and W. Ralph Basham. Former Commissioner Bonner was the first Commissioner at CBP’s inception March 1, 2003. CBP’s operational offices include the Office of Field Operations, the U.S. Border Patrol, the Office of Air and Marine and the Office of International Trade.

1844-Captain Alexander Fraser of Revenue Marine Bureau reported to Congress on the failure of the service's first steam cutters Spencer and Legare. 1944-Office of Air-Sea Rescue set up in the Coast Guard. The Secretary of the Navy at the request of the Joint Chiefs of Staff early in 1944 established the Air-Sea Rescue Agency, an inter-department and inter-agency body, for study and improvement of rescue work with the Commandant of Coast Guard as head. (Source: USCG Historian’s Office)

The U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Border Patrol signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation as part of the recently formed Caribbean Border Interagency Group (CBIG). Ramey Sector Border Patrol Chief Michael DeBruhl and the Commander of U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Juan, Capt. James E. Tunstall, signed the cooperation agreement in a ceremony held at the Coast Guard's Sector San Juan Headquarters. The agreement calls for the permanent assignment of Border Patrol Intelligence agents within the Coast Guard's Sector San Juan Operations Center located in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. This collaboration will immediately improve overall intelligence services, intelligence gathering, and allow the Border Patrol to more efficiently support the Coast Guard's biometrics-at-sea program.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Office of Air and Marine Operations (AMO) is tasked to protects citizens and critical infrastructure through the coordinated use of air and marine law enforcement to detect, interdict, and deter acts of terrorism and smuggling arising from the unlawful movement of people, goods, and money across the borders of the U.S. AMO’s has three core competencies – airspace security, air and marine interdiction, and air and marine law enforcement support. The Marine Division of AMO operates 73 vessels. The marine fleet includes 39-ft. interceptor vessels, 33-foot SAFE boats, various utility craft, and larger ocean-going support and radar platform vessels. These AMO vessels operate mostly along U.S. coastlines and in U.S. seaports.