Ouch.....
You know sometimes you just have to bite your tongue. I read an article this evening in the Post about Customs and Border Protection. It was kind of a fluff piece with a small jab at the agency for not letting their people be open about what is going on with the merger. It is the kind of article that makes me want to hit the keyboard and zap the author with an adjustment of some sort. The only trouble with doing that is that most of the time, only bad stuff comes out. Legitimate concerns that turn into complaints, moans, and whining. The good things don't come out and with CBP, there is a bunch of good stuff. The commissioner is probably the smartest and most experienced in recent history and he stands good with the big boss.
One face at the border is a good idea and good in practice, CBP just needs to have specialists (really, not the fluff in the article) so the best service can be given to the country. Let people do what they are good at and good things will happen, it is a fact. There is some wonderful technology being used by the agency, but it has to be utilized as tools for the Officers, not the other way around.
There have been some very good promotions of late, but there is still alot of dead wood that needs to be cleared. INS was smart, they promoted many people before the merger, allowing them to be placed in key positions after the merger. Old thinking and practices that should have been abolished too. Too many people who have never done the job or even anything close to the job, running programs and training. The good news is that there is some very qualified people just chomping at the bit to provide superior performance.
CBP needs to stop hiring old people, it is not a job for old people and hasn't been for a long time. On the other hand, the agency has hired some awesome young people, now if they can be retained and steered in the right direction, the future is promising.
Last but not least, on the borders, it has to be about interdiction. The borders are the last filter to keep the bad guys out or caught. After all the wonderful programs and pre-screening it gets to the border and it is either interdicted or let into the country. I vote for interdiction and yes I do understand the importance of facilitation for the economy's sake, but I also understand what will happen to the economy if there is another 9/11.
Not bad for a bite my tongue, post.
BT
One face at the border is a good idea and good in practice, CBP just needs to have specialists (really, not the fluff in the article) so the best service can be given to the country. Let people do what they are good at and good things will happen, it is a fact. There is some wonderful technology being used by the agency, but it has to be utilized as tools for the Officers, not the other way around.
There have been some very good promotions of late, but there is still alot of dead wood that needs to be cleared. INS was smart, they promoted many people before the merger, allowing them to be placed in key positions after the merger. Old thinking and practices that should have been abolished too. Too many people who have never done the job or even anything close to the job, running programs and training. The good news is that there is some very qualified people just chomping at the bit to provide superior performance.
CBP needs to stop hiring old people, it is not a job for old people and hasn't been for a long time. On the other hand, the agency has hired some awesome young people, now if they can be retained and steered in the right direction, the future is promising.
Last but not least, on the borders, it has to be about interdiction. The borders are the last filter to keep the bad guys out or caught. After all the wonderful programs and pre-screening it gets to the border and it is either interdicted or let into the country. I vote for interdiction and yes I do understand the importance of facilitation for the economy's sake, but I also understand what will happen to the economy if there is another 9/11.
Not bad for a bite my tongue, post.
BT
posted by Border Train at 10:12 PM
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