U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO) has launched a program to recruit students exclusively from the University of North Dakota (UND) for careers as airborne law enforcement officers.
Under the program, sophomore and junior students learn the foundation of federal law enforcement while continuing their studies at UND.
AMO’s mission is to detect, sort, track, intercept and apprehend criminals using sophisticated aviation techniques.
In its inaugural year, the AMO Pathways Program will provide up to 15 students the opportunity to work as aviation enforcement trainees. These students will be hired as federal employees with flexible full- or part-time schedules.
Their responsibilities will include assisting with the development of operational plans for interdiction missions, interfacing with state and local law enforcement officials, and performing security liaison duties.
Upon graduation and successful completion of a polygraph, the trainees will convert to aviation enforcement agents (AEA) in Grand Forks or other AMO locations. Upon accrual of 1,000 flight hours, AEAs will be eligible to apply to the air interdiction agent (AIA) occupation.
Operating out of 74 locations across the U.S., AMO has over 1,800 employees, including 700 pilots. Its fleet of more than 200 aircraft includes fixed-wing aircraft, such as the P-3 Orion, C-12/B200 and MQ-9 Predator B, and rotary-wing aircraft, such as the UH-60, AS350, EC120 and MEA helicopters.
The location and type of aircraft flown by AIAs is determined by their duty location and mission needs.
“This is an unprecedented opportunity for aviation students to earn a part-time salary while being trained for a challenging and rewarding career to serve and protect the American people,” said Christopher Wiyda, deputy director for AMO’s northern region. “These young aviators are our nation’s future experts in airborne and maritime law enforcement, and can earn over $100,000 annually after two years of full-time service.”
To be eligible for the program, an applicant must be a current UND Aerospace student, have a GPA of 3.0 or higher, and pass a background investigation and drug test. Approximately 80 students applied for the program in October 2017 and, after structured interviews, 15 candidates were selected. The names of the first group of student trainees are expected to be announced in December 2017.
From an old time Chief of a Federal aviation unit USCS retired, you need to teach them to be law enforcement first and then pilots, otherwise they are nothing but taxi drivers.