CBP Recognizes Employees at Annual Awards CeremonyWASHINGTON — Hundreds of U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees gathered in the Ronald Reagan Building Amphitheater Friday to honor and recognize the hard work, dedication and achievements of CBP personnel during 2008.
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano joined Acting Commissioner Jayson P. Ahern to officiate the CBP Annual Awards Ceremony.
“We are here to celebrate another remarkable year of achievement and I thank you for what you’ve done and as your new Secretary, I thank you for what you are about to do,” said Secretary Napolitano in her remarks to employees. She also recognized her special guest, former Commissioner W. Ralph Basham, for nearly 40 years of federal law enforcement service.
Acting Commissioner Ahern stressed how far the agency has come since its inception and the many milestones accomplished with the help of dedicated and hard working employees as CBP celebrates its six-year anniversary.
“Running through every one of these accomplishments,” said Acting Commissioner Ahern, “is one constant binding strand—you, CBP’s employees, who are the source of CBP’s strength.”
This year, more than 80 awards recognized various agency achievements of nearly 640 employee honorees. Acting Commissioner Ahern presented each recipient with a medal and was joined by leaders of CBP’s Border Patrol, Air and Marine and Field Operations in congratulating them for their successes and thanking them for their commitment to CBP.
Among the awardees was a CBP canine officer who received the Law Enforcement Officer Award. The team led all canine officers in the nation with the highest number of narcotic seizures during fiscal year 2008. Their overall number of seizures, 170, represented 21 percent of the total number of seizures made by the entire canine section at Calexico, Calif.
Receiving the Top Blue Eagle Award was a seven-person Air and Marine team from Jacksonville, Fla. for apprehending four suspect crewman and more than 15,400 pounds of cocaine onboard a self-propelled semi-submersible vessel that was dead in the water. The team worked with Columbian authorities to bring the crewman into custody.
Supportive applause lasted throughout the 2008 Line of Duty Death recognition for fallen Senior Patrol Agent Luis Aguilar. The medal was accepted by his wife, Erica and their two children before a standing audience. Agent Aguilar of Yuma, Arizona Border Patrol Station died in the line of duty when he was struck by a vehicle on January 19, 2008, as he attempted to stop a suspected smuggler near Andrade, Calif. The suspect was arrested on February 12, 2009.
Also recognized posthumously was Border Patrol Agent Jarod Dittman of the Brown Field Border Patrol Station who died in the line of duty on March 30, 2008, in a single car rollover accident near San Diego, Calif.
Both Secretary Napolitano and Acting Commissioner Ahern expressed how proud they were not only of the recipients and their accomplishments, but of CBP’s overall success this year.
CBP is the largest law enforcement organization in the U.S. and secures all ports of entry into the U.S. along with land border with Canada and Mexico and surrounding waters.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation’s border at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano joined Acting Commissioner Jayson P. Ahern to officiate the CBP Annual Awards Ceremony.
“We are here to celebrate another remarkable year of achievement and I thank you for what you’ve done and as your new Secretary, I thank you for what you are about to do,” said Secretary Napolitano in her remarks to employees. She also recognized her special guest, former Commissioner W. Ralph Basham, for nearly 40 years of federal law enforcement service.
Acting Commissioner Ahern stressed how far the agency has come since its inception and the many milestones accomplished with the help of dedicated and hard working employees as CBP celebrates its six-year anniversary.
“Running through every one of these accomplishments,” said Acting Commissioner Ahern, “is one constant binding strand—you, CBP’s employees, who are the source of CBP’s strength.”
This year, more than 80 awards recognized various agency achievements of nearly 640 employee honorees. Acting Commissioner Ahern presented each recipient with a medal and was joined by leaders of CBP’s Border Patrol, Air and Marine and Field Operations in congratulating them for their successes and thanking them for their commitment to CBP.
Among the awardees was a CBP canine officer who received the Law Enforcement Officer Award. The team led all canine officers in the nation with the highest number of narcotic seizures during fiscal year 2008. Their overall number of seizures, 170, represented 21 percent of the total number of seizures made by the entire canine section at Calexico, Calif.
Receiving the Top Blue Eagle Award was a seven-person Air and Marine team from Jacksonville, Fla. for apprehending four suspect crewman and more than 15,400 pounds of cocaine onboard a self-propelled semi-submersible vessel that was dead in the water. The team worked with Columbian authorities to bring the crewman into custody.
Supportive applause lasted throughout the 2008 Line of Duty Death recognition for fallen Senior Patrol Agent Luis Aguilar. The medal was accepted by his wife, Erica and their two children before a standing audience. Agent Aguilar of Yuma, Arizona Border Patrol Station died in the line of duty when he was struck by a vehicle on January 19, 2008, as he attempted to stop a suspected smuggler near Andrade, Calif. The suspect was arrested on February 12, 2009.
Also recognized posthumously was Border Patrol Agent Jarod Dittman of the Brown Field Border Patrol Station who died in the line of duty on March 30, 2008, in a single car rollover accident near San Diego, Calif.
Both Secretary Napolitano and Acting Commissioner Ahern expressed how proud they were not only of the recipients and their accomplishments, but of CBP’s overall success this year.
CBP is the largest law enforcement organization in the U.S. and secures all ports of entry into the U.S. along with land border with Canada and Mexico and surrounding waters.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation’s border at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.
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