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Spotlights

Spotlights from the previous administrations are available in the Archive section of our website.

    • Passion for the Sky: A Female Instructor’s Unique Flight Path to Air Interdiction | Spotlights

      Air Interdiction Agent (AIA) Presley Rose recalled her first encounter with U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations (AMO) at a job she had as a flight instructor. After seeing an AMO helicopter land, she introduced herself to the AIAs. The agents gladly answered her questions on becoming an AMO pilot and in two minutes she was hooked. “When someone is passionate about something it compels you to listen and want to know why.”

      …
    • Chimsakda Uk: A Combat Marine’s Transition from Afghanistan to CBP Success Story | Spotlights

      My name is Chimsakda “Chuck” Uk. I’m a Marine Corps combat veteran and a proud member of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) family. In the Marines we had a saying, “If you do what is easy, your life will be hard. But if you do what is hard, your life will be easy.” Hard is what we did in the Marines. However, if you had told me 10 years ago that after my discharge from the Marine Corps I would one day become a federal employee, I wouldn’t have thought it easy. Why, you ask? Well, the reason is deadly serious. Like many combat veterans, I never thought I would survive my…

    • Acting CBP Commissioner Miller Hosts First Virtual Meeting with Trade Advisory Committee | Spotlights
      A CBP officer at the port of Los Angeles-Long Beach in California, awaits a cargo ship for inspection. Photo by Vincent VuongA CBP officer at the port of Los Angeles-Long Beach
      in California, awaits a cargo ship for inspection.

      Photo by Vincent Vuong

      Change was the dominant theme when U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s trade advisory group met virtually on March 17, for its first quarterly meeting of 2021. As the COVID-19 pandemic marked its first anniversary, members of…

    • Naval Aircrewman Mechanic Soars Toward Aviation Enforcement | Spotlights

      Aviation Enforcement Agent (AEA) Alison Garduno has been around aircraft her entire life. Her father was a Naval officer stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, and her mother managed a base flying club. Eager to find her own path to the sky, Garduno changed course in college and joined the Navy as a Naval Aircrewman Mechanic.

      Aviation Enforcement Agent (AEA) Alison Garduno Aviation Enforcement Agent (AEA) Alison Garduno
      has her dream job. She set her sights on a…
    • Jay Bishop - A CBP Veterans Internship Program Success Story | Spotlights

      It is said that if you want a thing bad enough to go out and fight for it, to work day and night for it, to give up your time, your peace and sleep for it, that with the help of faith, hard work, and perseverance you’ll get it. Jay Bishop, an Army veteran and current Management and Program Analyst within the Office of Congressional Affairs (OCA) at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) headquarters in Washington, DC, personifies this mantra magnificently. Bishop explains, “My path to participation in the VA’s Non-Paid Work Experience Program (NPWE) internship wasn’t my first choice upon…

    • CBP Secures Super Bowl | Spotlights

      Agency delivers massive security effort at Super Bowl LV during global pandemic.

       

      An Air and Marine Operations UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and crew from Miami patrol the airspace over Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, in advance of Super Bowl LV. Photo by Jerry GlaserAn Air and Marine Operations UH-60 Black Hawk
      helicopter and crew from Miami patrol the airspace
      over Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, in
      advance of Super Bowl…
    • Presidential Management Fellow Success Story: Adam Sulewski | Spotlights

      Adam Sulewski was recently selected to the supervisory position of branch chief of the Trade Agreements Branch for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USCMA) Center. USMCA replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). He started his career path with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spring of 2009, when he applied to the Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program and interviewed with CBP's Office of International Affairs.  

      …
    • Technology Meets Afghanistan Challenges | Spotlights

      On Aug. 14, 2021, the Taliban took control of the city of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.  Shortly thereafter, President Joe Biden announced the U.S. would be evacuating over 100,000 people from Afghanistan. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), alongside other federal agencies, responded to the rapid withdrawal from Afghanistan and mobilized a comprehensive campaign called Operation Allies Welcome. CBP was asked to support OAW by providing personnel and technology to aid in processing evacuees.

      …