This is a very proud day for our two agencies. We are here to dedicate what is perhaps the finest training facility of its kind in the world. We have many to thank for making this day possible; first and foremost, the U.S. Congress, and in particular members such as Congressman Wolf, who believed in our efforts and helped us to obtain the resources needed to realize our goals.

We also owe a debt of gratitude to the many employees from Customs and the ATF who have given so much of their time and effort over the years to making this a world class center. Many of you are here with us today. Having been involved myself with this project for many years I can vouch for the fact that we have come a very long way.

I was Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Inspections and Control at Customs when we put forth an improvement plan for our existing training center in 1988. That facility was already a big improvement over what Customs had inherited when it acquired this land in 1974. The property had originally belonged to the Virginia Beef Cattle Research Center, and before that, the U.S. Cavalry.

That would explain what we found when we got here: a few empty hay barns, some horse stables, and some cattle stalls. Over a period of several years, these were turned into administrative offices, classrooms, and kennel buildings -- basically, the beginnings of what you see here today.

Why did we push forth with our plans to establish and enhance this center? Because we knew we had something very important on our hands. The use of dogs in narcotics detection was slowly revolutionizing our interdiction efforts. We saw our seizure rates rise dramatically, and we saved countless staff hours in physical inspections we no longer had to perform. We also realized that our training needs were unique, and that we needed a facility that would help us to grow this initiative. Eventually, ATF found itself in a similar situation, and a perfect partnership was born.

The decision to share this facility in 1995 resulted not in a diminishment of either program, but in a strengthening of each. Together, we were better able to justify costs, push for resources, and avoid losing control over our canine programs, which would have been damaging to our respective missions. As a result, we can say that we are here to stay at Front Royal.

I don't think any of us, when we began, could have imagined the benefits the program would have, not only for our enforcement mission, but in our relations with the general public and in our ties to the local community here. To put it simply: everyone loves the dogs. The canine program is now synonymous with Front Royal, and I want to say to Congressman Wolf, we are proud to be among your constituents.

Most importantly, I know the investment in this training center means that our nation can feel more secure knowing that our canine teams will be better trained, better prepared, and better able than ever before to defend America against those who would undermine its peace and prosperity through narcotics smuggling, terrorist activity, and other crimes.

The growth in border traffic, and the rise in new threats to America's security demands our constant vigilance. That is why the job of agencies like Customs and the ATF is destined to become more important, not less so, and why our canine programs will play an even greater role in the future in our mission to protect America. Thanks to this beautiful center, and the people who worked to make it so, that future looks very bright for all of us.

It is my great pleasure now to introduce Congressman Frank Wolf. As I mentioned before, Congressman Wolf is a great friend of the Customs Service and the ATF and our canine program here. Thanks in part to his support we have the top notch facility you see before you today.

Congressman Wolf is also a big supporter of our adoption program, through which we place retiring canines with families around the country. He even convinced a local reporter he accompanied here to do a story about the training center to adopt one herself!