see also: in July 2004:   Spanish Port of Algeciras 21st Container Security Initiative Port to go Operational   Thomson to Head CBP's Office of International Affairs   Container Security Initiative (CSI) Achieves Major Milestone: 20 of the World's Largest Ports Now Participating with the U.S. in CSI   CBP Officers Seize Over 11 Tons Of Marijuana At Otay Mesa   Homeland Security Expands Efforts to Combat Human Smuggling in the Los Angeles Area   CBP Border Patrol Seize Over 200 Pounds of Methamphetamine in Two Separate Incidents ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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FREDERICK, Maryland - With friends, family, and invited guests looking on, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Robert C. Bonner delivered the keynote address at the graduation ceremony of the first-ever class of CBP Agriculture Specialists, who will soon take their positions in the front line of homeland security.

Commissioner Bonner, joined by U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Plant Protection and Quarantine Deputy Administrator Dr. Richard L. Dunkle, reminded the 29 graduates not only of the importance of their accomplishment, but of the historic nature of this first class.

On March 1, 2003, the responsibility for inspection of agricultural goods arriving in the United States was transferred from the USDA/APHIS to the newly created Department of Homeland Security, under CBP. "The transfer of that function was only the beginning," Commissioner Bonner said. "We have not only created a single, unified border agency; we have created two new positions within it to respond to our new and expanded border security roles - the CBP Agriculture Specialist and the CBP Officer."

"With the support and constant cooperation of Dr. Dunkle and his colleagues at APHIS, we have developed a comprehensive new curriculum," continued Commissioner Bonner, "We have linked and integrated the important duties and responsibilities of the scientific mission of agriculture border inspection to the expertise and operational capabilities of the primary CBP mission: to prevent terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States.

"Make no mistake - American agriculture is a potential target for terrorists. We must be prepared for, and cannot ignore, the threat of terrorists bringing some kind of disease or pathogen into the country - any of which could devastate American crops or livestock," Bonner added. "The new Agriculture Specialists will also play an important role in the Department of Homeland Security's multi-layered approach to protect the food supply from the threats of agroterrorism and bioterrorism," he concluded.

Using resources from both CBP and APHIS, training specialists created an intensive, 43-day training program. Because of the scientific nature of their training, the Agriculture Specialists receive their classroom instruction at the USDA Professional Development Center in Frederick, Maryland. The new curriculum includes a comprehensive series of both administrative and science-based segments, delivered by both USDA and CBP instructors. In addition, an Agriculture Fundamentals module has been jointly produced for delivery to classes of new CBP Officers, as their initiation to the agriculture component of their new training. Finally, a new Agriculture Procedures module will be delivered to all current CBP Officers at the nation's ports of entry.

At the graduation ceremony, special awards were given to individuals for outstanding scholastic achievement, regulatory enforcement achievement, pest identification, and other areas. To commemorate this first class of CBP Agriculture Specialists, a keepsake coin was presented to each graduate. Now that their classroom sessions have ended, the new Agriculture Specialists begin in-port training at duty stations around the country.

Agriculture specialists safeguard American agriculture by detecting and preventing entry into the country of animal and plant pests and diseases that could harm agricultural resources. In Fiscal Year 2003, agricultural inspections at ports of entry, in cargo areas, and international mail facilities were responsible for more than 1.7 million interceptions of prohibited materials.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the protection of our nation's borders. CBP unified Customs, Immigration, and Agriculture Inspectors and the Border Patrol into one border agency for the United States.