"Customs has always had exciting real-life stories to tell," says Dennis Murphy, Assistant Commissioner of Public Affairs, and the on-air host of America's Frontline. "Customs employees read about these stories in U.S. Customs Today. Now they can see them as well."

The first America's Frontline, produced last year, showcased the work Customs agents and inspectors are doing at JFK and told some of the Customs stories associated with that busy port of entry. Although the initial show went out to Customs offices on videotape, not everyone at Customs had a chance to see the newscast. In spite of a limited viewing, that first America's Frontline still managed to make an impression in some pretty important places, winning a prestigious Telly Award, the Videographers Award for production quality, and the AXIEM Award for excellence in electronic media.

Richard Greene, Director, Television Operations, Office of Public Affairs, says the upcoming America's Frontline is even better than the first newscast. The main difference, he says, is that more people will have access to it - the second newscast for and about Customs employees will be made available via compact disk to each employee.

What kind of revelations can we expect from the next America's Frontline broadcast?

No one associated with the production wants to give away any secrets, but there are reports that the ports of San Ysidro and Otay Mesa may be featured, that Customs patrol officers may show up somewhere in Uzbekistan on an important training mission, that native trackers known as "Shadow Wolf" could make an appearance, and that Customs officers are likely to give viewers a tour of someplace called RADACAD, a "Radiation Academy," where law enforcement specialists from nations around the world share lessons about new interdiction techniques for weapons of mass destruction.

There could be more, of course, but to find out, you'll have to tune in to the next broadcast of America's Frontline yourself. Coming soon - as they say in "the business" - to PCs, laptops, and CD players near you.

America's Frontline on CD will be mailed to each Customs location, to be distributed to all employees. One copy on videocassette will be mailed to each Customs location. If you do not receive a copy by the end of September, or need additional copies, please call 202.927.0409. Operating System Requirements: Windows NT or 95/98/2000 Hardware Requirements: Pentium I or higher, 8MB RAM, Graphics Sound Card, CD drive To run the program: Place CD in CD drive; program will run automatically on most systems. If America's Frontline does not run: 1) Double click on the My Computer icon on the desktop 2) Double click on the AmFrontline icon 3.) If program still doesn't run, double click on the Customs.mpg file For further assistance, call the Technical Support Center Help Desk at 703-927-6000 or toll-free at 800-927-8729.

"The Players" behind America's Frontline Executive Producer: Christiana Halsey Writers: Michael Pope and Christiana Halsey Editors: Charles Csavossy, Robert Frongello, Christiana Halsey, and Michael Pope Videographers: Barry Carmick, Tom Danei, George Felton, Mark Vyrros, Christiana Halsey, and Charles Csavossy Production Assistant: Steven Ware