Philadelphia – The William G. Brush Memorial Explorer Post #187 was initiated on Wednesday, October 10th, 2007. Approximately 20 young men and women eager to learn more about a career in law enforcement as well as all of the many opportunities that the United States Customs and Border Protection Service has to offer, attended the first annual CBP Open House at the Philadelphia International Airport. Also on hand were many of the parents, eager to support their children who were anxious to learn more about the Customs and Border Protection Exploring experience. They were treated to refreshments, videos about CBP land, air, and sea operations, and first hand discussions with many of the dedicated Customs and Border Protection officers who volunteered their time to participate in this new Explorer Post.

It was with great honor that the port of Philadelphia created CBP Explorer Post #187 (187 was Mr. Brush’s badge number) in the memory of Bill Brush. Bill passed away unexpectedly in the summer of 2007. The Philadelphia Customs and Border Protection service was honored to have many special guests and dignitaries attend the 1st annual open house on October 10th. Perhaps the most honored guest was the late Mr. Brush’s sister, Ms. Loretta Brush and family. It was truly an honor for all Philadelphia CBP officers to have them in attendance for this event. Other dignitaries and special guests on hand included Michael J. Lovejoy, Director of Field Operations for Baltimore, and a close personal friend of the late Mr. Brush, Mr. Robert Clement, the national Director for CBP Exploring, and Taadhameka Kennedy, of the Exploring for Life Program. It was also with great pride that approximately one-third of all uniformed officers for the port of Philadelphia were in attendance for the open house, volunteering their own time for this worthwhile program.

Upon his assignment as the Area Port Director for the Port of Philadelphia in 2006, Mr. Brush brought with him an unparalleled enthusiasm for his work and made an almost immediate impact on the day-to-day operations at the port. Mr. Brush brought with him a fresh perspective and overwhelming commitment to not only take the port of Philadelphia into the next century, but to take the port of Philadelphia “to the next level”. He was not content to stand pat and was always looking for opportunities to improve port operations, in particular within the arena of public relations. Among his many passions were the creation of a CBP Explorer Post; one that would have a significant impact on molding today’s youth into the leaders of tomorrow.

The ceremony began with opening remarks by DFO Michael J. Lovejoy. Mr. Lovejoy spoke candidly about Mr. Brush’s commitment to his job, to his country, and to the many programs he chose to support and implement, including CBP Explorer Post #187. His stirring and inspirational remarks were a reminder to all of us performing the CBP mission (as well as those seeking to learn more about the US and Customs and Border Protection Service), just how vital the work that we do every day is to the security of our country, our citizens, and served as a reminder of the hard work being done every day by Customs and Border Protection officers around the country.

Upon his conclusion of the opening remarks, Assistant Area Port Director for Passenger Operations, Mr. Edward Moriarty (one of the Explorer Post Advisors) provided an overview of the Customs and Border Protection Service on a national level; plus emphasized our commitment to our priority missions and goals. APD Moriarty then provided a more specific overview of CBP Operations specific to the port of Philadelphia, in order to provide the young men and women, as well as their parents, an idea of what activities they would be involved with on a day to day basis. This provided a detailed account of Air and Sea Operations, including immigration and customs related issues, to our agricultural program as a whole, to our targeting mission, our interaction with other law enforcement agencies, to our cargo enforcement operations, our canine program, and, perhaps most importantly, an overview of our overall counter-terrorism mission; the interdiction of terrorists and their instruments of terror.

APD Moriarty then proceeded to lay out the expectations for everyone involved in the program, from the officers involved (including the advisors), the explorers themselves, but also the parents of the participants. It was stressed that what we are creating is a “family”; we are each accountable to each other for the successes and potential failures of the program. While everyone involved in the program certainly plans to make it a most enjoyable experiences, we each need to realize that we also have some hard work to put in, and have responsibilities to the program, to the public, and perhaps, most importantly to each other.

National Explorer Program Director, Robert Clement then provided a detailed overview of the national curriculum as a whole. He spoke about the commitment of the officers (and advisors) and the time they would be putting in to this important endeavor. He also spoke to some of the more “extra-curricular” activities that would be available to them, specifically the annual national explorer post conference and competition, trips to other Explorer Post venues, and other training opportunities. In short, their ability for growth is limited only by their desire.

The Open House wrapped up with a Question and Answer session. What was extremely encouraging was to see the involvement of the parents. Many of the parents asked questions and were openly involved in the meeting.

The William G. Brush Memorial Explorer Post #187 is off and running. CBP Philadelphia is proud to continue on the legacy started by Area Port Director Brush and looks forward to instilling not only in the youth participating in the program, but in the officers as well, the dedication, desire, and commitment that Port Director Brush stood for, and lived by.