Customs, DEA ???

[spitfire1940]

Any Customs or DEA guys out there who could tell me a little bit about what you do?

I was fascinated by Customs' aviation webpage, but have some questions.

Customs' ME mins are 500 hours. What about DEA? You gotta be a cop to land these jobs?

Thanks for any input ....

 

[starvingcfi]

i'm actually interested in this too. i've been looking at customs for a while. i also had a few questions. is there a customs hotline i could call to speak to someone? just wondering about bases, citation vs p-3, pay scale, upgrade, hours flown, etc... any help is really appreciated.

starvingcfi

 

[flint4xx]

If your interest is in aviation, don't go to DEA. You will be VERY dissappointed. Customs maybe, but they have a very high turnover when the airlines are hiring. That should tell you something.

Don't try to compare the law enforcement jobs to airlines (upgrade, base, etc) because it doesn't work that way. Apples and Oranges.

 

[hyper]

From the customs page....

Applicants applying based on civilian experience must possess an Air Transport Pilot certificate with an L-188 type rating

Yea, let me run right out and get one of those L-188 types. Does the 7-11 have one of those?

 

[spitfire1940]

I don't even know what an L-188 is ... that a P-3? If so, why not just call it that ?? I know they only take rated P-3 pilots (ie, ex-Navy) for that aircraft, but they don't demand a P-3 rating to fly a 210 (or whatever their SE piston is) or a King Air.

Hey flint4xx, how do you know about DEA being disappointing for pilots? You know anybody there or do you speak from experience? Thanks for info ... Blue Skies

 

[jeff333]

Customs just had a window open for 30 days in late october for non P-3 positions. You have to check their web site from time to time.
Jeff

 

[wil]

Not too bust balls, but with your time why would you think you are competitive? Just cause it is an off shoot of the government does not mean it is going unnoticed. Keep doing what ever your doing and build time and experience. Send out resumes and keep at it!! I just don't want you to pigeon hole yourself. The down turn at the majors has effected us all and you may want to rethink some aviation goals. I'm in upgrade training at ASA and the last word is no new hires after the first of january class for the rest of 2003! Al the best-

 

[CL60]

Customs

spitfire1940,

Way before 911, I knew a Customs pilot based out of NAS North Island and even went out for a tour once. Very impressive base, weapons, equipment, and gadgets. He really liked it.

All Customs pilot recruits must go to Glynco, GA. to attend Federal Law Enforcement Training... 7 weeks I think. The motto there is, "seventy one gets you a badge and a gun," refering to the passing mins. on written tests.

Newbies, at that time, flew the 206 but eventaully got into the Citation and Blackhawk. Back then, missions included, interdiction, surveillance, indentification, etc... They even loaned out their surveillance services to other agencies.

Mostly, according to my friend, they just turned fuel into noise, bored holes and generally had fun until the radar center scrambled them. Thirty day deployments way south of the border were not uncommon and your ability to "habla Espanol" is a plus. Really not a bad direction to take if you're looking for job security and don't mind the para-military lifestyle.

When I was in JAX in the late 90's the P3's ran round the clock and advertised for pilots. To get through that program you have to pass all the courses a Navy pilot would have to in order to fly that bird.

Good luck,

 

[CL60]

Almost forgot

Almost all of them were former military guys or other government employees.

 

[B-J-J Fighter]

Just FYI the Dea's callsign is "Flint". I use to CFI next to there aviation unit at PDK and met many of there pilots. All pretty cool guys once you got to "know" them. THey were awful quiet when I 1st started workig there but began to talk to me more and more the longer I worked there. If I hadnt got into the mil to fly about 2 months ago that was going to be my next option. They have a C206,210 and a PC-12 there. You could always tell there a/c because they would have a large rear window for the spotter. One guy remarked to me that they were "masters of slow flight".

 

[gundriver]

I'm certainly not an expert but I have done some research on the subject.

Customs: The only Federal Law Enforcement Agency (that I'm aware of) where you can join directly and perform the duties as both a pilot and a law enforcement officer. The pay is much higher than the other branches initially because of the stringent requirements and the desire to recruit pilots that perform police duties rather than police that fly.

DEA: The pay is much lower initially (GS-6 or 7) in comparison to Customs (GS-11/12). DEA wants you to be an agent for several years before you can even apply for the aviation department. The benefit of DEA is they do more door kickin and bad guy snatchin than Customs. They also operate south of the border quite extensively and for longer periods of time than Customs.

Anybody else out there apply for the last Customs hiring window that closed last month? I hear we're in for a very long wait..

Good luck

 

[msw]

In the vast majority of airborne law enforcement jobs, the aircrew (pilots, observers, etc.) are COPS FIRST and pilots second. I know, I know, there are a some law enforcement agencies that use civilian pilots (or a "mix" of civilian and "sworn") but even in those, you'll find that the civilian pilots are often retired cops, or have some former L.E. experience.

So, my 2 cents worth: If you guys don't want to be a cop FIRST, do everybody a favor, and don't apply to Customs, DEA, FBI, or any other State or local law enforcement agency with the hope of being a pilot.

 

[Chinook]

Currently there are no announcements out for new hire customs pilots. The last one just closed a few weeks ago. It was open for 30 days and some 300 persons applied. HQ is currently screening all the applicants and preparing to call folks in for an interview. These will take place in Oklahoma City. Interviews will consist of a panel type interview consisting of questions similar to an airline type interview, pre employeement ride in the Cessna 206 and the A-Star (for dual rated guys). After that individuals will be notified if the hiring process will be continued and they will then have a very extensive background investigation conducted on them. Customs is the only federal law enforcement agency that hires pilots/officers without requiring them to be ground officers only for 2-3 years before becoming pilots. The turnover rate for customs pilots is relatively low. During the peak of airline hiring is was still quite low, perhaps somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 - 10 %. There is many opportunities available for the self motivated type person who is interested in other duties besides flying. If you are only interested in building flight time than this job is probably not for you. Average annual flight time is approximately 300-400 hrs in two different airframes. Current fleet consists of the Citation II, King Air B200, C12, Cheyenne, Cessna 206, Cessna 210, A-Star, Blackhawk, MD 500. Beginning pay is in the neighborhood of $58k and tops out around 120K for pilots. It is a solid job and tdys are not to extensive depending on where you are. The average number of days gone from home per year is approximately 50-75 including recurrent and training tdy's. The maximum length of a TDY is usually approximately 8 days a few times a year, again depending on which branch you're at. With the implimentation of the Homeland Security Dept., Customs will be changing but it is not know exactly how yet. There is roughly 400 pilots nationwide and that may increase over the next year. Check the website for current developments: www.customs.gov

 

[spitfire1940]

Chinook,

Thanks for the information. Good reply. Sounds like you're speaking from the inside. I was intrigued by what you said about the self-motivated individual being able to do other interesting things aside from flying in Customs. I had suspected as much, but there is no information about that (outside of what you provided) and I don't know where to turn to get it.

MSW raised a good point about it being important to want to be a cop first, but there's not much info about what it means to be a customs cop--I mean, beyond what the website says, the real skinny.

Seems like it would be a satisfying job--especially in the currently homeland defense situation--especially for guys who want to do something to serve their country but are too old for military service. There's also something to be said for the staibility of the job in comparison to flying for an airline.

 

[Chinook]

Customs Air

What MSW said about don't bother if you don't want to be a cop first does not apply to Customs as much as other federal agencies ie DEA, USBP, State and Local departments. The reason is because with Customs you are not required to be a ground agent for a period of time prior to becoming a pilot. Customs pilots go through all the same training as special agents but they are not required to maintain a case load nor are they evaluated on case work. They are mostly pilots first, law enforcement second. Like I mentioned previously, you can get much more involved in law enforcement work than you are required to, it is a personal preference. You can for the most part, do most of your law enforcement work in the aircraft in the form of radar intercepts, surveillance, bust crew transport etc. Executing arrest/search warrants are mostly on a voluntary basis unless of course you track a drug ladened aircraft to a covert strip, then you make the apprehension. As a pilot you attend vendor training every year for each aircraft you fly. This is usually Flight Safety. You also attend many other aviation training courses throught your career such as Aviation Survival training. In addition you maintain currency with all issued firearms and attend law enforcement training courses as well...these are usually a lot of fun.