HONOR FIRST

  • Home
    • Award
  • For USBP Applicants
    • Academy
    • Class Schedule
    • Requirements
    • TESTING >
      • Books
      • CBP Official Guide
      • ALT
      • PT Standards
    • HOW TO SUCCEED >
      • The Hiring Procedure
      • Background Investigation >
        • Investigation Process
        • Polygraph
        • A Happy Investigator
        • NOPA >
          • NOPA Template
        • Fingerprints
      • Career Survival
      • FOIA
      • Main FAQ Page >
        • Hiring Process
        • Hiring Problems
        • Oral Boards
        • Important Phone Numbers
        • eQIP
        • Life at My New Station
        • Other Questions
        • Stupid Questions
    • COMPENSATION >
      • PAY
      • Health Insurance
      • Retirement
    • Communication >
      • Sector Recruiter Information
      • Contact Info
  • USBP Pages and Links
    • Firearms Qualification Course
    • Military Time Buy Back
    • Station MWRs
    • Uniforms, Tattoos, Grooming
    • Fast & Furious
    • U.S. Border Patrol Fallen
    • Honor First and Esprit de Corps
    • USBP Photo Galleries
    • U.S. Border Patrol History >
      • The Father of the Border Patrol
      • The U.S. Border Patrol’s Early Rank and Time-in-Service Insignia
      • Historical Documents
      • This Week in USBP History Blog
    • U.S. Border Patrol Honorary Awards
    • Upholding Honor First >
      • Newton-Azrak Award Recipients
      • USBP Purple Cross Recipients
      • USBP Commendation Award Recipients
      • USBP Achievement Award Recipients
      • USBP Significant Recognition Recipients
    • U.S. Border Patrol Authorized Devices
    • Border Patrol Stories
    • What's Important Now - Academy Podcast
    • Badges
    • Veterans
    • Tips for the Media
    • Links
    • Acronyms
    • Border Patrol Locations
    • Sector/Station FaceBook Pages
    • Ten Codes
  • Online Forums
    • Grammar
    • Rules
    • Agents Forum Password Request
  • Search
  • Home
    • Award
  • For USBP Applicants
    • Academy
    • Class Schedule
    • Requirements
    • TESTING >
      • Books
      • CBP Official Guide
      • ALT
      • PT Standards
    • HOW TO SUCCEED >
      • The Hiring Procedure
      • Background Investigation >
        • Investigation Process
        • Polygraph
        • A Happy Investigator
        • NOPA >
          • NOPA Template
        • Fingerprints
      • Career Survival
      • FOIA
      • Main FAQ Page >
        • Hiring Process
        • Hiring Problems
        • Oral Boards
        • Important Phone Numbers
        • eQIP
        • Life at My New Station
        • Other Questions
        • Stupid Questions
    • COMPENSATION >
      • PAY
      • Health Insurance
      • Retirement
    • Communication >
      • Sector Recruiter Information
      • Contact Info
  • USBP Pages and Links
    • Firearms Qualification Course
    • Military Time Buy Back
    • Station MWRs
    • Uniforms, Tattoos, Grooming
    • Fast & Furious
    • U.S. Border Patrol Fallen
    • Honor First and Esprit de Corps
    • USBP Photo Galleries
    • U.S. Border Patrol History >
      • The Father of the Border Patrol
      • The U.S. Border Patrol’s Early Rank and Time-in-Service Insignia
      • Historical Documents
      • This Week in USBP History Blog
    • U.S. Border Patrol Honorary Awards
    • Upholding Honor First >
      • Newton-Azrak Award Recipients
      • USBP Purple Cross Recipients
      • USBP Commendation Award Recipients
      • USBP Achievement Award Recipients
      • USBP Significant Recognition Recipients
    • U.S. Border Patrol Authorized Devices
    • Border Patrol Stories
    • What's Important Now - Academy Podcast
    • Badges
    • Veterans
    • Tips for the Media
    • Links
    • Acronyms
    • Border Patrol Locations
    • Sector/Station FaceBook Pages
    • Ten Codes
  • Online Forums
    • Grammar
    • Rules
    • Agents Forum Password Request
  • Search
Picture

This Week in USBP History, Vol. 61

10/30/2022

0 Comments

 

October 30 - November 5

Picture
Good morning!
 
Welcome to another This Week in USBP History!
 
This week I'd like to write a little about employee retention.  Let me start with some points of reference.
  • The Patrol had a huge hiring increase from 2005-2011. Increasing its manpower by 10,180 agents, nearly doubling its strength!  Here's the staffing report (1992-2020).
  • Before retiring, I had been told that agents were retiring within two years of becoming retirement eligible.  I've been informed that this statistic has worsened.
    • I retired at 51 years old, 15 months after becoming retirement eligible and about 6 years before reaching my mandatory age.
  • I'm told that projections indicate that 2027-2032 that the Academy will not be able to keep pace retirements even if each class is at 100% capacity with a 100% graduation rate.
    • These retirement spike projections are due to the 2005-2011 hiring push.
  • Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Patrol's mother agency, is consistently in the bottom 10% of the entire federal government as measured by the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS). The Patrol owns approximately 40% of those horrible scores.  
    • CBP was 419 out of 432 subcomponent agencies in the 2021 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings which places them in the bottom 5%!
 
So, employee retention is a problem for the Patrol and it's going to become far worse!  This problem is exasperated due to the long-term dissatisfaction of the workforce as reflected in FEVS scores, significant spikes in hiring in the mid-2000s and a lack of meaningful initiatives to retain employees.
 
Recently, I was told of a virtual town hall that had occurred where the Patrol's senior leaders were asked about poor employee retention rates.  HQ's response was that retention bonus funding had been requested but not approved.  All of the studies that I have read stated that when an employee perceives that they are being paid fairly, that giving bonuses or raises as a method of addressing morale problems will merely prolong the inevitable.  The bonuses will NOT fix morale, they will remain dissatisfied and will leave.  The same holds true for employee retention bonuses, see below:
  • The biggest problem with a retention bonus is that there's no evidence that they're effective. Bonuses have a lot of issues, and as it turns out, they are rarely more attractive than whatever outside reason the employee has to leave. Bonuses are one-time payments and don't foster long-term loyalty. Source
  • Many HR professionals are anti-ERB (employee retention bonus), largely because they are expensive and the HR experts believe they are not particularly effective in actually reducing turnover. In addition, some HR professionals claim poorly designed retention bonus programs actually increase employee turnover. Source
  • In summary, I would advise any organization that is considering retention bonuses to explore other options instead. Retention bonuses are expensive and usually an ineffective subsidy for good leadership. They typically create higher staff turnover and have many undesirable impacts on productivity, recruiting and morale. Source
 
The USBP is solid at responding to an employee crisis with the Chaplains, Peer Support and Honor Guard.  The Patrol is stepping up its resiliency initiatives to provide the workforce with better techniques for coping with personal challenges and stress. When employees have an emergency, we leap into action for their benefit and graciously accept assistance from our friends at the Border Patrol Foundation.   
 
Where great opportunities for improvement for the USBP exists, is in valuing the workforce on a day by day basis (not just during a crisis). Doing better for the workforce on a daily basis is what will have impacts on attrition/retention, FEVS and mission sustainment/accomplishment.  Things like communication (listen and share information better), employee friendly policies, appropriate recognition (my personal favorite), fair discipline, etc...  

In summary, the Patrol is putting forth great effort in recruiting new employees, and at responding to employees in crisis.  Awesome and worthy work. However, the Patrol is lacking in retention initiatives.  To address retention issues, I strongly recommend against ineffective and expensive retention bonuses.  I believe the keys to improving retention numbers lay within improvements:
  • Leadership
    • Don't be the a$$hole
    • Have a bias for the workforce
  • Organizational culture
    • Define Honor First and make it an organizational standard.  Such a definition could be longer as in this document or in this site, or it could be brief yet powerful as the U.S. Marine Corps does with Semper Fidelis:
      • Semper Fidelis: Latin for “always faithful,” Semper Fidelis symbolizes the lifelong commitment held by every Marine for the Corps and America, a promise reciprocated by the Corps to all Marines. 
    • Recognize that the Patrol's values are codified in its awards system and increase their presentation to the worthy act of the workforce.
 
What another great week in USBP history!  This week starts with the Father of the Border Patrol's final proposal to create the USBP in 1918 (and it was approved but not acted upon). We have uncertainty of the authority of Patrol Inspectors in 1924 and the earliest reference of which I am aware to a Border Patrol Intelligence unit in 1925.  We also have the finalizations of the spec sheets of USBP Flag and Pennant by the U.S. Army institute of Heraldry in 1998.
 
We remember two Border Patrol heroes on the anniversaries of the actions leading them to being recognized with Newton-Azrak Awards.
 
We also remember three of our fallen on the anniversaries of there deaths.
 
Enjoy the blog and have a great week!
 
Cliff
PS - 
  • As an open and continuous invitation to current and former USBP employees, I am always accepting photos to post in the USBP Photo Galleries and in the Upholding Honor First pages.  I sure would appreciate you visiting those pages and sending me anything that you think I could post (just send them to cliff@honorfirst.com).
  • As always, make sure to explore all of the hyperlinks to documents and pages.
  • Finally, please forward this blog to whomever you think may enjoy it.


Esprit de Corps
 
The workplace climate resulting from a combination of organizational pride and employee morale.
  • Organizational pride is the positive feeling experienced by employees from being part of a meaningful team that is rich in history, tradition and culture.
  • Employee morale is the feeling experienced by employee based in part on their perception of:
    • Being valued by the organization,
    • Fairly compensated, and
    • Performing meaningful work.
 
Esprit de corps is reinforced through the shared goals, mission and values of the organization and its employees.

The definition turns Esprit de Corps into a simple formula and defines parts that comprise organizational pride and employee morale.

Esprit de Corps = Organizational Pride + Employee Morale

Esprit de Corps is the key to a healthy organization and engaged employees.

​Honor First is foundational to the Border Patrol's organizational pride and integral to its Esprit de Corps.

Documents/Events

1918
  • On November 3, 1918, future Chief and Father of the Border Patrol Frank Berkshire (1870-1934), submitted his final proposal for the creation of the Border Patrol.  In this proposal, Berkshire was instructed to submit absolute minimums.  He proposed a force of 264 Border Patrolmen for the southern border which would absorb all Mounted Watchmen.  This proposal would be approved by the Acting Secretary on November 12, 1918.  However, implementation wouldn't occur until 1924 after several years of interdepartmental meetings and once funding was received (pg 240).
1924
  • This October 30, 1924 memo illustrates the confusion concerning the authorities of Border Patrol Inspectors (BPI).  Concerning BPI's enforcing Prohibition and Customs laws, the United States Attorney writes, "Whether the immigration officer should assist in the enforcement of the other two laws above mentioned, is to my mind, a question of policy to be decided by your chief superior officer."  However, with the passage of the Immigration Act of 1925, BPI's were given law enforcement powers (see Sections 235 and 287, (sound familiar?)).  Further, with the implementation of General Order 63 on March 29, 1926, the Assistant Secretary of the Department of Labor and the Commissioner-General authorized Immigration and Border Patrol Officers to enforce laws other than immigration laws.
1925
  • In one of the earliest references to a Border Patrol intelligence unit, the District Director of the Detroit District wrote a memo to the Commissioner-General on November 3, 1925, concerning the excellent results of a sub-district's "so-called "Intelligence Division".
  • On November 4, 1925, a vender write a memo to the Commissioner-General concerning Border Patrol and Immigrant Inspector uniforms.
1930
  • On November 1, 1930, a gunfight occurred in El Paso between three Border Patrol Inspectors and a person known as "Chato".  This document contains a cover memo an a sworn statement of one of the Border Patrol Inspectors. Chato was wounded and is suspected to have died in Mexico due to his wounds.
    • Patrol Inspector Richard R. Coscia
      • Coscia would leave the Patrol and later be convicted of impersonating a federal officer in 1931.  He used his Border Patrol uniform to stop a person that was smuggling alcohol.  He told the smuggler to run away, stole the alcohol and was subsequently arrested.
    • Patrol Inspector Charles E. Gardiner (1903-1995)
    • Patrol Inspector Curtis D. Mosley
 
1932
  • In 1932, Frank Berkshire (The Father of the Border Patrol) was the Director of the Canadian Border District (which was the northern border Chief of the Border Patrol at the time).  On November 1, 1932, Berkshire wrote a memo to the Commissioner-General his concurrence for a new uniform coat.
1936
  • It is believed that by 1936 it was known that portions of the Department of Labor were going to be transferred to the Department of Justice.  This memo, written November 2, 1936 by the Deputy Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), is his response to the the INS losing the Border Patrol, most likely in response one of the proposals to such a transfer.
    • They don't write like this anymore - In reply to your letter of the 27th ultimo, it is a rather difficult task to so untangle the strands that bind the Border Patrol to other branches of the Service into a single unit as to arrive at any accurate measure of added staff necessities with the Border Patrol arm of the Service removed.
1940
  • In this October 30, 1940 memo, the Chief Patrol Inspector Carson Morrow (1896-1959) of the Tucson Sub-district writes his boss, the District Director of the El Paso District, recommending locations to create Border Patrol "outposts" and includes a diagram of the facilities.
  • On October 31, 1940, the Chief Patrol Inspector Earl Fallis (1894-1977) of the Being Bend Sub-district wrote a memo to the El Paso District Director containing his suggestions of outpost stations and their designs.
1959
  • After Fidel Castro succeeded in taking over the Cuban Government in January 1959, anti-Castro Cubans and, in some cases, U.S. citizens, used Florida airports to carry out hostile activity against Cuba, thereby causing embarrassment to the U.S. November 1, 1959, the U.S. Attorney General was directed to prevent the departure of persons, including by air, from the U.S. to Cuba, who appeared to be departing for the purpose of starting or furthering civil strife in that country. The responsibility for preventing departure of unauthorized flights was assigned to the Border Patrol.
    • From - HONOR FIRST:  The Story of the United States Border Patrol - Volume II by Joseph Banco
1998
  • On November 5, 1998, the U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry finalized the spec sheets for the USBP flag and USBP Pennant.  

Newton-Azrak Award Action Anniversaries

​Follow this link to see examples of USBP employees Upholding Honor First.
  • An organization’s values are codified in its awards system. Recognizing the achievements, service and heroism of employees is important.  It is critical for those in positions of leadership to value the workforce.  Awards are a fundamental manner for leaders to demonstrate appreciation to the workforce for upholding the organizational values. – U.S. Border Patrol Honorary Awards
2000

Jesus E. De La Vega

Supervisory Border Patrol Agent 
El Centro Sector

On November 2, 1999 at about 11:20 PM, Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Jesus E. De La Vega was patrolling the border area along Interstate Highway 8 near Seeley, California. As he turned off the highway, he saw a huge white cloud of smoke covering the ramp.  Through the smoke, he was able to make out a vehicle that had just crashed, rolled over twice, and come to rest on its side. Flames shot out from the front passenger compartment and from under the hood.  
 
Looking for occupants, SBPA De La Vega spied a single male victim, later identified as a Bruce Allen Stanley, who was severely disoriented and desperately attempting to exit the vehicle.  Stanley could make no headway, unable as he was to move his right arm, which had been injured when the vehicle rolled over.  Agent De La Vega asked Mr. Stanley whether any other occupants were in the vehicle. The victim stated that he was the only one. As the flames became more intense, Agent De La Vega, oblivious to his own safety, attempted to open the door of the vehicle, but was initially beaten back by the smoke and heat. After a few more attempts, Agent De La Vega was finally able to pull open the door, release the man’s seat belt, and drag him to safety away from the vehicle, which by then was entirely engulfed in flames.  Agent De La Vega proceeded to administer emergency first aid to Mr. Stanley and make him as comfortable as possible. 
 
Next, he radioed for emergency services, and within minutes, units from the California Highway Patrol, Imperial County Fire Department, and Gold Cross Ambulance had responded. They treated Mr. Stanley for the injuries to his shoulder and arm and for smoke inhalation.  For his part, Agent De La Vega escaped injury. His selfless and heroic actions saved a life and are a true inspiration.
 

2019

​Tony Miranda

Assistant Chief
Washington D.C.
Past Event

On November 1, 2007, in Wellton, AZ, Agent Miranda observed a house almost completely engulfed in flames. Without regard for his personal safety, he entered the structure through the front door and assisted a woman in a wheelchair to safety. He immediately reentered the house, located a double amputee elderly man, and led him to safety. At that point, Agent Miranda was informed that a mother and two children were still in the house. A third time, he entered through the front door only to find that the ceiling was fully engulfed and that fiery debris was falling on him. As he retreated outside, he was told that the room in which the mother and children were believed to be was on the rear, right side of the house. With the help of a neighbor, Agent Miranda dislodged an air-conditioning unit from the wall, creating an entry point into the room. For a fourth time, Agent Miranda entered the house to save people. He found the room to be full of black smoke, with such intense heat that breathing was nearly impossible. Again, he was forced to retreat. Once outside, Agent Miranda instructed the neighbor to use a nearby garden hose and to douse his uniform with water. For a fifth time, Agent Miranda entered the house. He found the room to be engulfed in flame, full of choking smoke and raining debris from the ceiling that was on fire. Over the next week, Agent Miranda would lose his eyelashes, eyebrows and much of his hair. The heat that he experienced inside the house was so intense that it cause the hair to become brittle and to break off. For his conspicuous heroism and extraordinary courage, he was awarded the Commissioner’s Meritorious Service Award for Valor and the Secretary’s Valor Award.  Agent Miranda’s actions brought great credit upon himself and the United States Border Patrol.

USBP Fallen

As of May 16, 2022, the U.S. Border Patrol has suffered 152* fallen.
Titles:
  • 3 Mounted Watchmen fell before 1924 and are carried as Border Patrol fallen
  • 48 Border Patrol Inspectors fell between 1924 and 1970
  • 100 Border Patrol Agents have fallen since 1970
  • 1 Enforcement Analysis Specialist
The names that appear below hold a place of honor. They have made the ultimate sacrifice in an effort to fulfill the oath each officer took to protect and defend the United States of America.

The facts regarding each officer are presented without major editing of the "language of the day" found in the reports detailing the circumstances of each event. This is done to provide the reader an association with historical timeframes.

Employees who died in the line of duty due to being exposed to deadly illnesses will not have the cause of death listed.

*With the exception of two of the fallen immediately below, all names are listed (or in the process of being included) on the official Honor Roll of U.S. Border Patrol Fallen and inscribed on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.  The U.S. Border Patrol should fix these discrepancies. HonorFirst.com honors both of the fallen.
  • Joe R. White - He is recognized as officially fallen by the U.S. Border Patrol but his name is not inscribed on the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial.
  • John Charles Gigax - He is not recognized as officially fallen by Customs and Border Protection or the U.S. Border Patrol. He is remembered by all except his own agency with his name is inscribed on the:
    • National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial (see this link),
    • Officer Down memorial Page (see this link), and
    • Texas Peace Officer's Memorial (see this link).
2006

David N. Webb

Date of Birth:                November 24, 1970
Entered on Duty:          February 23, 2004
Title:                             Border Patrol Agent
End of Watch:              November 3, 2006
 
Details:
On November 3, 2006, Border Patrol Agent David N. Webb was enroute to his normal patrol duties on the Tohono O’odham Nation within the Ajo Station Area of Responsibility. At approximately 5:18 p.m., Agent Webb was involved in a single vehicle accident. Border Patrol Agents working nearby responded to assist Police and emergency medical services personnel at the scene of the accident. Agent Webb did not survive the injuries sustained from the accident.
 
Agent Webb was 36 years old and was a graduate of the 580th session of the Border Patrol Academy. He served his country as a member of the 186th Infantry in the Oregon Army National Guard, where he saw service in the Sinai Desert as a member of a United Nations Peace Keeping Force from May 2002 to February 2003.

Burial Details Unknown
 

2012

David R. Delaney

Date of Birth                 September 5, 1968
Entered on Duty:          December 12, 2002
Title:                             Border Patrol Agent
End of Watch:              November 2, 2012
 
Details:
On November 2, 2012, Border Patrol Agent David R. Delaney collapsed and died while patrolling on foot near Big Bend National Park in Texas.
 
Agent Delaney entered on duty as a member of the 536th academy session on December 12, 2002. Following his graduation, he was assigned to the Calexico Station in the El Centro Sector. He then transferred to Houlton and Grand Forks Sectors before settling in at the Big Bend National Park Sub-Station of Alpine Station in the Big Bend Sector in 2011.
 
Agent Delaney is survived by his wife and three children.

​Gravesite​
 

2021

Anibal A. Perez

Entered on Duty:           June 26, 2006
Title:                              Supervisory Border Patrol Agent
End of Watch:               November 5, 2021

Details:
Agent Perez entered on duty on June 26, 2006, as part of the 625th Session of the Border Patrol Academy. At the time of his passing, he was assigned to the Ajo Station in the Tucson Sector, Arizona. The circumstances of his passing were reviewed by an executive panel and the CBP Commissioner who determined that this death occurred in the line of duty.  He is survived by his wife Fawna; children: Isabella, Andre, and Milan; parents: Anibal and Dora; and sister: Tara.

Cremated
0 Comments
<<Previous
    Help spread the word!

      Enter your email address to receive notifications of new blog posts.
    Submit

    Clifford Gill

    Blog author, retired U.S. Border Patrol Assistant Chief and, current U.S. Border Patrol employee advocate.

    ​Read more about Cliff here.


    Ray Harris

    Site founder and owner, former Senior Patrol Agent and retired Immigration Special Agent.

    ​Read more about Ray here.


    Joseph Banco

    U.S. Border Patrol historian and retired Deputy Chief Patrol Agent.

    ​Read more about Joe here.


    To optimize mobile viewing, only one blog per page will be visible.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021


    I prefer that you leave comments.  However, if you wish to contact me, please do so by emailing Cliff@HonorFirst.com.

All HonorFirst.com web pages and documents are copyright 2017 - 2023 by Ray Harris.  All rights reserved.
DISCLAIMER: 
​HonorFirst.com is in no way affiliated with the Department of Homeland Security,
Customs and Border Protection, or the US Border Patrol.
The US Border Patrol is an equal opportunity employer.