Air and Marine Operations is the airborne and maritime law enforcement component of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, staffed by more than 1,800 agents and support personnel operating over 200 aircraft and 300 marine vessels across the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In fiscal year 2024, its enforcement actions produced 1,009 arrests, 48,609 apprehensions, and seizures that included nearly 245,000 pounds of cocaine and over 2,200 pounds of fentanyl.1U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Air and Marine Operations The agency extends border enforcement well past the physical land boundary, intercepting smugglers and unauthorized crossings in the air and on the water.
What AMO Does
The core job is stopping people and contraband from reaching the country by air or sea. That plays out as detecting drug shipments hundreds of miles offshore, intercepting go-fast boats in the Caribbean, and tracking aircraft attempting to slip under radar near the southern border. Enforcement targets transnational criminal networks moving narcotics and smuggling people.
AMO also maintains continuous awareness of the air and maritime domains to identify potential terrorist threats using those pathways. When an unidentified aircraft or vessel approaches U.S. territory, AMO is often the first responder. Crews and assets regularly support other federal agencies as well as state and local law enforcement on missions unrelated to the border, from disaster response to major security events.
Search and rescue is a quieter piece of the mission. AMO aircraft and vessels respond to distressed mariners and people in peril in remote border and maritime areas, sometimes operating far offshore where no other agency can reach quickly.
Where AMO Operates
AMO distributes its forces through Air Branches and Marine Branches positioned across the country, a decentralized design that lets each region handle threats specific to its geography. Maritime operations extend well into international waters, intercepting smuggling attempts in the source and transit zones of Central and South America before loads reach U.S. shores.
The National Air Security Operations Centers coordinate AMO’s most strategic missions. The centers in Corpus Christi, Texas and Jacksonville, Florida jointly operate the P-3 long-range patrol fleet across North and South America. NASOC-Grand Forks in North Dakota runs manned and unmanned aircraft operations and handles all initial and recurrent UAS pilot training. NASOC-Sierra Vista at Fort Huachuca, Arizona operates the MQ-9 Predator B drone fleet, and NASOC-Albuquerque supports intelligence-gathering missions with specially equipped aircraft.2U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Air and Marine Operations Operating Locations
The Fleet
The P-3 Long Range Tracker is AMO’s strategic airborne workhorse. Originally built as Navy submarine hunters, these high-endurance turboprops carry a crew of eight, stay airborne for 12 hours at a stretch, and have a range of 4,000 nautical miles.3U.S. Customs and Border Protection. P-3 Long Range Tracker That reach lets them patrol the 42-million-square-mile drug-hunting grounds of the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific and act as airborne command posts during multi-agency operations.4U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP P-3 Operations The Bombardier DHC-8 handles medium-range patrol work, and smaller detection aircraft target low-flying or radar-evading contacts near the border.
On the rotary side, the H125 A-Star light enforcement helicopter is a primary asset, with a top speed of 135 knots and three-hour endurance. Electro-optical and infrared cameras with video downlink send real-time imagery to ground commanders, and night vision compatibility and tactical searchlights allow around-the-clock work.5U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Airbus AS350/H125 A-Star
The MQ-9 Predator B is AMO’s large unmanned aircraft system, providing persistent surveillance along the border and in maritime transit zones. Its multi-spectral targeting system pairs infrared and daylight sensors with laser designators, and the Vehicle and Dismount Exploitation Radar adds ground-moving-target tracking and synthetic aperture imagery. The Predator can loiter over an area far longer than any manned platform.
On the water, the 41-foot Coastal Interceptor Vessel, built by SAFE Boats, is the primary high-speed pursuit craft. Four 350-horsepower Mercury outboards push it to a maximum speed of 58 knots (about 66 mph), with a range of 350 nautical miles and 10 hours of endurance. Each CIV carries marine surface radar and electro-optical/infrared sensors with video downlink, and runs a minimum crew of three.6U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 41-Foot SAFE Boat Coastal Interceptor Vessel Smaller patrol boats handle rivers, harbors, and shallow coastal areas where the CIV cannot maneuver.
Becoming an Air Interdiction Agent
Air Interdiction Agents are AMO’s pilots, and the entry bar is high. Applicants need a current FAA Commercial or Airline Transport Pilot certificate with an instrument rating. Acceptable ratings include airplane (single-engine or multi-engine land) with instrument, rotorcraft helicopter with instrument, or both for dual-rated pilots. Equivalent military pilot ratings also qualify.7USAJOBS. Air Interdiction Agent
Flight hour minimums are 1,500 total, with at least 250 as pilot-in-command, 75 instrument hours, and 75 night hours. Up to 500 hours of the total can be waived, bringing the effective floor to 1,000. Applicants can begin the process at just 750 total hours but must build to at least 1,000 at their own expense before the formal assessment. UAS flight time on MQ-1 or MQ-9 platforms counts toward the 1,500-hour total but not toward pilot-in-command, instrument, or night requirements.7USAJOBS. Air Interdiction Agent
The position enters at GS-11, with a salary range of $88,509 to $163,996 per year.7USAJOBS. Air Interdiction Agent Applicants must also hold at least an FAA Class 2 medical certificate dated within the previous 12 months.
Becoming a Marine Interdiction Agent
Marine Interdiction Agents enforce federal law on the water, and the path centers on maritime credentials. Every applicant must hold a qualifying U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Credential. Qualifying capacities include Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessel, Mate of 200 gross tons or greater, Chief Mate, Second Mate, Third Mate Unlimited Oceans, or Master of 25 gross registered tons or greater.8USAJOBS. Marine Interdiction Agent Without one of these credentials, the application goes nowhere.
The position enters at GS-11 and follows a career ladder through GS-13.9CBP Careers. Marine Interdiction Agent Candidates qualifying at GS-11 need one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least GS-9, with duties such as commanding law enforcement scenes, conducting searches, and processing arrests and seized property.8USAJOBS. Marine Interdiction Agent
Age Limits and the Career Window
Federal law enforcement positions within DHS, including AMO roles, carry a maximum entry age: applicants must receive their appointment before the day they turn 37. Agency heads can grant exceptions up to age 40 for highly qualified individuals or documented skills shortages.10U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Maximum Age for Appointment to CBP Firefighter and Law Enforcement Officer Positions
Mandatory retirement hits at age 57 for law enforcement officers who have completed 20 years of service. An agency head can extend that to age 60 if the public interest requires it.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 5 – Section 8425 Do the math before applying. Entering at 36 may leave only 21 years before mandatory separation, while entering in the mid-to-late twenties gives a full career.
Hiring Process and Background Standards
Both Air and Marine Interdiction Agents go through a pre-employment screening that can run 12 months or longer, including fingerprint collection, a polygraph, a background investigation, and the Questionnaire for National Security Positions.12CBP Careers. FAQ
Drug and alcohol abuse can lead to an unfavorable determination, as can association with people involved in illegal activity. Concealment is far worse than disclosure. CBP explicitly warns that deliberately falsifying or omitting material facts, including drug use history, can result in disqualification and is a federal felony under 18 U.S.C. ยง 1001, carrying fines up to $10,000 and up to five years in prison.12CBP Careers. FAQ The polygraph is designed to catch omissions, and applicants who try to conceal past drug use are caught regularly.
Training
New AMO agents complete the 15-week Air and Marine Basic Training Program at the Air and Marine Operations Academy, part of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia.13CBP Careers. Aviation Enforcement Agent The curriculum covers arrest techniques, investigative skills, survival skills, defensive tactics, criminal law, customs law, immigration law, law enforcement driving, and tactics specific to aviation and maritime operations. Spanish language training is built in.
After the academy, aviation agents receive initial Tactical Flight Officer training at the National Air Training Center in Jacksonville, Florida, followed by aircraft-specific training for the platform assigned to their duty location and local tactical team training.13CBP Careers. Aviation Enforcement Agent Full mission readiness can take several additional months.
Pay and Retirement
AMO agents are paid on the federal General Schedule. Law enforcement officers at grades 3 through 10 use the GL pay plan; grade 11 and above use the standard GS designation. Under the 2026 special rate tables for law enforcement, a GS-11 Step 1 agent earns a base salary of $90,442, rising to $117,581 at Step 10. These figures already include a 41.77 percent locality supplement.14U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Special Rate Table Number L037
On top of base pay, criminal investigators receive Law Enforcement Availability Pay, a fixed 25 percent supplement that compensates for unscheduled duty hours beyond the standard workweek.15U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Availability Pay For a GS-11 Step 1 agent, that adds roughly $22,600 annually before overtime.
AMO agents qualify for enhanced federal law enforcement retirement under FERS. Agents hired on or after July 6, 2008, can retire at age 50 with 20 years of covered service, or at any age with 25 years. The annuity formula is more generous than the standard federal calculation: 1.7 percent of the highest three years of average pay multiplied by up to 20 years of service, plus 1 percent for each year beyond 20.16U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBPO Retirement Information Standard federal benefits, including the Thrift Savings Plan, Federal Employees Health Benefits, and federal life insurance, also apply.