CBP, Coast Guard try to improve interoperability

CBP, Coast Guard try to improve interoperability    U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Ralph Basham and Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad W. Allen two weeks ago held the first of what are expected to be regular interagency leadership meetings.
   Basham, CBP’s top official, said in a speech to the Maritime Security Expo in New York last week that the senior guidance team will meet on a regular basis to improve cooperation, coordination and communication between the sister agencies. Afterwards he said the Transportation Security Administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also agencies within the Department of Homeland Security, eventually could be included in the meetings because they also share common responsibilities.
   A Coast Guard spokeswoman said the frequency of the meetings is yet to be determined.
   DHS was formed to coordinate disparate functions of agencies tasked with protecting the homeland from terrorists, but critics have charged that the department is still fragmented and parochial.
   Basham said bringing the agency chiefs together sends a message to managers and employees in both agencies to make cooperation a priority. The two border security agencies have had frosty relations at times over recommendations to department leaders about port and cargo security.
   Basham said he also met the same week with the Commercial Operations Advisory Committee, whose industry members were in Washington for their board meeting.