New Harpers Ferry Advanced Training Facility Set to Open in Spring

New Harpers Ferry Advanced Training Facility Set to Open in Spring

The new Advanced Training Center at Harpers Ferry is slated to begin training Customs and Border Protection officers in May, U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., announced Wednesday.

Byrd, who has spearheaded the effort to attract and build the new facility in Jefferson County, met in his Capitol office with Robert C. Bonner, Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) within the Department of Homeland Security, to receive an update on the project. The West Virginia Senator reports that the news was all positive.

"The Department of Homeland Security has been working hard on the final preparations for the new Advanced Training Center, which will serve as a key part of America's border security efforts," Byrd said.

CBP merged the uniformed officers from the Customs Service, Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service with the entire Border Patrol as the border agency under the Department of Homeland Security. CBP now has more than 40,000 federal employees, the nation's largest cadre of armed federal law enforcement officers. The Jefferson County training facility, which is located on 104 acres near Harpers Ferry, will be the first to provide advanced law enforcement training specifically relating to border protection efforts.

In 2000, Byrd included $24.9 million in a federal appropriations bill to design and build the Advanced Training Center. The Customs Service, now part of CBP, voluntarily provided an additional $5.3 million of the agency's Fiscal Year 2003 appropriated funds for further enhancements to the center. Since then, Byrd has facilitated meetings between Customs and local residents and officials to ensure that the design of the new facility addressed community concerns for noise, traffic, and historical protection.

"This facility will be a winner for both Jefferson County and for the entire country. Jefferson County will benefit from the thousands of people who will travel to Harpers Ferry and stay several days for the specialized training at the new facility. The country will benefit because our CBP officers and agents will be better prepared to meet the security challenges we face today," Byrd explained.

"We have made excellent progress on the Harpers Ferry training center. When it opens, this center will be an important part of the nation's homeland security backbone," Bonner said.

Commissioner Bonner also told Byrd that a director for the new facility should be selected within the next few weeks.

The Advanced Training Center will include a firing range complex, an armory, practical training areas, and an academic/administration building. Once fully operational, the facility is expected to employ approximately 45 full-time staff and contractors and to serve an estimated 12,000 Customs and Border Protection law enforcement officers per year.

http://byrd.senate.gov/byrd_newsroom/byrd_news_march/byrd_news_rls_03022005.html