...known as Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Homeland Security (DHS) when I did leave it in November 2011. I spent about 8 years and 6 months under DHS - first in the Bureau of Immigration & Customs Enforcement (until the FBI got peeved that the name contained the word bureau), then in ICE, then in HSI (when the ICE Office of Investigations was sick and tired of being associated with ICE, it changed its name to HSI, but ironically remained under ICE). ICE had one of the worst ratings, if not the absolute worst one, as to the morale of its employees as compared to other government agencies and it reportedly has stayed that way for years (source).
I spent 32 years plus in federal law enforcement, the first 4 in the Border Patrol, the next almost 20 in the U.S. Customs Service and the last 8 plus a bit in ICE/HSI. My last 8 years were miserable. Yes, I will admit, I think GWB fucked up big time by creating DHS but I must also point out that it got much worse under BHO. It was, in my opinion, the political arse kissing numbskulls put in charge of the department from the cabinet level positions, down through the ICE's management, mid-level management, down to some of the lowly group supervisors of the agency, that made it a miserable place to work. (I will note I had some excellent supervisors too but many on the job were not cut out to be managers other than at Mickey D's. ) Even some of the street agents were absolute arsehats (but not most by far). So, the lion's share of the blame goes to mismanagement and the lack of strong supervision. Supervision lacking, what was abundant was piss poor managing and that made working there really miserable. In all of my career, I never before had experienced an outfit with less understanding of its purpose, more floundering, less direction, more politics, and sheer inept boobs in charge who tried to make things like basic round-ups of known wanted petty criminals look like major investigative achievements than I did during my time in ICE. In addition, as far as I could tell, disregard for the Constitution and the rights therein ran fairly high at ICE in some instances.
Now, while you may note I speak from personal experience, in the first person, it is not just me who feels that way about morale while having worked there. That there are many others who feel/felt likewise is evident in the fact that once again ICE reportedly rates at the bottom for morale among federal agencies as apparent in this quote:
"If the latest federal workforce employee survey is any measure, the Department of Homeland Security is the worst office Uncle Sam runs, and and its Customs and Immigration Enforcement agency is its least desirable post." (Source.)
Do I miss ICE/HSI? Yes, a little bit but not very much at all, certainly nowhere near as much as I miss the Customs Service Office of Investigations, or the Customs Patrol Tactical Enforcement Division, or the Border Patrol; those were good agencies and excellent jobs. In fact, I miss almost nothing at all about the job at ICE if only because it truly sucked the goodness out of federal law enforcement work and destroyed the employee's desire to get the job done (that is if the employee could figure out exactly what was the job).
I do, however, miss many of the people with whom I worked; most were good at heart, moral, ethical and hard working law enforcement agents and personnel. God or Nature bless them and give them a better place to work, under a new and better administration, as soon as possible.
If you are wondering why I called it a "shitberg" in the title of this post: ICE had a poster made up showing a huge iceberg mostly submerged with the saying, as best as I can recall: "ICE—What you see is just the tip of the iceberg". My reply to that was that only ICE floated lower than shit. How true that thought seems to have been for so many of its employees, based upon their repeated low reviews of morale while working there, is a shame. Sadly, despite the grand purpose that was underlying the creation of DHS and ICE, ICE seemingly has turned out to be little more than a travesty of professionalism among all other federal law enforcement agencies.
All the best,
Glenn B
...but all we got was about 1/4 inch of snow and frozen rain as far as accumulations went. I suppose that is a good thing too, especially since I have to drive into work today. Of course, plenty of you got hit by much worse in the storm of yesterday and the day before. Chicago and Cleavland and surround areas seem to have been whacked badly as it seems so too was northern PA. With more snow promised for some places tomorrow and Tuesday, it sounds like getting to work then will not be a joy. For me today, it should be pretty easy on the highways. The local streets will be another story as they are pretty icy - yes even a 1/4 inch of ice can make it tough to drive. I always get a kick out of the nuts in their SUVs. They think they can drive faster because they have 4 wheel drive. As my brother pointed out years ago, these folks in SUVs seem to forget that they may have to stop on dusty, wet, snowy or icy conditions and it just will be harder, much harder, to do so because they were driving too fast. So if you ever wondered why you hear about so many accidents involving SUVs, well it's probably not the fault of the vehicle.Me I plan to be careful driving today. Stay safe.All the best,Glenn B
...and man oh man is it warm outside. It's currently 89 degrees Fahrenheit, with 42% humididity - so it feels like its 91 degrees Fahrenheit. Can you imagine it feeling like 91 degrees in July! Maybe Al Gore was right, maybe we have doomed ourselves, oh nooooooooo. Let me tell you, though it's hot, I have braved the heat. I've been out to the stores and the shopping is done, I took care of my animals and their cages, pen, and tanks are clean and they are well fed, I put a coat of polyurethane of the chest of drawers I'm refinishing, I've watered the flowers and the vegetable garden using watering cans (none of that wussy using a hose for me), I've pulled some weeds (though not too many because it really is warm), I took out the trash, and now I am waiting on the polyurethane to dry so I can hit the chest of drawers with another coat. What to do, oh what to do. Well I can get my animals ready for the herp show this evening at Gardiner Manor Park in Suffolk County, and and do have to get that done; but before I do it there is something else I need to accomplish.What a better accomplishment than to make sure I survive this massive heat wave, this overwhelming spurt of global warming, this Curse of Gore. So I had better grab an icy cold beverage like a Hefe Weissbier, or a vodka spiked glass of lemonade, while there is still electricity coming in, allowing my fridge to run, making it possible for me to chill some beers, and to make some cubes to dip into my cocktails. Otherwise I might just start repeating the death knell of the Wicked Witch of the West: "I'm melting, I'm melting.....". So what am I waiting for? Later for you....All the best,Glenn B
Yes the thought just hit me (after being up for over an hour and a half already and trying to think of something about which to write) that it might be interesting (at least for myself) if I was to list the firearms that I have carried so far throughout my career in federal law enforcement.
I started my career as a Border Patrol Agent, in that garden spot of the world: Calexico, California. That was back in 1979. The first thing I was offered as an issue revolver was a Smith and Wesson model 19 with 4" barrel, blued steel. I did not like it. I wanted one of those wonderfully heavy revolvers I had shot at the academy, a Colt Border Patrol. The guy handing out the guns gave me the hairy eyeball, and probably thought I was crazy, but I got just what I had wanted. (Sorry I don't know which one that is in the pic. My goodness was I ever really that thin, and that young - I guess I was, a long time ago.) The piece was a lot heavier than the Smith, and its trigger pull a lot stiffer, but I liked it. Why? Well because the cylinder rotated along the natural pull of the thumb so as to make reloading more efficient. More efficient because as you loaded, if only part way through and you had to slam the cylinder shut and fire, the next click would likely go bang. Smith cylinders move in the opposite direction. If you look at a Smith & Wesson revolver from the rear, as you would when holding it to fire it, and then operate it so the cylinder turns, you will note the cylinder moving in a counter-clockwise direction. The natural movement of your thumb, when reloading, is to pull the cylinder in a counterclockwise direction. This means that if you close the cylinder before being fully reloaded, as you might in a combat situation, the rounds are likely not going to come up immediately under the firing pin. Instead empty chambers will first pass the firing pin. Not good tactically speaking when a split second could be of the essence to your winning a gunfight. Now when you load a colt, this does not happen. You see the action of the Colt revolver is such that the cylinder moves in a clockwise direction. So when your thumb pulls it counterclockwise as you reload, and you then have to quickly close a partially loaded gun, the first chamber to fall under the hammer would likely be one that you have just loaded. That is good.Another reason I liked the Colt was that if I ever ran out of bullets, I could use it as a more effective club than I could the Smith & Wesson. Man it sure felt a lot heavier. It was built to last for sure; and at the time, or within a year or two of that time, I discovered that Smiths were not being built that well. One thing not so great abut the Colt, beside the heavy trigger, was the fact that it was unforgiving if you decided that you were going to do something like take it apart and give it a really good cleaning in paces no one had looked at since it was manufactured. I soon found out that putting it back together was nowhere as easy as was reassembling a Smith Wesson. In fact, my first and only attempt to do this resulted in my sheepishly going to see our armorer (or the agent who passed for such) and begging him to make it new again. After he replaced one of the springs I had mangled it was just that good. That was quite embarrassking, as Popeye would have said.Somewhere along the way, my Colt Border patrol was replaced by a S&W model 19. If I recall correctly, they collected all the Colts to get rid of them, too old or so I remember. The thing was, those Colts would have lasted another 50 years. The S&W 19 turned out okay for me. I actually got to shoot better with it than I did with the Colt, and I could actually take it apart to clean out its innards, and then get it back together and it still worked. I wound up buying a couple S&W model 66's when they came out with a Border Patrol commemorative. I got one with a 4' barrel and one with a 2 1/2" barrel. This was when I discovered that S&W quality control was not all it was made up to be. These revolvers actually clinked when you dry fired them. I took mine and shook them, and pieces of metal shavings fell out of them. What a sorry state for a brand new gun. I sold them quickly.As for long guns, I was not issued one while in the BP except on a requested daily basis. In other words, I had to ask for one if I wanted it, and had to ask each day then return it at the end of my shift. We had Remington 870 shotguns in 12 gauge. I liked them a lot. I had quite some fun with them at the academy, and when we shot trap (or was it skeet) I hit every clay, even when they did doubles, and I sure don't shoot that well today (ah the adeptness of youth). We also had Remington model 760 rifles in .308 caliber, they were a pump action. They were fun rifles. I took one out now and then, but I preferred the shotgun for the type of work we mostly did, though I will say while out of town in the desert those rifles were my choice. It was sort of a nice thing to see they had the same basic action type as did our issue shotguns. No chance to forget, while under stress, which one you had, and therefore operate it incorrectly.Now while I was in the Border Patrol, I was not allowed to carry a back-up handgun. I would never intentionally break the rules, so I was sometimes quite upset with myself when I reached into my pocket only to find a Beretta Jetfire in .25 Auto. I guess that happened now and then because I was a gun sort of a guy, but as I said, never intentionally! The slingshot I carried, a wrist-rocket or something with a similar name, now that I carried intentionally, but only for use on animals like sunks or stray dogs that would have otherwise interfered with my duties while out on patrol.After 4 years in hell Calexico, the garden spot of the world, I was able to land a job with the U.S. Customs Service as a Customs Patrol Officer in new York City. Yes I am a New Yorker, and I wanted to get home, so badly in fact, that I took a job for which by then I was over qualified. In fact I never even looked into becoming a Customs Special Agent at the time, thinking instead the patrol officer job would be my foot in the door so to speak. Well the door slammed on my foot, and it took me many years to become an agent, but that is another story. As for my sidearms when I was a Customs patrol officer, I was issued a Smith & Wesson model 19 for uniform carry. I also got issued a S&W model 36, a 2" snub nose revolver in blue steel. Only a 5 shot, but that was okay by me, a back up piece that was issued was a big change from the Border Patrol. At sometime in my career with Customs I was issued a Colt detective Special, in .38 special, with a 6 shot cylinder. I liked having that extra shot, but that piece was not long lived, it was too old and worn to be shot as much as I liked to practice, so it was back to a S&W, this time a model 60 in stainless steel. Within a few years, my job with Customs had changed to that of a Customs Investigator, basically the same job as a Customs Special Agent, but at lower pay that the high grade for an agent (later this job as found to be an illegal position by the OPM and all of the CI's had a position change to special agent). I was issued a S&W model 459. It was, in my opinion, apiece of junk, they all were. Later on (maybe when I became an agent) we were issued S&W model 6906's. (My backup with those was a S&W model 60, and the primary was the S&W, that is until they allowed us to carry personally owned firearms.) The 6906's were an improvement, but not by much as far as I am concerned. We had catastrophic failures with those that likely would have gotten you killed in a shootout.
Somewhere in there, I think when I was a Customs Investigator, they allowed us to carry our personally owned firearms at work. I decided it was time to take out the Beretta 92SB in 9mm. This was the precursor to the 92F series later used by our military. It was and is one heck of a great firearm. In fact, I owe my life to it. It is the only pistol with which I ever shot someone, and that guy was someone trying to mug me when I was off duty (again that is another story, and if you want to read it, go to the links on the right side of my page, for the article about Ballseye - What is in a Name (or just click on this link). Later on, while still authorized to carry personally owned firearms, I bought a brace of Beretta 92F's. I carried both of them for awhile, then decided to carry only one, and preserve the other for my retirement gun. 
Of course my love for the Remington 870 was not abated by the fact I now worked for the Customs Service. I shot one at every qualification, and I shot one whenever I had a chance as range officer. Yes Customs sent me to an NRA Firearms Instructor school and gave me those duties as collateral duties. I was a firearms instructor for about 14 years, and enjoyed the heck out of it, until they punished me for something and told me not to report back to the range. Nothing to do with the range as far as I am aware, but they will not tell me what it was for which I was being punished, so I think it was my big mouth with a boss. Oh well, I again digress, so let's get back to the long guns I used while in Customs. As to the 870s, I often carried one from work, but I also was able to carry my personally owned one for quite a few years before they changed the firearms policy. (The pic is of my son shooting the personally owned one I used to carry at work, yes we still have it and shoot it frequently.) It was nice to be able to carry my own since I knew my own gun was in excellent repair, and shooting it as much as I did kept me in good shape for the hunting season.
The other long guns I shot while in Customs were the Colt Ar15, the Ruger Mini14, and H&K MP5. As to the rifles, I much preferred the Ruger. It was a simpler rifle, much more reliable than the AR15, easier to disassemble and reassemble, and therefore easier to clean and maintain. Don't get me wrong though, I liked both of them very much. Now I cannot recall if it was while I was a customs investigator or as a special agent, that I was invited to attend H&K MP5 training; and after which I was immediately issued an MP5 sub-machine gun. I also became certified as an MP5 instructor. What a fun gun, and it is one heck of a weapon.Sooner or later, Customs decided that personally owned firearms were not a good thing. I was then issued an 870 shotgun, and I was issued a Glock model 19, and later a backup of a Glock model 26. Of course I had to give up my issued S&W model 60 for the Glock 26, but it was well worth the change. The Glocks were much easier to shoot with more accuracy that any issue revolver I ever shot. Those extra rounds were also a plus. I wound up turning in the Glock 26. To this day I do not know why I turned it in and just held onto the model 19, but at least I do have the MP5 or shotgun if I am going out on an operation.When I was transferred to ICE (Customs Agents and Immigration agents were all brought under DHS when that department was created, and they were combined into one agency under Immigration and Customs Enforcement - egad what a mess), I brought my assigned weapons from Customs with me. As for the MP5, I still carry that - well sort of anyway. I had the original issue they gave me for several years, turned it in after I was in ICE, then missed it so much that I had another issued to me. The shotgun I had under Customs was traded in a few years ago for a newer model 870. The newest Remington 870 I was issued has ghost ring sights. Man they are sweet. I do love the 870, but I think I said that already. I would have a rifle too, except you cannot be issued 2 long guns at the same time under current ICE firearms policy. For some reason, the MP5 is not within that restriction, and that is good for me. I would hate to have to decide between having only an 870 or an MP5 for a long gun. I still carry the Glock 19, I guess I've had that over 10 years now, maybe 12 or more. I do not carry a back-up handgun nowadays, but as I said, when I go out on an op, I can take either the MP5 or 870 in addition to my sidearm. That is a comfort to me.
Where does that leave me right now; well the pic at the left shows what I carry on a daily basis right now. The shot includes my issued Glock 19. I am also left at the point where the issued firearms I have now are probably the last firearms that I will be issued as a government agent. We are due to start being issued Sigs sometime in the future, but that could be as far as two years away. I doubt very much I will still be in government service in 2 years as I plan to retire in January 2009. I think I have covered all the firearms they have issued me in my 28 years and one day (so far) in government service, and all the firearms that were personally owned which they allowed me to carry. Of course, I have owned and shot many other types in all that time, but I'll save those for another rant.All the best,Glenn B
