Department of Homeland Security and United States Border Patrol Recognized by the Washington Homeland Security Roundtable

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Washington Homeland Security Roundtable (WHSR) presented the 2015 Industry Engagement and Innovation Awards to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the United States Border Patrol (USBP), respectively.   The honors were awarded at the Annual Holiday Reception hosted by WHSR on December 2, 2015.  Guests in attendance of the WHSR Annual Holiday Reception represented a broad array of Federal Agencies and Senior Industry Executives.  The Federal Agencies included the Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, and Justice. 

The Industry Engagement Award is given to the DHS component or agency that best exemplifies collaboration with Industry.  DHS received the 2015 Industry Engagement Award for their adoption of the Border Security Technology Consortium (BSTC). BSTC's mission is to execute prototyping/piloting initiatives using Other Transaction Authority to leverage both government and consortia technological, financial and human resources.  Use of an OTA allows DHS to more rapidly meet border security requirements and close capability gaps.  The BSTC creation and ongoing usage within DHS was supported by multiple components throughout the Department, including Customs and Border Protection, the Chief Procurement Office, Science and Technology, and Legal.  The BSTC also received strong Congressional support from U.S. Representative Michael McCaul, Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.  BSTC is an unprecedented step forward for DHS in terms of industry engagement in creating an additional Acquisition tool for the benefit of both DHS and Industry. The award was accepted by Russell Deyo, Under Secretary for Management, on behalf of DHS, along with Soraya Correa, DHS Chief Procurement Officer and Jay Martin, DHS S&T Director of RDP. 

The Innovation Award, established in 2014, is designed to recognize the agency or government representative with an unusual or first time program with Industry that drives in-depth knowledge of the Government mission set. This year's Innovation Award honored USBP for the Border Patrol Industry Academy.  Launched in the Fall of 2015, the Border Patrol Industry Academy is the first-ever Federal Law Enforcement Industry Academy.  The Inaugural Class consists of 50 Senior Level Executives who represent national and international firms of all sizes.  The Border Patrol Industry Academy is an extensive program designed to strengthen Industry engagement and understanding of the Border Security mission, practices and objectives in a hands-on environment.  The program incorporates training over a one year period for Industry Executives at the USBP HQ facility, Southwest Border Operations, Northern Border Operations and concludes with training at the USBP Academy. Ronald D. Vitiello, Acting Chief, accepted the Innovation Award on behalf of USBP. USBP has a long history of progressive initiatives focused on engaging with Industry and was previously honored with WHSR's 2012 Industry Engagement Award.

Previous awardees include DHS Office of the Chief Procurement Officer (2014 Industry Engagement), Transportation and Security Administration (2014 Innovation), U.S. Coast Guard (2013 Industry Engagement), USBP (2012 Industry Engagement) and TSA (2012 Industry Engagement).

SOURCE Washington Homeland Security Roundtable

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