The boyfriend of the daughter of a friend of mine has been hired by Homeland Security. His college major was in Aeronautics, he is a trained pilot and a former member of the National Guard.
It sounded to me like he would be flying. I didn't know that Homeland Security had pilots. It appears that they do, given this article.
Do we have a Homeland Air Force that none of us knew about?
In a word, yes.
Feds launch border air patrols from New York - 10/9/2004
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. -- Beefed-up air patrols designed to intercept terrorists, drug smugglers and illegal aliens along the nation's northeastern border are taking off from a base commissioned Friday. The new Air and Marine Operations facility at a former Air Force base in the northeast corner of New York is one of five that will be responsible for tightening surveillance along the U.S.-Canadian border. [/snip]
I cannot find the link of another HSD base that "opened for business" outside of Seattle.
ICE"The Tucson Air Branch maintains an inventory of 13 aircraft - five Citation interceptor jets, four Black Hawk helicopters, and four light observation planes.
"All of these high-speed aircraft can travel substantial distances without refueling, enabling them to cover hundreds of square miles in a single flight, an important advantage when the target area includes vast stretches of international border. In addition, the Black Hawk helicopters can land in rugged terrain and transport up to 10 passengers, making them invaluable for rescue and evacuation operations in remote and inaccessible areas.
To fly these aircraft, ICE relies on more than 60 pilots who are also trained as enforcement agents. ICE’s "