Acting head US border service looks at training of Estonian special forces

TALLINN - Acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Kevin McAleenan paid a visit to Estonia on Friday, visiting the border checkpoints at Narva and Piusa and inspecting a training conducted in collaboration with instructors of the U.S. special forces.

On Friday, McAleenan visited the border checkpoint at Narva as well as the border guard base at Piusa, one of the most important bases on Estonia's land border, spokespeople for the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board said. McAleenan was given an overview of the international training exercise of rapid reaction forces taking place at Piusa, where the rapid reaction forces were at the time honing their skills in detaining armed criminals on terrain.

Instructors from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. special forces shared their knowledge and skills with the rapid response forces of the Police and Border Guard Board and neighbouring countries' police and border guard forces during the training of rapid reaction forces happening for the first time in Estonia.

"The Estonian Police and Border Guard Board has been a good partner for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and we appreciate the continued cooperation in the field of border security," McAleenan said. "I have been witness to partnership like the training of rapid reaction forces in the Baltic states - on the external border of the EU and NATO - increasing the capacity for ensuring better border protection and enabling both the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board as well as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to better protect our borders and our citizens."

Andres Anvelt, minister of interior of Estonia, noted that cooperation with the United States has always been very good and a genuine example of this is the training of border service's rapid reaction forces under the guidance of U.S. instructors. "If at the turn of the century we spoke of opening the borders, then now we sadly speak of building up and strengthening borders. But these borders must not separate good people," the minister said.

According to Elmar Vaher, director general of the Police and Border Guard Board, Estonian rapid reaction forces have been given an excellent training, but special operations can be successful only when the forces have gone through it repeatedly. "The chance to practice carrying out special operations with colleagues from neighboring countries has been a golden opportunity for our rapid reaction forces and the knowledge gained from the U.S. Special Forces has put a twinkle in the eyes of our rapid reaction forces," Vaher said.

During the month-long training exercise, the rapid reaction forces will be tested on their tactical performance in detaining dangerous criminals, for which special operations will take place both on land and in the air. The aim of the training is to enhance the reaction capacity of the rapid reaction forces of different countries in the event of possible incidents on the national border.

With more than 60,000 employees, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest law enforcement agency and the second-largest revenue collecting source in the U.S. federal government. Its three core missions are counterterrorism, border security, and trade enforcement.

The training of rapid reaction forces is taking place in association with the Police and Border Guard Board, the U.S. Embassy, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Special Forces of the U.S. armed forces and the instructors.