DHS's International Footprint: Stories from the Faces of Homeland Security

DHS works closely with international partners, including foreign governments, major multilateral organizations, and global businesses, to strengthen the security of the networks of global trade and travel upon which our nation's economy and communities rely.

Earlier this year, six DHS employees working in foreign countries were recognized for their extraordinary efforts as part of Faces of Homeland Security: Heroes on the Front Lines:

• ICE Special Agent Matthew Baechtle -- for his leadership on an international investigation resulting in the arrest and prosecution of a high profile criminal when he attempted to re-enter the United States presenting a fraudulently obtained U.S. passport.

• Petty Officer Bonnie Wysocki -- for her work as an inspector with the Coast Guard’s Redeployment Assistance and Inspection Detachment (RAID) in the Middle East, helping to ensure the safety of military containers being shipped back to the United States.

• Nouri Larbi, TSA Representative -- for his work as part of a team of TSA inspectors that assisted the Yemeni government in strengthening air cargo security operations following the failed air cargo plot last October.

• Joe Silva, Senior Instructor at FLETC -- for his act of bravery which helped save the lives of students in an emergency, at the FLETC-managed International Law Enforcement Academy in Gaborone, Botswana.

• Chief Petty Officer Paul Cormier -- for his work as a Haitian liaison for the U.S. Coast Guard following the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, helping with relief efforts and providing security at the port.

• Lieutenant Aaron Renschler -- for leading his Coast Guard team on multiple high-risk boardings of suspected Somali pirate vessels, successfully thwarting five pirate attacks on unarmed merchant vessels.