Readout from Secretary Nielsen’s Trip with Vice President Mike Pence

On February 6, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen accompanied Vice President Mike Pence to Norfolk, Virginia to visit the Joint Task Force – East (JTF-E). During their visit they received a briefing from Joint Task Force East (JTF-E) and the Department’s other Joint Task Forces, toured Coast Guard Cutter Bear, and spoke with DHS employees.

JTF-E leads the coordination of integrated operations and investigations by leveraging DHS component, interagency, and partner nation capabilities to increase border security, reduce terrorism risk, and degrade Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) while also facilitating the flow of lawful travel and commerce to and from the United States.

JTF-E is a geographically focused, multi-component task force with a Joint Operating Area (JOA) covering 10.3 million square miles of land and sea, as well as over 3,000 miles of U.S. coastline (including the Gulf of Mexico and the East Coast of the United States), Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

“Whether you serve in the Coast Guard, CBP, ICE, TSA, or elsewhere in the DHS family, you are part of one team. And you are on the frontlines of securing our homeland and defending our way of life,” said Secretary Nielsen. “I cannot tell you how proud I am to serve alongside you.”

Following the JTF-E briefing, Vice President Pence and Secretary Nielsen toured Cutter Bear which sits in the port of Portsmouth, VA. Cutter Bear will soon depart for a counter-narcotics patrol in the Eastern Pacific. 

The trip concluded with Secretary Nielsen and the Vice President Pence speaking with frontline defenders from across multiple DHS agencies.