James "JT" Thom

James “JT” Thom is Executive Director, Domain Awareness Security Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Air and Marine Operations (AMO). AMO’s mission is to safeguard our nation by anticipating and confronting security threats through our aviation and maritime law enforcement expertise, innovative capabilities, and partnerships at the border and beyond. AMO has approximately 1,800 federal agents and mission support personnel, 240 aircraft, and 300 marine vessels operating throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands. We conduct our mission in the air and maritime environments at and beyond the border and within the nation’s interior. Executive Director Thom’s responsibilities include increasing Domain Awareness capabilities through architecture development and distribution that enables front line agents and officers to execute statutory authorities in a more effective and efficient manner.

Prior to joining Domain Awareness Security Operations, Executive Director Thom served as Deputy Director, Southwest Region, where he maintained administrative and operational oversight of over 500 personnel in 19 locations while executing daily coordination of aviation and maritime assets to support CBP and partner agencies in securing the nation’s borders. He represented AMO as Deputy Director, The Interdiction Committee, where he identified interagency friction areas, mitigated duplicative efforts, and provided detailed solutions. He routinely advised the Executive Office of the President and the Office of National Drug Control Policy to ensure the alignment of strategic objectives by creating intra/interagency operational efficiencies and leveraging a whole-of-government approach to maximize limited resources. His efforts at The Interdiction Committee earned him a Public Service Award from the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Executive Director Thom has accumulated over 36 years of experience in Command and Control and Domain Awareness operations. He joined AMO in February 2008 as a Detection Enforcement Officer. In 2012, he was promoted to Aviation Group Supervisor, where his leadership was vital in the smooth transition of the Tethered Aerostat Radar System from the Department of Defense to the Department of Homeland Security. In 2018, he was promoted to Director, Operations, Air and Marine Operations Center, where he detected, tracked, and coordinated appropriate responses to aviation and maritime threats using CBP assets and provided real-time de-confliction measures for CBP and interagency partners conducting humanitarian operations.

Prior to joining AMO, Executive Director Thom served over 20 years in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was formally trained as an Air Traffic Controller and graduated from the Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One’s Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course. During his time as an active-duty Marine, he earned numerous awards and commendations, including a Meritorious Service Medal, four Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medals, an Air Force Commendation Medal, two Presidential Unit Citations, and numerous personal and unit citations.