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At the Department, leaders face low morale and frustration — while on the outside, higher pay beckons.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is facing more problems than just recent terrorist threats against the homeland and the Texas border crisis, former officials say. The agency’s biggest issue is actually happening behind closed doors from problems such as an unclear sense of direction and low company morale. With private security companies offering bigger paychecks, cohesive work environments, and a clear hierarchy of leadership, employees are leaving DHS at a rate twice as fast as the federal government overall. As a result, these departures of top-level officials are often filled by professionals in an acting capacity. As the former chief of staff for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Command Partner, Steve Atkiss, has witnessed the issue first-hand. Mr. Atkiss tells the Washington Post, “As an ‘acting,’ you’re a caretaker, not a change agent.”

To read the full article, please go to: Washington Post

WASHINGTON – Command Consulting Group (Command) announced today that John Halinski, who retired last Friday as Deputy Administrator at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), has joined the firm as a Senior Advisor, bringing both his knowledge and expertise on international aviation security, intelligence, and counterterrorism to the leading security and business advisory group.

Halinski has served in senior leadership positions over the last 10 years at TSA and for 25 years in the Marine Corps. While at TSA, some of Halinski’s key accomplishments include the advancement of measures to prevent and suppress all acts of unlawful interference against civil aviation and saving the agency millions by achieving operational efficiencies. Halinski also served as the primary technical advisor for Aviation Security at the Department of State, as the U.S. Representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization, and as the primary technical advisor for Aviation Security during Open Skies negotiations.

“John Halinski has been at the forefront of solving complex aviation security challenges over the past decade,” a Founding Partner at Command W. Ralph Basham said. “John’s unparalleled experience, especially in the international environment, will be a great benefit to our current and future international clients who are serious about achieving world class aviation security and regulatory compliance.”

At Command, Halinski will focus on working internationally with airlines, aviation authorities, associations, and airports to develop and execute comprehensive plans to improve security, prevent illicit activity, and meet international regulatory requirements by implementing best practices in the use of technology, procedures, training, and services.

“Command is all about solving problems and delivering results,” Halinski said. “I had no doubt that Command was the right platform for me to help governments and airlines solve complex challenges and reduce exposure to the ever-changing threat landscape that confronts them.”

Command Consulting Group is a global security and intelligence firm which provides services and solutions to government and private clients. Command leverages its team’s unique operational experience in leading some of the world’s premier security agencies to achieve meaningful and transformational results for customers on five continents.

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Kristen Martin, Communications Lead
[email protected]
(202) 207-2930

 

As President Obama began the second leg of his summer vacation Tuesday, news broke of American journalist James Foley’s execution by extremists from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), raising questions regarding President Obama’s ability to manage crises while away from the Oval Office. Steve Atkiss, a Command founding partner who previously organized Presidential travel as Deputy Director of Advance in the George W. Bush administration, provided insight into how the President can act as Commander in Chief during trips away from the White House.

The President “has all the tools at his disposal no matter where he is, the same functional capabilities he has at his Oval Office desk,” Mr. Atkiss said.

He continued telling The Washington Post, wherever President Obama goes, “the infrastructure follows him.”

To read the full article, please go to: Washington Post

As the congressional recess starts this week, and a compromise on action to resolve the ongoing crisis on the border seemingly farther away than ever, leadership at the agencies responsible for securing our borders assess their options for stretching their budgets. Without any action by Congress or the White House, both U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are scheduled to run out of funds in the next two months, and will have to begin reallocating resources to maintain operations.

Command Consulting Group Partner Thad Bingel, former Chief of Staff at CBP, told CBS News that the agencies will need to:

raid every other pot of money that they have for the next two months….in order to keep removal operations and the shelter operations going.

To read the full article, please go to: CBS News