TUCSON, Ariz – Tom Yearout, who has a federal career spanning more than 30 years, has been selected as a new Assistant Director, Field Operations, for U.S. Customs and Border Protection here in Arizona.

In his new position as the Assistant Director for Mission Support, Mr. Yearout will be responsible for all logistical requirements and support for the eight ports of entry in Arizona, which process almost 36 million people, nearly 9 million vehicles, 368,000 commercial trucks, and almost $18 billion in international trade every year.   He will oversee support functions for facilities (including projects to re-design, expand, and re-construct ports of entry), personnel staffing and human resource support, and manage a budget of more than $56 million.

Prior to assuming his duties as the Assistant Director, Mr. Yearout served as a Program Manager at the Tucson Field Office, working on facilities issues at the ports of entry.  Before joining U.S. Customs and Border Protection in 2007, Mr. Yearout also spent two and a half years working with the Transportation and Security Administration as the Deputy Assistant Federal Security Director for Screening Operations at Sky Harbor  Airport in Phoenix, AZ.

Mr. Yearout spent 30 years in the United States Coast Guard, in a variety of positions of increasing responsibility, retiring with the rank of Captain in 2002.  He has had extensive sea duty in seven ships and was Commanding Officer of three of them.  He served as Chief of Operations for Coast Guard Pacific Area where he directed the deployment and coordinated the operations of all Coast Guard long range maritime patrol aircraft and major Coast Guard Cutters in the Western Hemisphere.

Mr. Yearout was serving as Chief of Staff of the Fourteenth Coast Guard District in  Honolulu, Hawaii on September 11, 2001.  During that period he worked extensively with the Hawaii Emergency Preparedness Executive Council (HEPEC) in coordinating federal, state and local resources to ensure the safety of port operations and security of all water side public utilities/commercial facilities.  He has extensive experience in emergency management, emergency response and law enforcement to include drug and migrant interdiction operations.  His Coast Guard career also provided him with experience in financial management, logistics, acquisition and planning, programming and budgeting.

Mr. Yearout has a BS in Engineering from the US Coast Guard Academy, and an MBA in Financial Management from the University of Miami.  He and his wife, Wanda, have three grown children.

The Office of Field Operations is responsible for securing our borders at the ports of entry.  U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers’ primary mission is anti-terrorism; they screen all people, vehicles, and goods entering the United States, while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel into and out of the United States.   Their mission also includes carrying out traditional border-related responsibilities, including narcotics interdiction, enforcing immigration law, and protecting the nation’s food supply and agriculture industry from pests and diseases.