Official US Customs SSB East Jacksonville P-3 Branch Patch — U.S. Customs and Border Protection Surveillance Support Branch East Jacksonville P-3 Orion Branch Embroidered Patch
CBP SSB East Jacksonville — flying the P-3 Orion for Customs and Border Protection, bringing maritime patrol capability to the federal law enforcement mission.
The Surveillance Support Branch (SSB) East Jacksonville is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection unit operating the P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft from Jacksonville, Florida. CBP acquired several P-3 Orions from the Navy and adapted them for the law enforcement and border security mission, using the aircraft's powerful sensors and long endurance to conduct aerial surveillance, drug interdiction, and maritime domain awareness operations across the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and Atlantic approaches to the United States.
The P-3 Orion's capabilities translate remarkably well to the law enforcement mission. Originally designed to track submarines across vast ocean areas, the P-3's radar, electro-optical/infrared sensors, and communications suite are equally effective at detecting drug-running vessels, go-fast boats, and suspicious aircraft. CBP's P-3 crews fly long-duration surveillance missions, often working in coordination with Coast Guard cutters, Navy vessels, and partner nation forces to interdict narcotics shipments before they reach U.S. shores.
Jacksonville's location on Florida's Atlantic coast provides ideal access to the major drug trafficking routes through the Caribbean and along the Eastern Seaboard, making the SSB East Jacksonville branch a critical asset in the nation's counter-narcotics effort.
Perfect For: CBP Surveillance Support Branch personnel, P-3 Orion law enforcement operators, Jacksonville-based CBP air crews, federal counter-narcotics aviation professionals, and CBP unit patch collectors.
CBP SSB East Jacksonville — P-3 Orions on a different mission — hunting smugglers instead of submarines.