Benjamine ‘Carry’ Huffman will assume the role of Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers director effective September 24 as FLETC Director Tom Walters is retiring.
The FLETC director oversees all operations related to the development and delivery of collaborative law enforcement training for more than 95 federal partner organizations across four FLETC domestic training sites; for state, local, and tribal departments throughout the U.S.; and outside the nation’s borders through international training and capacity-building efforts.
Huffman retired as Acting Deputy Commissioner at U.S. Customs and Border Protection on June 30.
Huffman served as executive assistant commissioner of Enterprise Services since October 2019 and took on the role of acting chief operating officer in January 2022. His career with the Border Patrol began in 1985 and his roles have included acting director of the Special Operations Group, chief of the Strategic Planning and Analysis Directorate at Border Patrol Headquarters and deputy chief of the El Paso Sector. He joined the Senior Executive Service in January 2014 and his honors have included the Meritorious Executive Presidential Rank Award.
After Huffman retired, Executive Assistant Commissioner for the Office of Field Operations Pete Flores moved into the acting deputy commissioner role.
Walters was selected as the sixth FLETC director in October 2017. Before joining FLETC, he had established a border security consulting service after nearly 30 years with CBP. He began his career as a Border Patrol Agent in El Paso, Texas in 1975, and went on to hold several leadership positions with CBP, including Associate Chief at U.S. Border Patrol National Headquarters, Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol Academy, Assistant Commissioner for the CBP Office of Training and Development, Director of the U.S. Border Patrol Communications Division, Acting CBP Assistant Commissioner for Public Affairs, and CBP Deputy Assistant Commissioner for Public Affairs.
Walters was an original member of the U.S. Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC), and served for over a decade as a BORTAC team member, team supervisor, unit manager, and unit leader during its domestic and foreign operations. He played a key role in shaping the U.S. Border Patrol’s first strategic plan. As Chief of the Border Patrol Academy, Walters led and managed all aspects of Border Patrol Academy basic and advanced training at FLETC locations in Glynco, Georgia, and Artesia, New Mexico. He spearheaded the training portion of the agency’s successful effort to double the number of Border Patrol agents, which required opening a temporary satellite training facility and training hundreds of new instructors and thousands of trainees in Charleston, South Carolina.
“I have personally benefitted from his counsel and partnership,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said of Walters today. “For over 50 years, FLETC has prepared the federal law enforcement community to safeguard the American people, property, and institutions, and under the leadership of Director Walters, its reach and importance have only grown. The Department will miss him, but we are grateful for his more than four decades of service, and that of his family who has served alongside him.”
Mayorkas said that Huffman “will ensure that the FLETC trainings and curricula will continue to reflect the changing nature of the homeland security threat landscape and keep our workforce and local law enforcement ever equipped for mission.”
