Edward Byrnes
Watch Commander
This highly accomplished U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) professional currently serves as a Watch Commander for the Area Port of Houston/Galveston, a role held since December 2018, where he is accountable for crisis management, significant incident response, and coordinating day-to-day port operations, including paroles, denials of boarding, and alien detentions, while also managing the Area Port's Bid, Rotation, and Placement (BRP). With extensive leadership experience, he has also served in acting capacities as Assistant Area Port Director for Trade Operations, overseeing significant budget expenditures and coordinating on forced labor importations, and held Chief (2nd Line Supervisor) positions in both Trade and Passenger Operations, focusing on trade enforcement, IPR seizures, managing multi-million dollar budgets, and overseeing cruise ship operations for up to 18,000 weekly passengers and trade. His career also includes supervisory roles in Firearms/Training, ensuring 100% qualification completion and managing annual overtime budgets, and foundational experience as a CBP Officer specializing in Foreign Trade Zone/Bonded Warehouse compliance and multi-agency fraud investigations, building upon a distinguished six-year service as a Reconnaissance Team Leader in the U.S. Marine Corps, including combat missions during Operation Desert Storm.