While possession of a college degree can aid in obtaining employment in this profession, only extensive training provided at specialized facilities, combined with on-the-job training, can provide the skills and knowledge needed to perform the duties of a federal criminal investigator. As of 2012, there were 13,913 FBI agents, as of 2016, there were approximately 6,500 ICE-Homeland Security investigations (HSI) agents, and as of 2011, there were 4,890 DEA agents in the United States. Most U.S. special agents and federal criminal investigators receive their basic training at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC), including HSI, ATF, IRS-CI, USMS, USSS, DSS, AFOSI, NCIS and OIGs. FLETC has facilities in Brunswick (Glynco), GA, Artesia, NM, Charleston, SC, and Cheltenham, MD. Only DEA and FBI agents receive their basic training at Quantico. The FBI and DEA operate completely self-contained academies that provide all levels of training to their agents. These academies make no distinction between basic and agency-specific basic training. New FBI and DEA agents train at their academies for approximately five months before they begin their first investigative assignment. Both agencies' academies also provide advanced training in various subjects to other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's FLETC, commonly pronounced "flet-see", is a consolidated training facility that provides basic and advanced training to the vast majority of U.S. special agents and other federal law enforcement personnel. The FLETC also provides advanced and specialized training for most federal, state, local, tribal and non-U.S. law enforcement agencies willing to share in the cost. The FLETC's basic training course for special agents, the Criminal Investigator Training Program (CITP), lasts about thirteen weeks, and may be given to persons if required for self-protection, depending on changes to program content or holidays. Nevertheless, CITP only represents the beginning or basic training received by U.S. special agents not employed by the FBI, federal air marshals, DEA, or USPIS. After completing the FLETC CITP, most agents immediately transition to training provided by their own agencies (hence the term agency-specific basic, or ASB), lasting another two to sixteen weeks and sometimes longer, depending on the agency.