PLATTSBURGH -- A local man recently assumed command of the U.S. Border Patrol Academy.

Plattsburgh native Scott A. Luck, son of Gerald and Virginia Luck, was recently promoted to chief patrol agent in charge of the training academy in Artesia, N.M., where he resides with his wife and four children.

The 44-year-old had previously served as deputy chief patrol agent at the well-known facility and assumed his new position when the former chief resigned.

At the time of his appointment, Luck said he planned to continue the Border Patrol's dedication to maintaining integrity and professionalism while preserving the nation's border and protecting the country.

As the new chief executive officer, Luck is responsible for implementing the administrative and operational visions of the agency, enforcing its standards and policies and acting as the academy disciplinarian.

Luck has spent more than two decades with the Border Patrol and held several high-level positions before he was appointed chief of the New Mexico academy.

He is a 1982 graduate of Beekmantown Central School. He has degrees in criminal justice from Hudson Valley Community College and Utica College.

Luck began his service with the Border Patrol in Arizona in 1986.

His father and his brother, John Luck, who works for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, attended the promotion ceremony at the academy.