PILOTS RISK THEIR LIVES IN COLOMBIA'S DRUG WAR

FLORENCIA, Colombia -- The hotshot pilot swoops down at 200 mph in his
Vietnam-era crop duster, gliding only 50 feet over the coca valleys he
has been hired to destroy.

The U.S. Army veteran earns $90,000 a year tax-free as a civilian
pilot, but he understands the downside of this job very well. More than
once, he's had to dodge bullets from peasants and guerrillas trying to
protect Colombia's multibillion-dollar cocaine trade.

This is one pilot who won't mind giving up a big paycheck should his
working conditions continue to deteriorate. "If we start getting into a
civil war, I'm out of here," said the pilot, whose employer has ordered
its workers not to talk to the media. "Americans will be targeted."

For now, though, he is part of a growing civilian army hired by Uncle
Sam to help fight Colombia's war on drugs, to be financed largely by
$1.3 billion in U.S. aid. Daredevil pilots with military experience,
retired top brass and former Green Berets are all part of the effort as
the first $300 million in aid heads to Colombia next month.

Expertise in intelligence and law enforcement is a must. Fluency in
Spanish and knowledge of counter-terrorism, jungle warfare and counter-
surveillance is a plus. While there are limits to the number of
American military people who will be involved in training Colombian
troops, there are fewer restrictions on how many U.S. civilians can be
hired by defense contractors. Hundreds of Americans, lured by hefty
salaries for hazardous work, will play a key role battling guerrillas
and traffickers who live off the illicit drug trade.

"Every pirate, bandit -- everyone who wants to make money on the war --
they're in Colombia," said one congressional aide in Washington, who
said he would speak candidly only if he were not identified. He
described efforts to snare contracts as a "free-for-all."

"This is what we call outsourcing a war," he said. Much of the effort,
however, will come from companies very familiar to the U.S. government.
At least a dozen U.S. firms are lining up to bid on Uncle Sam's foreign
venture.

Pay is high, but so are the risks. The crash of a U.S. Army spy plane
that killed five American soldiers last summer underscored the
potential for casualties. Relatives, including those of Capt. Jose
Santiago Jr. of Orlando, dispute the official Army version of pilot
error and suggest a rebel missile could have shot down the
reconnaissance plane.

Three civilian pilots of Reston, Va.-based DynCorp. and EAST Inc.,
under contract with the State Department, have died in plane crashes
since 1997.

DynCorp did not return telephone calls asking for information on its
Colombia activities.

DynCorp. has up to 30 pilots and crews in charge of fumigating coca
fields with glyphosate, a stronger version of the household weedkiller
Roundup.

The company's presence has grown from only a few pilots several years
ago to more than 60 workers at the Larandia military base near here.

It is difficult to predict how many Americans will become a part of the
Colombian conflict.

Up to 100 Special Forces and Navy SEALs already are teaching Colombia's
new military-led counter-narcotics battalions.

U.S. workers operating ground-radar stations and civilian coca-spraying
crews provide aircraft maintenance at Colombian bases.

On any given day, 150 to 250 Americans are helping in Colombia's drug
war.

Soldiers as Trainers:

That number will grow to 500 U.S. troops and 300 civilians under new
caps that can be increased by the president.

American officials say that the U.S. military will not be directly
involved in operations, and the U.S. soldiers will act solely as
trainers.

And much of the contract work for non-military help will be given first
to U.S. companies, which will parcel the work to Colombian
subcontractors.

Of the $120 million in U.S. non-military aid in the next three years,
more than two-thirds of the contracts will go to U.S. firms or charity
groups.

Americans will supervise projects to overhaul Colombia's maligned
justice system, teach farmers to grow alternative crops to coca and
opium, and relocate Colombians fleeing the civil war.

"We are not talking about a large American presence on the ground,"
said a senior U.S. aid official in Washington who would speak only on
background. "Frankly, we think the Colombians are better suited to do
the jobs that have to be done."

But American firms are cashing in. Bell-Textron and United
Technologies' Sikorsky Aircraft have signed to deliver 18 new UH-60
Blackhawks and 42 "Super" Huey II helicopters.

Orders are pending for at least 14 more by the Colombian Defense
Ministry, making the windfall for the helicopter makers in excess of
$600 million.

Military Personnel Resources Inc., a Virginia-based military-consultant
company run by retired U.S. generals, already is advising the Colombian
armed forces. Other U.S firms have started peddling nighttime
surveillance gear, riverboat technology, aircraft maintenance services
and other wares.

While U.S. companies are leading the rush, foreign companies also are
looking to benefit.

Israeli Defense Industries is trying to sell observation technology to
the Colombian Air Force to outfit its Vietnam-era OV-10 "Bronco"
planes, the same ones leased by the U.S. in fumigation raids.

But it is the growing U.S. presence that has critics from Bogota to
Washington calling the American aid package a prelude to another
Vietnam debacle, with U.S. forces being lured into combat.

Already, some of the people working for private U.S. contractors are
near the front lines.

MPRI, for example, has a former brigadier general, six retired colonels
and several former officers in Colombia to help reorganize the
Colombian armed forces under an 18-month Department of Defense contract
worth $800,000.

Founded by former U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Carl Vuono in 1987,
MPRI has about $60 million in contracts worldwide with more than 400
employees who sell their expertise while "capitalizing on the
experience and skills of America's best seasoned professionals,"
according to a company profile. Vuono brings a wealth of experience to
the job, having led the U.S. Army's Panama and Gulf War operations.

DynCorp. has at least several dozen pilots and ground-support workers
operating under close guard at Colombian military bases, according to
one of the company pilots.

They fly missions to eradicate coca fields with Colombian police and
military helicopters alongside to provide cover. DynCorp., a Fortune
500 company, is one of the largest defense contractors in the United
States, with strong ties to the CIA and other federal agencies. It has
projected sales worth up to $2.5 billion in defense work and commercial
ventures by next year.

The trend toward using private contractors and hired guns to carry out
U.S. foreign policy is not new. But it's a trend that's growing.

DynCorp., MPRI and other defense contractors have provided services in
the world's hot spots from Bosnia to the Persian Gulf.

Their contracts are supervised by the U.S. Defense or State department.

Defense experts say that this so-called outsourcing is not only cost
efficient, it helps shield U.S. lawmakers from criticism if Americans
are killed or injured.

"The military tends to view the civilian contractors as a lot less
confrontational way of doing business," said Chris Hellman, a senior
analyst at the Center for Defense Information in Washington. "It's
perceived as a more benign presence."

Defense contractors say their aim is not to fight another country's
battles. "We're very transparent," said retired Army Gen. Ed Soyster,
an MPRI spokesman and former head of the U.S. Defense Intelligence
Agency. "We're having [the Colombians] restructure, refocus and
demonstrate correct processes."

`Old boys' club'

Soyster would not discuss an MPRI evaluation of Colombian forces
earlier this year, but said, "What we do is set them up so that what
they do, they do it efficiently."

But critics charge that there isn't a lot of oversight in the bidding
for the profitable overseas projects.

"It's an old boys' club," said the congressional aide, who has
monitored Colombia funding. "All these generals get hired by
consultants and do nothing."

Soyster, however, defended his company's mission, saying it adheres to
"uncompromising principles of integrity, honor, courage, loyalty and
selfless service."

Like many contractors, MPRI makes its work quite public.

It has a 10,000-name database and has ongoing recruiting at U.S
military bases. Several months ago, it advertised for "highly qualified
and experienced American military officers and senior noncommissioned
officers" for its Colombia-U.S. "working group."

Less forthcoming about its activities is Eagle Aviation Services and
Technology Inc. of Patrick Air Force Base, where fumigation pilots are
trained by the State Department's Bureau of Narcotics and International
Law Enforcement's air division.

The company, also known as EAST Inc., is incorporated in several states
but refuses to discuss its role in Colombia because it sees it as
classified. State Department officials have said EAST is concerned for
the safety of its personnel.

EAST Inc. has placed ads in Ag Pilot, a magazine for crop dusters, to
hire pilots for fumigation work in Colombia's fields. One ad read:
"Highly experienced Ag pilots for year-round positions.

Based in Florida, will work in Central and South America. Job requires
ability to speak Spanish and converse in a clear and understandable
manner to a variety of native speakers."

At the Larandia military base 40 miles south of here, American pilots
live in virtual seclusion.

They venture out sometimes for a meal or a drink but only with armed
Colombian soldiers and police in tow.

Mostly, American pilots fly fumigation missions in daylight and
darkness. They work in three-week shifts and then often shuttle back to
the United States for a week off.

Colombian choppers fly cover for the American pilots. But increasingly,
the Americans are becoming targets for the rebels.

Two American pilots flying Vietnam-era OV-10 Broncos in the rebel-
infested Caqueta province last month aborted their spraying mission
when they encountered gunfire.

Even so, one pilot thinks the tide will turn once the full force of the
U.S. commitment takes place.

The rebels, he said, will lose their willpower.

Yet, he also predicts the Colombian pilots aren't prepared for battle
either. "They want us to fight their war for them."

E.A. Torriero can be reached at etorriero@sun-sentinel.com. Pedro Ruz
Gutierrez can be reached at: pruz@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5620.