D.C. GUARD HELPED FIGHT CARIBBEAN DRUG WAR

The D.c. Air National Guard Recently Took The War Against Drugs On The
Road.

Six F-16 fighters and 270 members of the D.C. Guard's 113th Wing traveled
to the Caribbean to conduct counter-narcotic missions from Curacao, a Dutch
protectorate 25 miles off the coast of Venezuela that is part of the
Netherlands Antilles.

They were taking part in Coronet Nighthawk, the Air National Guard's
portion of an operation combating Latin American drug trafficking. The U.S.
Southern Command is conducting the operation, in support of U.S. military
forces and law enforcement agencies and other governments in the region.

There was no problem finding volunteers in the D.C. Guard to travel to the
Caribbean during January and February--when the wing's six-week mission
took place. "It's a real-world mission, but at least the weather's nice and
you're working under the palm trees near white sand beaches," said Col.
Mike Redman, wing vice commander.

The 270 troops were divided into three groups that each spent about 15 days
on the island.

Strain on the Air Force from budget cuts and ongoing missions such as
enforcement of "no-fly" zones over Iraq has resulted in a greater reliance
on National Guard units for operations such as the counter-drug effort.

The operation had been based at Howard Air Force Base in Panama, but it was
dispersed to several locations in May after the base was turned over to the
Panamanian government.

At Curacao, the force worked from the same civilian airport where
international flights arrived. "We're in there mixing it up with all the
tourist aircraft coming in and out," Redman said.

An eight-member alert force was on duty 24 hours a day, housed in a tent
city at the airport, with instructions to scramble and get jets airborne
within 15 minutes of receiving a launch order.

Information on suspicious planes, based on classified sources, would be
passed on to the alert team. "We'd get a phone call: 'Go to these
coordinates,' " Redman said.

The fast, agile F-16s would quickly intercept the suspect planes in
international air space as they flew over open water. The aircraft would be
identified and tracked along their route and then followed again after
making suspected deliveries. Information on the planes' actions and
location would be passed on to law enforcement agencies and local civil
authorities for possible arrests and seizures.

The type of flying involved in the mission was often challenging, Redman
said. "The drug runners aren't running at high noon," Redman said. "They're
doing it very early in the morning, and they're flying low over the water."
Often the aircraft fly at low speeds below a low cloud ceiling, leaving
pilots with few visual cues.

The D.C. Guard carried out 41 sorties during the operation without mishap.
Two missions had to be scrubbed because of weather. "It has been a very
successful deployment," said Lt. Col. Brian Flood, commander of the D.C.
Guard's 121st Fighter Squadron.

"Drugs affect more people than just the users," said Maj. Mical Bruce, a
D.C. Guard F-16 pilot. "They destroy people's futures and entire families.
Anything we can do to stop the use and flow of these drugs is worth doing."

After their return from Curacao, members of the 113th learned that they had
been selected to receive an Air Force outstanding unit award for the eighth
consecutive year, which D.C. Guard officials said is unprecedented.

The award is given to units that finish in the top 10 percent of the Air
Force in various performance ratings.

"I have always known that you are the premier wing in the Air National
Guard," Maj. Gen. Warren Freeman, commander of the D.C. National Guard,
told members of the unit at a ceremony March 12. "Now you have finally
convinced the Air Force that you are premier."