Eagles on Watch

Locating caches of domestic marijuana and other drugs is also a vital part
of the California National Guard's counterdrug mission. And among the best
platforms for that task are the venerable OH58 Kiowa helicopters of Team
Eagle.

An entirely Army Guard operation, Team Eagle provides aerial support to a
variety of state, local and federal law enforcement agencies.

"The team's missions cover just about anything drug related," said CWO 4
Clinton Cain, a pilot and safety officer for the Sacramentobased Team
Eagle's Reconnaissance and Interdiction Detachment, or RAID. "We carry
observers and back up ground officers while they serve warrants. We also
support all the regular Guard missions including things like search and
rescue."

To undertake this variety of missions Team Eagle uses two types of Kiowa:
standard OH58A+ machines used primarily for daylight marijuanasuppression
flights, and mechanically identical RAID aircraft fitted with sophisticated
nightvision and sensor devices. The latter helicopters are used primarily
for nighttime surveillance and reconnaissance missions, such as identifying
clandestine methamphetamine laboratories from their thermal signatures.
Both types of missions have their own special challenges.

The Great Marijuana Hunt

The same outstanding weather and soil conditions that have made California
a leader in many types of agriculture have also, unfortunately, made the
state a leading producer of marijuana. And though the "green gold" can be
cultivated virtually anywhere in California, it is so prevalent in
Humboldt, Trinity and Mendocino counties that the area has long been
referred to as "The Emerald Triangle." It is in that region of steep,
heavilyforested mountains and virtually inaccessible valleys that Team
Eagle's pilots undertake many of their marijuanasuppression flights.
Operating from small local airfields, the Guard OH58s carry law
enforcement observers year round, with as many as six aircraft in operation
during the JulytoSeptember peak growing season.

The usual mission is an overflight of a previously selected area, Cain
said. During missions that average about two hours, the law enforcement
representative aboard the Guard helicopter directs the aircraft's progress
through the selected area, cueing the OH58's single pilot on course,
altitude and speed. The observer scans for marijuana gardens and, when one
is found, enters its position on a handheld Global Positioning System
receiver that accurately marks the spot.

Once the garden has been located and its position recorded, law enforcement
agents can proceed in various ways. If the site is inhabited or if it
presents some sort of public danger, it will be quickly visited by ground
units. If no immediate threat is evident, the law enforcement agencies may
"stake out" the site, watching for the arrival or departure of growers or
other law breakers. More usually, though, the site is visited later during
the highsummer eradication period. At that point law enforcement officers
often aided by California National Guard aircraft and ground units
will uproot the plants and fly them out for later destruction.

As helpful as the Guard pilots are in marijuana suppression, Cain stressed
that they are not hired to be marijuana spotters or to enforce the law.

"We provide the law enforcement agencies with a safe aerial platform from
which to do their jobs," Cain said. "We are very careful not to become law
enforcement agents on a mission. Even though several of our pilots are
police officers in their civilian jobs, when they are flying for us they
are pilots only."

Despite that clear division of labor, the Guard pilot and his law
enforcement observer must work closely together during marijuana
suppression flights to ensure the maximum "tactical" benefit, said CWO 3
Montie Vanlandingham, a RAID standardizationinstructor pilot.

"A good rapport is essential between the pilot and the law enforcement
agent," he said. "Over the years we've gotten to know a lot of these
agents, so we've built up that rapport. You get to know what each agent
wants, including the areas he likes to patrol and the altitudes he thinks
make for the best observation. Many times the law enforcement agents in a
particular area will request a specific pilot, because the agent and the
pilot have such a good working relationship."

As important as the counterdrug mission is, Vanlandingham stressed, the
pilots' first concern is safety. The marijuana surveillance flights are
challenging, exacting and exhausting work, and during the busiest time of
the season pilots must be especially aware of the potentially dangerous
effects frequent flights and long hours can have.

"We're authorized to fly up to about six hours a day on
marijuanasuppression flights," said another Team Eagle pilot. "And when
you come back from that last flight you can feel just wiped out. Since we
fly singlepilot on suppression missions, that one pilot is doing
everything. It's really taxing.

"The pilots have to really be aware of how they're feeling, and they'll let
the operations and safety folks know if they feel that they can't perform
the mission," Vanlandingham said. "The agencies we support have no problems
about us canceling a mission because the pilot is beginning to overextend
himself. It's not worth it to any of us to jeopardize the pilot, passenger
and aircraft to fly a mission when the circumstances aren't right."

The other real safety concern, Vanlandingham said, are obstacles such as
hightension wires and the logging cables that stretch across mountain
valleys. Loggers use the cables to move cut timber down the valley's
slopes, and the cables' location can change from day to day.

"Fortunately," said a third pilot, "most of the local law enforcement
agents that fly with us often know where the fixed wires are, and they also
help us keep close tabs on where the logging cables are."

"We definitely work with some really good people," Vanlandingham agreed.
"The best ones know right where they want to go, they know exactly what
they're looking for, and they're really good at their jobs. When you fly
with someone all day long, what they're like can make or break the mission.
Having a solid professional in the other seat makes for the best mission."

The Guard pilots' appreciation of their law enforcement counterparts is
reciprocated, said Bill Rutler, a Mendocino County Sheriff's Department
marijuana eradication officer.

"I've worked with the Guard aviators for five or six years, and they are
absolutely first class," he said. "And having the Guard OH58s as aviation
support is a very strong asset for us. Before we started using the
helicopters we used fixedwing aircraft, and the marijuana groves were
getting harder and harder to spot from the air. The helicopters fly lower
and slower, which makes the marijuana easier to spot. And having access to
the helicopters has allowed us to fly earlier in the year when the plants
are smaller, which allows us to eradicate them earlier. It's a tremendous
help to us."

"We're a valuable resource for the various law enforcement agencies,"
Vanlandingham agreed. "They often have restricted budgets, and most
couldn't afford to operate the necessary aircraft anyway. And we put them
out over very remote and inaccessible areas, and give the best possible
platform for locating marijuana gardens.

"On top of that, marijuana suppression flights have a very real training
value," Vanlandingham said . "This kind of flying single pilot, over
remote, rough country is rare in the Army today. These missions provide
a lot of experiences our pilots might not otherwise get. Add that to the
fact that we're helping keep marijuana off the streets, and it's a real
winwin situation."

The RAID on Drugs

Team Eagle's other primary mission is to operate the RAID's FLIRequipped
Kiowas in specialized nighttime missions, which take place over both urban
and rural areas. Though the missions can include providing backup for law
enforcement officers on the ground and similar tasks, the primary job is to
use the FLIR to help confirm the location of clandestine drug labs and
indoor marijuana grows.

As with all counterdrug flights, the forwardlooking infrared, or FLIR,
missions are flown within welldefined parameters, Cain said.

"First, we operate with two pilots, rather than with the single pilot used
on marijuanasuppression missions," he said. "That's just common sense,
because flying over a heavily populated urban area at night is hard enough
without having to keep one eye glued to the FLIR screen. Having two pilots
aboard makes for safer and more effective missions.

"In addition, we're very careful about making sure that the missions meet
all legal requirements," Cain said. "For example, the FLIRequipped
aircraft cannot be used to randomly overfly inhabited areas looking for
thermal heat signatures that might indicate the indoor cultivation of
marijuana or the existence of an illegal drug lab. The way the law is
interpreted in California is that the law enforcement agencies must have a
warrant to look at a specific structure.

"Our FLIR missions are flown on an 'asneeded' basis," Cain said. "We get a
request from a local, state or federal law enforcement agency and, once
it's been approved, we plan the mission to meet the agency's requirements.
As with the marijuanasuppression flights, our Guard pilots are not there
to enforce any laws. They are there simply to provide a platform for the
law enforcement agencies."

Once a mission has been approved, a courtcertified thermographer
accompanies the flight crew and the investigating officer in order to
obtain and interpret images from the specified location.

To provide statewide coverage, the RAID pilots are stationed in both
northern and southern California. Unlike the other Team Eagle pilots, who
come onto active duty for periods ranging from a few weeks to several
months, the RAID pilots are fulltime. When not involved in counterdrug
operations, the RAID pilots are called upon to use their FLIRequipped
aircraft to support search and rescue missions at night or in bad weather.

But it is in the war against illegal drugs that the RAID is most valuable,
Cain said, because it offers law enforcement agencies skills and equipment
they might not otherwise have access to.

"We offer a technology that helps law enforcement locate and identify
indoor marijuana gardens and clandestine labs that turn out highly
dangerous drugs," Cain added. "With our help the good guys can see in the
dark, and the bad guys can't hide."