Drugs, cont.
August 26, 2018
MARKY Mark writes:
Your post about the drug war resonated with me, as I was a front line participant in the drug war during the 1980s. I used to serve in the U.S. Navy, and we did a couple of drug patrols when I was based on the East Coast.
During one patrol, we were in too close to shore, and the water was too shallow for us to use SONAR; I was a SONAR operator when I served. Since we couldn’t use SONAR, we stood watches in the RADAR room. Though I didn’t work up there long enough to become an expert, I learned a few things as we helped the RADAR guys track possible drug smugglers.
The big thing I learned was that our altitude and speed parameters would NOT catch the serious drug smugglers. The bigger smugglers, running DC-7s, MU-2s, etc. would not be followed, because they flew too high and fast for the parameters we were using; we’d only catch the small timers running smaller, slower, lower flying aircraft such as Piper Aztecs. Though that was a big tell, it’s not the only one.
The WAY in which we conducted drug ops was suspect. We operated just offshore of Colombia, so all the smugglers ran and hid when they saw our Navy destroyer just off their shore. The more logical thing to do would have been to station a ship or two between the Yucatan Peninsula and the western tip of Cuba; station another ship or two between Cuba and Hispaniola; we could have stationed a ship between the eastern end of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico; finally, station a few ships north and east of Puerto Rico. What would this do?
If someone is smuggling marijuana, they’ll have to use ships because it’s a bulk cargo; they ship it in bales, for crying out loud! Any ships coming from the northern coast of South America (mainly Columbia at the time) will have to cross through the aforementioned choke points discussed in the previous paragraph. How else will they get to the US?
If I, as a petty officer 2nd class SONAR operator, could figure this out, then I knew that the admirals and generals at The Pentagon could figure this out; after all, they’d all attended the Navy War College! They studied strategy and tactics at the war colleges. Therefore, I concluded over 30 years ago that our top officials were NOT serious about fighting the drug war.
— Comments —
Wheeler writes:
Another point to consider is the alleged use of US troops to guard opium poppy fields in the Middle East. If this is truly occurring, the cui bono question isn’t difficult to answer. This is just one more reason for we veterans to wonder why any sane young man would volunteer to serve (servitude?) in the increasingly inept and corrupt U.S. military.
