Eye in the Sky, The

Flight Journal, Jun 2004 by Carlson, Ted

The DEA's air war on drugs

FOR A NUMBER OF MONTHS, contributor Ted Carlson was given access to the shadowy world of DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) pilots. Engaged in a war that's never seen on television, these pilots put it on the line every day yet are virtually unknown, and that's exactly the way they like it. You'll see no faces, no names and no aircraft identification in the following pages. As aerial undercover agents, anonymity is their best protection, and surprise is their strongest weapon.

What are the effects of drugs on America? It's impossible to quantify, but it's easy to put numbers on the crime that is part and parcel of the drug trade: approximately 70 percent of prisoners in federal penitentiaries were convicted of drug-related crimes; about 95 percent of all homicides are related to drugs in some way or another, and the U.S. Government invests nearly $2 billion every year to help stop the cocaine problem in South America alone.

According to the U.S. Customs Service, 60 million people enter the United States on more than 675,000 commercial and private flights every year. Another six million come by sea and 370 million by land. Some 116 million vehicles cross the borders from Canada and Mexico, and more than 90,000 merchant and passenger ships dock at U.S. ports.

The ships carry more than nine million shipping containers and 400 million tons of cargo. Another 157,000 smaller vessels visit numerous U.S. coastal towns. Amid this voluminous trade, drug traffickers conceal heroin, cocaine, marijuana, MDMA (Ecstasy) and methamphetamine shipments for distribution in U.S. neighborhoods. Amid this seemingly unstoppable onslaught of smuggling, the DEA is America's frontline in the enforcement of drug laws, and its Aviation Division is an instrumental weapon in the war on drugs.

The DEA pilot

All DEA pilots are Special Agents and are referred to as Special Agent/Pilots (SA/Ps). They must attend Basic Agent Training at the DEA Training Academy and must spend at least two years at a DEA field office conducting investigations before they can apply to become an SA/P. DEA pilots and aircraft support the people on the ground in much the same way as the U.S. Marine Corps' aircraft support the ground troops. During their tenure on the ground, DEA pilots may be involved with wiretap cases, busts, ground surveillance, working in foreign countries (such as Colombia) and large-scale arrests.

The DEA's philosophy is that its pilots must understand firsthand what is happening on the ground before they can provide support from the air. That gives the pilots and observers insight into why certain situations occur and the urgencies that may be involved in planning where to position an aircraft. This experience also gives pilots the know-how to advise the people on the ground on the best application of the aircraft for a particular mission.

Roughly half of the pilots are former military pilots, and pilots we interviewed come from flying communities such as the F-16C, CH-53E, A-4M, AV-8B, T-2C and so on. All, however, came up from the ranks of ground agents, and many have always had a great interest in aviation. Some have enjoyed flying as a hobby, had a yearning to do it for the agency and essentially become flying cops. Backgrounds such as military infantry, local law enforcement and Border Patrol are not uncommon.

The DEA pilot-office environment tends to be full of humor and some practical jokes, but things become serious when agents go out on a mission. They have a reputation to uphold, and they form a tightly knit group. They pitch in to help one another, and if they see something that needs to be done, they do it without having to be told. SA/Ps depend on one another, and most are easy to work with. Owing to the nature of their business and having been trained in a variety of weapons, the pilots fly armed.

Numerous DEA pilots fly both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft and are very experienced (more than 2,000 hours of flying time). All DEA mission pilots are required to have a commercial license with an instrument rating. Their flying hours vary according to the tasks and events that unfold. One week, they may fly 15 to 20 hours, but the next, they may only get three to four hours. Flights are not routinely scheduled, and crews may be on standby, as dope dealers' activities can be unpredictable.

Some war stories

One DEA SA/P related a story that underscores the dangers associated with flying law-enforcement missions in foreign countries and demonstrates how a simple miscommunication can cause a tense situation. Two DEA SA/Ps on a plane with a DEA Special Agent (who was based in Colombia) and several other DEA employees were assigned to photograph an area near Bogota for use in court proceedings. The SA/Ps filed their flight plan and were in communication with Colombian Air Traffic Control.

For about 20 minutes, the pilots circled the area that was being photographed. With their mission complete, they began to head back to base. At that time, air-traffic control radioed and told them to land at a nearby Colombian Air Force base. The pilots advised them that they had filed a flight plan and were headed back to base, but air-traffic control insisted that they land at the base. As they prepared to land, they became aware of Colombian Air Force fighters trained on them. After landing, they were advised to make a 180-degree turn, proceed to the end of the runway and turn off their engines.