Photo By 1st Lt. Brianne Roudebush | Members of the California National Guard Counterdrug Task Force Ground Tactical Team...... read more read more
CALIFORNIA – After carrying more than 120 pounds of gear up five flights of stairs and applying copious amounts bug spray to ward off gnats and mosquitoes, the three-man surveillance team set up their equipment and settled in for the long night ahead.
Using specialized observation systems, the California National Guard Counterdrug Task Force’s Ground Tactical Teams monitor activity along the coast each night.
The mission began in 2011 when the Counterdrug Task Force partnered with local law enforcement agencies in California’s coastal counties in response to increased drug smuggling activities.
Throughout the night, the teams document everything they see. If a suspicious vessel is detected, they contact the local law enforcement agency who will intervene as they see fit.
“This mission is important because it is the last line of defense to detect these vessels before drugs hit the streets,” a Ground Tactical Team leader in Ventura County said. “Once they hit the streets, they’re gone and there is nothing we can do.”
When the program first began, San Diego was the only county the teams operated out of.
“Once we started detecting boats, [the smugglers] started pushing farther and farther north, up the coast,” the team leader said.
There are now teams operating from San Diego up through San Luis Obispo.
The Ventura County team said there have been vessels detected as far north as Monterey and San Francisco.
“Their small, one or two-engine boats are not meant to travel that far,” a specialist on the Ventura County team said. “They are getting desperate and taking more risks.”
The Counterdrug teams continuously adjust their areas of operation in order to stay ahead of the smugglers.
Each team has multiple observation posts that they rotate through. Their equipment can be used in rain, fog and other low-visibility conditions.
“We actually have several different devices so we can adjust and prepare for whatever comes at us throughout the night,” the team leader said. “We are at the mercy of the weather out here.”
The operations have proven to be very effective. The volume of smuggling activity has drastically decreased since 2011. The team leader said the smugglers know they will be caught if they try to land on California shores.
The team said they enjoy working side-by-side with law enforcement officials and seeing the positive effects the mission has.
“This directly affects the neighborhoods where we live,” the specialist said. “Being out here to stop smugglers is good for our communities. It helps keep drugs off our streets.”
| Date Taken: | 07.08.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 07.28.2014 18:37 |
| Story ID: | 137554 |
| Location: | CA, US |
| Web Views: | 311 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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