WEBVTT 00:19.510 --> 00:21.870 Btron is the specialized unit in the 00:21.870 --> 00:23.926 United States Coast Guard whose sole 00:23.926 --> 00:26.148 purpose is to interdict go fast vessels 00:26.148 --> 00:28.350 to stop the flow of drugs from Central 00:28.350 --> 00:30.572 and South America to the streets of the 00:30.572 --> 00:32.683 United States . I would argue there's 00:32.683 --> 00:34.628 no more life saving mission in the 00:34.628 --> 00:36.794 United States Coast Guard than what we 00:36.794 --> 00:39.017 do . Every single kilo we seize has got 00:39.017 --> 00:41.128 832 lethal doses in it . If you round 00:41.128 --> 00:43.183 it down to simply 1 human life saved 00:43.183 --> 00:45.183 per kilo of cocaine , that's 10,000 00:45.183 --> 00:47.017 lives in a single interdiction . 00:49.360 --> 00:51.527 All we do at this unit is airborne use 00:51.527 --> 00:53.527 of force . That's the only thing we 00:53.527 --> 00:55.638 train for , the only thing we do . So 00:55.638 --> 00:57.693 we are single subject matter experts 00:57.693 --> 00:59.527 and we bring that skill and that 00:59.527 --> 01:01.193 clarity and that safety to an 01:01.193 --> 01:03.082 interdiction . As someone who had 01:03.082 --> 01:05.027 little to no shooting experience , 01:05.027 --> 01:07.249 Hitron does a tremendous job in getting 01:07.249 --> 01:09.249 us to the point where we're able to 01:09.249 --> 01:11.193 make these complex shots and , and 01:11.193 --> 01:14.029 precise shots . We're shooting from an 01:14.029 --> 01:15.807 aerial platform , which is very 01:15.807 --> 01:18.000 different than anywhere else . So the 01:18.000 --> 01:20.111 way that we train is specific to this 01:20.111 --> 01:22.167 mission so that when we are in these 01:22.167 --> 01:24.278 scenarios , we aren't second-guessing 01:24.278 --> 01:26.500 ourselves . We do have the , the finest 01:26.500 --> 01:28.556 shooters in the military inventory . 01:29.029 --> 01:31.196 they're both flight mechs or basic air 01:31.196 --> 01:33.362 crewmen , they need to be able to turn 01:33.362 --> 01:35.529 their hat around in flight and go from 01:35.529 --> 01:37.529 handling an aircraft issue to being 01:37.529 --> 01:37.449 able to shoot and successfully 01:37.449 --> 01:39.505 interdict , stop someone who's a law 01:39.505 --> 01:40.616 enforcement agent . 01:45.709 --> 01:47.709 We're taking great pilots and we're 01:47.709 --> 01:49.931 making them better to do a counter-drug 01:49.931 --> 01:51.931 mission , taking a six-man aviation 01:51.931 --> 01:54.042 detachment . They're , they're taking 01:54.042 --> 01:56.209 the aircraft 3 to 4000 miles from home 01:56.209 --> 01:58.376 station , far offshore where they lead 01:58.376 --> 02:00.542 autonomously . They're getting their , 02:00.542 --> 02:02.542 their debt into and out of multiple 02:02.542 --> 02:04.598 foreign countries while also working 02:04.598 --> 02:06.709 with a cutter , which is a completely 02:06.709 --> 02:06.389 different command and a completely 02:06.389 --> 02:08.690 different way of living and executing 02:09.190 --> 02:11.134 United States law on the high seas 02:11.134 --> 02:13.779 completely autonomously . It took us 18 02:13.779 --> 02:16.001 years to get to 500 interdictions , and 02:16.001 --> 02:18.057 it took us an additional 8 to get to 02:18.057 --> 02:20.830 1000 . So the 1,000th interdiction . 02:20.979 --> 02:23.090 This is my first case , my first time 02:23.090 --> 02:25.419 taking off . I just got certified . A 02:25.419 --> 02:27.586 hole opens up in the cloud , and I see 02:27.586 --> 02:29.808 a wake in the distance , and I'm like , 02:29.808 --> 02:31.697 hey man , like , like that's it . 02:31.809 --> 02:34.160 Powder's working its way closer . They 02:34.160 --> 02:36.300 launched the , the VBAT that way the 02:36.300 --> 02:38.580 VAT could take over reconnaissance and 02:38.580 --> 02:40.747 monitoring of this vessel and while we 02:40.747 --> 02:42.913 head back to the cutter to gas up , we 02:42.913 --> 02:44.913 were able to launch from the cutter 02:44.913 --> 02:46.802 with our authorization to conduct 02:46.802 --> 02:49.080 airborne use of force . See the vessel , 02:49.080 --> 02:51.302 the vessel sees us , they start kicking 02:51.302 --> 02:53.580 contraband overboard and they take off . 02:53.660 --> 02:56.699 Every contingency that we practice and 02:56.699 --> 02:58.588 we think that we're gonna have to 02:58.588 --> 03:00.643 encounter , we ended up running into 03:00.643 --> 03:02.866 during this interdiction and because we 03:02.866 --> 03:05.889 had trained for it , we were ready . We 03:05.889 --> 03:08.130 are the Coast Guard's fleet air arm 03:08.130 --> 03:10.750 right now . It is an awesome way to 03:10.750 --> 03:12.861 live and to be the literal tip of the 03:12.861 --> 03:15.990 spear is , um , is very rewarding . The 03:15.990 --> 03:17.823 things we're doing , the 1,000th 03:17.823 --> 03:20.339 interdiction , the 10,000 kg , it's a 03:20.339 --> 03:22.450 testament to what we do and how we do 03:22.450 --> 03:24.172 it , and it's just a great and 03:24.172 --> 03:24.089 rewarding job .