MEDIA CONTEST: 552nd battles Narco-Terrorism

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  • News Entry 7
ACC MEDIA CONTEST --  The 552nd Air Control Wing played a major role assisting law enforcement personnel in apprehending about 10 metric tons of cocaine in the war on counter-narcotic terrorism operations. The cocaine was apprehended during two drug busts in the Eastern Pacific during August.

"Superior coordination of air tracking and support aircraft resulted in a complex and multifaceted take-down," said Rear Adm. Jeffrey Hathaway, Director of Joint Interagency Task Force South, in a message to Brig. Gen. James M. Kowalski, 552nd ACW commander. "The ability to remain flexible and react immediately to a continually changing scenario personifies the true meaning of the word teamwork."

The 552nd ACW has deployed to South America when not engaged in other contingency operations since the 1980s. Currently each of the four operational flying squadrons rotate deployments based on the Air Expeditionary Force cycle. Members of the 963rd Airborne Air Control Squadron and 552nd ACW Maintenance and Communications groups are currently deployed to make up the 963rd Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron.

The E-3 Sentry mission in counter narco-terrorism is two-fold in South America. One is working with the South American governments and air forces to stop aircraft from transiting drugs on land. The other is the maritime mission which includes looking for fishing vessels that aren't fishing.

"We find the boats, report them back and then either Coast Guard ships or Navy vessels that are operating in the area, actually go in and get a visual," said Maj. Richard Boyd, 963rd Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron commander.

The recent finds were maritime missions. On one find, the 963rd EAACS crewmembers found a vessel more than 1,000 miles out in the Pacific Ocean.

"We were notified a couple days prior that they had a suspect vessel we were going after, and it was beyond the reach of any other aircraft that was operating in the theater," Major Boyd said. "Two days later another crew went out and found the boat again. This time the Coast Guard had been steaming out to that area so that when we found the boat again, they could intercept."

When the AWACS crew found the vessel, the Coast Guard was notified through a relay of messages. The Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton went in and made the visual identification. The vessel ended up carrying more than four metric tons of cocaine.

"Officials said it was low in the water because they were carrying so much cocaine. It was just sitting out on the deck," Major Boyd said. "They didn't even try to hide it. The bales were just wrapped in blue plastic."

Major Boyd gives credit to all 552nd ACW Airmen currently deployed in support of counterdrug operations.

"When we came down in May it was during a transition time and our taskings were changing and increasing," he said. "The operations folks and especially the maintenance Airman, have made the mission happen. The maintenance troops have done an awesome job of keeping our jets flying so that we could meet and exceed the goals set out for us in this transition."

The U.S. military performs a supporting role in counter-drug operations. The President of the United States and Secretary of Defense directed Military support of U.S. and partner nation's Drug Law Enforcement Agencies because of the threats poised by illicit drug use and trafficking. These authorities continually review the use of military assets against a wide range of threats and missions, and direct those resources where they may be most effective.