VP-65 Tridents Hunt Drug Runners
Navy Newsstand
Story Number: NNS030910-05
Release Date: 9/10/2003 11:48:00 AM
By Journalist 1st Class Chris Halsey, Mobile Public Affairs Team 119
CURACAO, Netherlands Antilles (NNS) -- During the Cold War, squadrons at the helm of the P-3C Orion used their advanced tactical systems to track down foreign submarines. Today, squadrons like Naval Reserve Patrol Squadron (VP) 65 from Naval Base Ventura County, Calif., use these aircraft to track down a different target - drug runners in the Caribbean Sea.
Operating at Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville, Fla., with active-duty Patrol Squadron (VP) 10, also known as the Red Lancers and based at NAS Brunswick, Maine, the VP-65 detachment patrols various ocean regions in the Eastern Pacific and the Caribbean.
According to Lt. Cmdr. John Noland, the detachment's intelligence officer, the squadrons coordinate with local Coast Guard and Navy warships to intercept and board the "go-fast" boats and the support ships used by the drug cartels.
"Go-fasts are high-powered speedboats used to smuggle shipments of illegal drugs, laundered money or other contraband into Mexico and the United States," Noland said. "These boats are small and fast. It's hard for surface ships to pinpoint them. That's where we come in."
Noland added that most of the Caribbean patrols last 10 to 12 hours. According to Lt. Cmdr. Scott Somes, the officer-in-charge of the squadron's Jacksonville and Curacao detachment, both active-duty and Reserve squadrons find a drug-related contact approximately 20 to 30 percent of the time.
Somes added that these percentages are excellent, considering the large region of ocean they have to cover. "It literally is like finding a needle in a haystack," said Somes. "We depend heavily on the intelligence we receive to narrow down our search."
"We hold our own," the Denver, Colo., native said. "So far, we've flown more than 80 flights, making numerous drug busts and finding other cartel support ships."
Lt. Cmdr. Scott T. Garner, one of the pilots with VP-65's Combat Aircrew 8, said the tactical flights take off from locations like Jacksonville and Curacao daily.
"Our crew alone has logged more than 70 hours during our two weeks in the area," said Garner, a Federal Express pilot from Fremont, Calif. "My crew is flying every other day. We're here to keep as many drugs off our streets as possible."
On one of their larger "catches," the Tridents intercepted a go-fast carrying 1,650 kilograms of cocaine with an approximate street value of $165 million.
"We took control of the bust as the scene-of-action coordinators during this mission," explained Somes. "Our Orion found the boat, and we instructed an HS-60 helicopter from USS Stump (DD 978) to intercept and halt the smugglers. Then we directed a local U.S. Coast Guard cutter to pick up the bails of drugs thrown overboard, as the go-fast tried to get away. Once we had secured the bust, we turned control of the operation to a U.S. Customs P-3 for continued surveillance."
According to Somes, the experience and tactical expertise of the Reserve crews, combined with the multiple sensors and communications equipment on the P-3C, make this one of the few aircraft capable of coordinating these missions.
Somes said the Orions have to fly extremely low altitudes to find the smugglers, because the go-fasts are so small and so fast. According to Senior Chief (AW/NAC) Cameron R. Smith, the detachment's operations leading senior chief petty officer, a P-3C does not have to stay very close to the go-fast to track them.
"On a clear day, we have a telescopic lens that can lock in on a go-fast from 8,000 feet," said Smith, a San Jose, Calif., native. "The catch is we have to find them at the lower altitudes before we can track them from a higher altitude."
According to Somes, these operations are their squadron's way of helping the United States in its continuing war against drugs.
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