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Pilots, Others Stand In For Troops In Colombia
LARANDIA, Colombia -- They are private U.S. citizens but work on the front lines of America's war on drugs.
Under a little-known program, more than 100 pilots, mechanics and others work for the U.S. State Department in Colombia as part of a program to eradicate Colombia's coca and opium poppy fields.
Some of the Americans fly planes that spray herbicides on the illicit crops. Others fly gunships that accompany the spraying missions. Still others fly hulking transport aircraft or work as aviation mechanics, logistical experts and medics.
Some U.S. critics said the private contractors are proxies for the U.S. military in a place where the public would not allow a more direct U.S. military involvement.
But others said private contractors are needed because the U.S. military is stretched thin and attention is focused on Iraq and other hot spots.
The U.S. Congress, concerned about private citizens fighting a dangerous drug war overseas, mandated that a maximum of 400 U.S. contractors be allowed in Colombia. U.S. officials said there are, on average, about 120 American pilots and other private contractors in Colombia's antinarcotics program at any one time.
"We don't even come close to the limit," one said.
The pilots, interviewed on the condition of anonymity, downplayed their cowboy image and characterized themselves as regular guys with wives, kids and mortgages -- even if their job is anything but ordinary.
>From dawn until dusk, 16 U.S. spray planes take off from Larandia's dusty airstrip, heading south to the coca fields. Once there, they swoop down and drop the herbicide, making pass after pass just over the tree line, often while being shot at by leftist rebels and drug traffickers.
The work is endless. Colombia has hundreds of thousands of acres of coca -- the raw material for cocaine.
The fumigation, part of the $1.5-billion U.S.-financed program known as Plan Colombia, has accelerated under recently elected President Alvaro Uribe, who agrees with U.S. officials that fumigation is the fastest way to get rid of the illicit crop.
The Americans live in spartan dorms and relax by watching cable television, lifting weights and fishing for piranha at the base's artificial lake.
Some of the pilots are two decades removed from their military careers. Many have had second careers flying for the United Nations and other organizations. Others used to fly crop dusters or crisscrossed the United States dropping retardant on major forest fires.
Some hooked up with DynCorp, the main U.S. antinarcotics contractor in Colombia, because of the pay and work schedule: Most pilots work 15 days and then have 15 days off. The most experienced pilots earn more than $100,000 a year.
Many of them are in their late 50s, gray-haired and grandfatherly. "I'm way too young to retire," said one pilot pushing 60. "I'll be doing this till I'm 95."
That is, if he doesn't get killed. Bullets have hit spray planes more than 150 times this year, most fired by members of the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, an 18,000-member rebel group that receives millions of dollars a year from taxing and protecting coca fields.
If a plane does go down, the pilots are in serious trouble, even though they never fly without two heavily armed helicopter gunships and a third rescue helicopter. Pilots carry pistols and receive survival training.
But the FARC, which has designated the Americans military targets, controls much of the coca-growing region. It has never attacked the base.
Pubdate: Thu, 14 Nov 2002
Source: Detroit Free Press (MI)
Contact: letters@freepress.com
Copyright: 2002 Detroit Free Press
Website: Detroit Free Press - Breaking news, sports, business, entertainment
LARANDIA, Colombia -- They are private U.S. citizens but work on the front lines of America's war on drugs.
Under a little-known program, more than 100 pilots, mechanics and others work for the U.S. State Department in Colombia as part of a program to eradicate Colombia's coca and opium poppy fields.
Some of the Americans fly planes that spray herbicides on the illicit crops. Others fly gunships that accompany the spraying missions. Still others fly hulking transport aircraft or work as aviation mechanics, logistical experts and medics.
Some U.S. critics said the private contractors are proxies for the U.S. military in a place where the public would not allow a more direct U.S. military involvement.
But others said private contractors are needed because the U.S. military is stretched thin and attention is focused on Iraq and other hot spots.
The U.S. Congress, concerned about private citizens fighting a dangerous drug war overseas, mandated that a maximum of 400 U.S. contractors be allowed in Colombia. U.S. officials said there are, on average, about 120 American pilots and other private contractors in Colombia's antinarcotics program at any one time.
"We don't even come close to the limit," one said.
The pilots, interviewed on the condition of anonymity, downplayed their cowboy image and characterized themselves as regular guys with wives, kids and mortgages -- even if their job is anything but ordinary.
>From dawn until dusk, 16 U.S. spray planes take off from Larandia's dusty airstrip, heading south to the coca fields. Once there, they swoop down and drop the herbicide, making pass after pass just over the tree line, often while being shot at by leftist rebels and drug traffickers.
The work is endless. Colombia has hundreds of thousands of acres of coca -- the raw material for cocaine.
The fumigation, part of the $1.5-billion U.S.-financed program known as Plan Colombia, has accelerated under recently elected President Alvaro Uribe, who agrees with U.S. officials that fumigation is the fastest way to get rid of the illicit crop.
The Americans live in spartan dorms and relax by watching cable television, lifting weights and fishing for piranha at the base's artificial lake.
Some of the pilots are two decades removed from their military careers. Many have had second careers flying for the United Nations and other organizations. Others used to fly crop dusters or crisscrossed the United States dropping retardant on major forest fires.
Some hooked up with DynCorp, the main U.S. antinarcotics contractor in Colombia, because of the pay and work schedule: Most pilots work 15 days and then have 15 days off. The most experienced pilots earn more than $100,000 a year.
Many of them are in their late 50s, gray-haired and grandfatherly. "I'm way too young to retire," said one pilot pushing 60. "I'll be doing this till I'm 95."
That is, if he doesn't get killed. Bullets have hit spray planes more than 150 times this year, most fired by members of the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, an 18,000-member rebel group that receives millions of dollars a year from taxing and protecting coca fields.
If a plane does go down, the pilots are in serious trouble, even though they never fly without two heavily armed helicopter gunships and a third rescue helicopter. Pilots carry pistols and receive survival training.
But the FARC, which has designated the Americans military targets, controls much of the coca-growing region. It has never attacked the base.
Pubdate: Thu, 14 Nov 2002
Source: Detroit Free Press (MI)
Contact: letters@freepress.com
Copyright: 2002 Detroit Free Press
Website: Detroit Free Press - Breaking news, sports, business, entertainment
