Pubdate: Sun, 01 Apr 2001 Source: Olympian, The (WA) Copyright: 2001 The Olympian Contact: http://www.theolympian.com/forms/lettrfrm.shtml Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/319 Author: John Graber Note: John Graber covers Lacey, Tumwater and military issues for The Olympian. GUARDSMEN ENLISTED TO ASSIST WAR ON DRUGS Work With Police Concerns Some Civil Libertarians "It brings expertise and resources that wouldn't be otherwise available to us." -- Capt. Jim Chamberlain, Thurston County Narcotics Task Force "We don't feel any of our soldiers, full time or part time, should be involved in a war on the American people." -- Jerry Sheehan, American Civil Liberties Union OLYMPIA -- By all accounts, Sgt. Tammy Jackson is an invaluable member of the Thurston County Narcotics Task Force. She does everything from verifying anonymous tips to surveying suspected drug dealers to dismantling marijuana farms. "She frees up officers' time," task force Capt. Jim Chamberlain said. "The tasks she performs would have to be performed by someone else." But she is not a member of any law enforcement agency. Jackson is a member of the Army National Guard. She is one of 80 people statewide -- six in Thurston County -- working with local law enforcement through the Army and Air National Guard's Counter Drug Task Force. Her salary is paid through a $4 million annual federal grant. "Every state and territory ... have what I'm talking about," said Air National Guard Col. Drew Blazey, who commands the Counter Drug Task Force. National funding for the program is about $170 million this year, Blazey said. The policy of using guardsmen in the war on drugs began in 1989, when Congress allocated $40 million for the purpose, said Kathleen Gereski, a National Guard Bureau spokeswoman in Washington, D.C. The Thurston County Narcotics Task Force arrested or referred 123 people for prosecution and seized $3.1 million worth of drugs last year. In 1999, 90 people were arrested or referred for prosecution and $7.5 million in drugs was seized. The results would not have been possible without the National Guard's help, Chamberlain said. "It brings expertise and resources that wouldn't be otherwise available to us," Chamberlain said. Resources And Skills The guard's task force has three OH-58 helicopters and a C-26 airplane at its disposal. It also has equipment like ion scanners used to detect miniscule amounts of drugs. The Thurston County Narcotics Task Force used one of them in 1999 to detect abnormally large traces of cocaine on $29,000 in bills stored in a safe deposit box. "We were able to show it was drug money actually, because you couldn't tell by just looking at it," Chamberlain said. The Guard also provides specialized skills like translating, to which local officers may not have access when dealing with suspects who don't speak English. A special forces guard unit stationed in Buckley also conducts surveillance operations along the U.S.-Canadian border several times a year, Blazey said. While guardsmen involved in the Counter Drug Task Force are stationed throughout the state, the majority of them are along the Interstate 5 corridor. There are strict laws covering what guardsmen can and cannot do. "We can't touch the law enforcement side of it," Jackson said. "We don't carry weapons in general. There can be special occasions, but it has to be cleared through the adjutant general's office. As far as my end of it, it's never come to that." Jackson was on active duty in the Army for six years before switching over to the Guard 12 years ago. She has volunteered for task force duty for the last seven years. "It's helping my community," said Jackson, an Olympia resident. She has a love-hate relationship with the job, she said. She has two years before retirement, and she doesn't know if she can stay with the task force. She enjoys being a positive force, but some of the situations she has witnessed weigh on her. "You see an adult lost in their addiction and there is a child lost in the middle of it," Jackson said. "I don't feel I have the right to judge the people, but at the same time, you want to take the baby up and save it." Voices Of Opposition Not everybody feels it is proper to use military troops to enforce drug laws. "We have great problems with this," said Jerry Sheehan, legislative director for the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington state. "We don't feel any of our soldiers, full time or part time, should be involved in a war on the American people. It is a war on some adults who choose to put chemicals in their bodies that the government does not approve of." Washington law allows for military personnel to be used in anti-drug efforts. So does federal law, but that may be the effect of political pressure to bend certain laws in order to fight the war on drugs, said Graham Boyd, director of the ACLU's drug policy litigation project in New Haven, Conn. That's unfortunate, Sheehan said, because the military was neither created to address civilian issues, nor does it have the training to do so. "Law enforcement is a civilian affair; it is not a military affair," Sheehan said. "That said, the military is not trained to police our community. The military is trained to deal with the enemy, and when they do encounter enemies of the country, to kill them. "That is difficult training to apply to our own citizens." - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager