Pubdate: Thu, 11 Oct 2007 Source: Florida Today (Melbourne, FL) NEWS0302/71011045&template=3Dnews0305 Copyright: 2007 Florida Today Contact: http://www.flatoday.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/532 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/walters.htm (Walters, John) JOHN WALTER SPEAKS ON DRUG ERADICATION Pilots from the Department of State Air Wing, headquartered here, sprayed 169,987 hectares of coca plantations last year in Colombia. That and other drug eradication efforts by the unit brought the nation's drug czar to the base today to thank the men and women who are at the forefront of the war on drugs. John Walter, director of National Drug Control Policy, spoke today before more than 100 government employees and contractors in a hanger at the base. "I came here to do something we don't do enough of, and that is to express our gratitude for the work that you do," Walters said. "The work that you do is unique in the government. We only send you to do these things in the worst possible places in the world." Walters present the Air Wing with a certificate for the effort, including the work in Colombia, where the unit sprayed more coca plantation last year since it began in 1994. Walters said that surveys are showing that there is an overall decline in drug uses among teenagers. "I think the good new is we're seeing all drug use come down," he said. "We're trying to avoid the substitutes we've seen in the past." - --- MAP posted-by: Derek