Quick Hits (page 5)
Prison Smuggling a Problem
By: Associated Press
Using everything from a baby's diaper to burritos, smugglers regularly get illegal drugs to federal prisoners, even at the highest-security institutions, Justice Department investigators recently stated.
Inmate visitors are the major source of drugs. But Justice Department Inspector General Glen A. Fine found that mail and prison staff also bring in marijuana, heroin, cocaine and other drugs at the nation's 102 Bureau of Prisons facilities, demonstrating a need to upgrade interdiction efforts.
Prison personnel are of particular concern, Fine said, because they tend to bring in larger amounts that spread to more inmates. There are few restrictions on personal items prison staff can bring to work, and there is no program for drug testing or random searches.
"The vast majority of (bureau) employees have high integrity, but a few corrupt staff can do enormous damage to the safety and security of an institution," Fine said in a statement accompanying his report.
In a written response, Bureau of Prisons Director Kathleen Hawk Sawyer criticized what she called the "lack of statistical support" for some of the report's conclusions. She rejected a recommendation that the bureau begin searching prison staff when they come to work.
"Overall, staff morale will suffer, thereby creating unwarranted concerns in areas other than drug detection," Sawyer wrote.
Investigators measured inmate drug use several ways:
There were an average of 3,080 inmates who tested positive for drugs each year from 1997 through 2001, an average rate of about 2 percent nationwide. High-security prisons had a higher positive drug test rate, at over 3 percent.
Fifty federal inmates have died of drug overdoses since 1997.
Authorities recorded more than 1,100 drug "finds" in federal prisons since 2000.
There were 34 prison staff arrests on drug cases from 1997 through 2001 and 93 drug-related employee misconduct cases.
Visitors often use the cover of crowded visitation rooms to pass drugs when hugging or kissing an inmate. The report also cited cases where drugs were smuggled in a baby's diapers, in body cavities and in food brought to the prison or purchased at a prison vending machine.
At one prison, a so-called "burrito caper" occurred in which a visitor smuggled in a burrito filled with balloons of heroin, bought an identical one at a prison vending machine and then switched the two with the inmate.
The report recommended greater use of pat searches of visitors, better use of staff and camera monitoring, and restriction of contact visits for some inmates.
Sawyer agreed with some of the recommendations but said regular inmate visitation by family members is "important for maintaining social and family ties" that help the offender cope with prison life and adjust to society when released.
Regarding inmate mail, the report found some prisons handle thousands of pieces of mail every day, making manual inspection of each item impossible. Recommendations include elimination of unsolicited mail, better staff training for drug detection and testing of better technology that would allow inspection of more pieces.
The report also made numerous recommendations for improving drug treatment of inmates to reduce the demand for drugs, including an increase in staff for the programs. Sawyer said that would entail hiring 200 more people at a cost of more than $13.4 million, which Congress has not approved.
Growin' Our Own (page 5)
Flat-hatting Through the Canyons
By: Wizard
Hi! People who know me call me Wizard and with good reason. I am the president, the CEO, the chief cook and bottle washer and one-and-only pilot of North American Smugglers' Airline -- nasa for short. I have been flying for a total of 31 years, the last 11 of which have included flying contraband cargo from Canada into the United States. I've smuggled just about everything into the U.S. Animals can not exceed 400 pounds and must be in Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved containers - thank you very much. I've also got just under 6,000 hours of actual stick time.
Let me quickly explain what flat-hatting is. For everybody's edification, I took the following from the pamphlet 'Flat-Hatting Sense', U.S. Navy, 1944. It maybe old but it sure as hell is not out of date (BTW I have a copy):
"Flat-Hatting is a form of flying that discourages longevity. Originally the term simply meant flying low needlessly. That definition has been expanded to include grandstanding, or showing off -- flying foolishly and carelessly. The term itself is said to have arisen from an incident in which the wheel of a low-flying plane struck a pedestrian on the head and crushed a new top hat he was wearing. Besides being grounded for quite a stretch, the pilot had to buy the pedestrian a new hat, costing $12.50, including tax. Hence, the name 'Flat-Hatting' -- which is probably as good a name as any."
Even in the year 2002 there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that will get a military pilot courts-martialed or a civilian pilot's ticket pulled faster than flat-hatting. Don't try this at home.
Do I flat-hat? Why yes, yes I do. Well hell, if it is so dangerous and foolish why do I do it? That is a fair question and one that deserves a fair and honest answer. Simply put, I fly low, very low (flat-hat) through mountainous and extremely sparsely populated regions to deliver contraband cargo. For me to fly a normal flight path I would be on radar and upon landing in the U.S. would have to declare to customs officials what I was bringing in, if anything. This declaring routine could lead to some real unanswerable questions being asked, cargo being seized, aircraft being seized and me landing in jail. In other words, the end result of a lot of tough work would be for nothing. Zip. So I flat-hat. However, as you will read, I do my damnedest to minimize the risks.
As an aside, when you are flying a load of cargo from one country to another and your destination country's government seems to completely disapprove of the cargo contents, yet there is a huge demand for the stuff, prices go up and that makes the cargo even more precious. If government had any brains they would completely legalize pot. Prices would plummet. Crime would be reduced and I would be engaged in a normal 9 - 5 job. As it stands, people like me will have gainful employment for many, many years to come.
When I said a lot of tough work goes into making a successful flight I mean it. It is very true. A pilot has to study the weather patterns for the area you are flying from and flying to. Surface temperature plays a big role as well -- if it is hot, you have less lift for the aircraft and payloads have to be adjusted to compensate. When it is cold, while you have greater lift, you also run the risk of vertical sheering and either up or down drafts. Let me tell you, when you are flying through canyons a vertical sheer, a down draft or sometimes even an up draft can positively ruin your whole day. A pilot also has to take into account the total weight of cargo, fuel and himself and adjust the load for a correct trim -- center of gravity. You do not want to be either nose heavy or tail heavy. At low altitude, being either is normally fatal. Not a good idea. You also need a good set of topographical maps. I use U.S. Forest Service maps. They are great. Top shelf. Couldn't ask for any better. You also need to test your fuel at each stop. Trust is fine ... but having good 'av' gas is divine!
In fact there is a laundry list of items a pilot does before each and every flight. That is not nearly all of them but it does give you an idea of what a pilot goes through. Bottom line is preparation. About three day's worth for each flight. That is why I am able to write this story. I'm very much alive and I am not in jail. Two pluses. You see, turning 54 years of age in June made me realize that I might just be mortal.
Mental and physical well being comes into play also. I will not fly, for anybody, for any reason if I am sick or did not get a full night's sleep. In this business there is zero room for error. And, as far as I'm concerned, anyone who would fly hung over is a fucking lunatic and has no business flying. The same holds true with drugs ... of any kind.
Have I ever aborted? You bet. Sometimes, even the best laid plans go to hell in a handbasket. Surprise weather conditions at low altitude can and have happened. Fog or low cloud cover has forced me on more than one occasion to abort. I am not at all inclined to kiss a mountain. A wild fire was another cause. That heated air caused severe clear air turbulence (CAT) and lemme say right here and now there is nothing quite as unnerving as flying into it and getting bounced straight up 500 feet. You can actually watch the wings flex. It will scare the shit right out of you. It did me.
All-in-all, most trips, while not exactly boring are not terrifying either. The 7P's. Proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance. Don't ever leave home without it.
If you know your pick-up and drop-off points then all you need to know is what route you want to take. I never use the same route two times in a row. It is not healthy to do so as far as being free is concerned. At the same time I try to keep the round trip to no more than 12 hours of flight time. I usually can do this. However, there have been a very few occasions where 12 hours became a pipe dream. On-loading and fueling take less than one hour. The holds true for off-loading and refueling.
Landing strips are not a big deal. There are plenty of dirt roads and pasture land. That is where all the stateside off-loads are done. The great outdoors. You would be surprised how fast this can actually happen. The off-load crew want to get their stuff, check it out, gas my bird up, pay me and get the hell out of Dodge. A group of people, in the middle of nowhere, standing next to an airplane garner automatic suspicion should there be a flyover by either a rancher or Border Patrol. A rancher will get on the horn and call for the gendarmes to come quick and check it out. Border Patrol, on the other hand, will circle while yakking on the horn for support. In either case the chances are pretty good that you ... are fucked. If they don't get you on the ground, they will tail you back to home plate and bust you there.
Believe it or not, one time I was making a dry run, no cargo at all, just me. I landed on a real nice stretch of dirt road. About 10 - 15 minutes later I heard the sound of another single engine aircraft. It got closer and then turned south-easterly. I checked my watch. No more than 20 minutes had gone by when I heard the approach of another aircraft -- a state police aircraft no less. They circled and then through a loudspeaker told me not to move the aircraft. They continued to circle. About an hour, hour and a half later three SUVs with state police marking showed up. The circling aircraft departed and 8 plus state cops demanded to know all kinds of things. They searched me, the aircraft, used a drug dog as well. Nothing was found as nothing was carried. When they finally let me get a word in, I showed them my ticket, log book, snivel log and fuel test log. I told them I was getting in some flight time had tested my fuel, all good and I had landed because my engine had started to sputter and miss. As I had showed them everything and then some (not that I had much of a choice) that they wanted to see and there was nothing, as in 'no' thing inside the aircraft or on my person, they believed me. Hell, they wanted to help me get out of this purported fix I was in. I performed another fuel test, everything was just fine. Checked under the hood ( I had no idea what I was looking at), everything seemed fine as well. They then gave me verbal permission to split. I checked the wind direction, kicked the tires, lit the fire and I was gone.
Why did I do that? To test the concept of the operation, aircraft handling and to gather some tacintel, some tactical intelligence. Response times, attitudes, who I was up against, the whole nine yards. It paid enormous dividends. Because of this dry run we had to kill off one route, three potential LZ's and set the time table back approximately two and a half hours. Practice makes perfect. I am the living, breathing and freedom loving proof of that.
Here is some advice for those who are considering this field of endeavor. First of all, live within your means. Doing so keeps you from being pressured into making just "one more flight." Secondly, be respectful but firm with your employer. You fly on your terms and your terms only. No does not mean yes. Third, never forget the airplane has more capabilities than you do. Fourth, in this case just because you 'got it' ... don't flaunt it. Fifth, there is always something more to learn. Sixth, remember the 7P's will save your ass. Lastly, and this is the critical one, there are exactly two kinds of pilots, old pilots and bold pilots. There is no such thing as an old-bold pilot.
Wishing you a safe and profitable career.
Pipeline (page 5)
The U.S. Military Thinks it Needs Speed
By: Elliot Borin (Wired)
Recalling the American airborne invasion of Normandy during World War II in his 1962 book Night Drop, Army colonel and combat historian S.L.A. Marshall wrote: "The United States Army is indifferent toward common-sense rules by which the energy of men may be conserved in combat."
Pilots from the Air Force 183rd Fighter Wing felt the reverberations of Marshall's assessment -- which is cited on page 3 of the Navy's official guide for managing fatigue -- last April. According to reports published in Canada, they misidentified a target during a bombing run over Iraq. Meeting with their commanders, they complained they were exhausted, that the "common-sense" rule of 12 hours of rest between missions was being ignored.
In return they got two pieces of advice: Stop whining and visit the flight surgeon for some "go/no-go" pills.
About a week later, two members of the 183rd, Majs. Harry Schmidt and William Umbach, launched a laser-guided bomb on a Canadian training force, killing four and injuring eight.
At a recently concluded Article 32 hearing to determine if the pilots should be court-martialed for manslaughter, assault and dereliction of duty, Schmidt and Umbach's attorneys claimed it was the Air Force's dextro-amphetamine (trade name, Dexedrine) tablets, aka speed, that killed the Canadians, not Schmidt and Umbach.
Originally used to treat asthma and other breathing disorders, amphetamines were discovered in the late 19th century. By the 1930s, their ability to stimulate the central nervous system had made them very popular as pep and diet pills. Today they are mostly used to treat narcolepsy, attention deficit disorder in children and, rarely, depression.
Military commanders, football coaches and students have turned to amphetamines for similar reasons: They can keep you fighting long after your body would otherwise give in to sleep.
However, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency, serious potential side effects include psychotic behavior, depression, anxiety, fatigue, paranoia, aggression, violent behavior, confusion, insomnia, auditory hallucinations, mood disturbances and delusions. Such side effects long ago banished punch bowls full of Dexedrine from pre-game training tables in football clubhouses.
And those wonderfully accommodating university doctors, who distributed 30 "uppers" to even the most anorexic students for their exam-week "weight problem," are likewise long gone from the dispensaries.
But the Defense Department, which distributed millions of amphetamine tablets to troops during World War II, Vietnam and the Gulf War, soldiers on, insisting that they are not only harmless but beneficial.
In a news conference held in connection with Schmidt and Umbach's Article 32 hearing, Dr. Pete Demitry, an Air Force physician and a pilot, claimed that the "Air Force has used (Dexedrine) safely for 60 years" with "no known speed-related mishaps."
The need for speed, Demitry added "is a life-and-death issue for our military."
The Air Force claims amphetamine use is strictly voluntary. To substantiate this, Air Force spokespeople note that the "informed consent" form signed by pilots who receive Dexedrine mentions the voluntary nature of the program no fewer than seven times. However, the form also notes that the pilot can be grounded for exercising his right not to imbibe.
"To be grounded -- taken off flight status -- is very damaging to any pilot's career," said Maj. Glenn MacDonald, a retired Air Force officer and editor-in-chief of MilitaryCorruption.com. "The USAF was coercing its pilots to possibly become drug addicts and endangering their health.
"The Pentagon spin machine will try and tap dance around that, but it is a damning fact."
Retired Adm. Eugene Carroll, former vice president of the Center for Defense Information, also disputed Demitry's benign view of the drugs. Carroll took prescribed amphetamines for increased alertness during World War II carrier landings, but remains wary about their regular use.
"If the pilots are pushed so hard they have to take these drugs on a regular basis, they are going to get stressed out and have an unsafe result," Carroll said.
There is a very old saying, yet a very, very true saying -- speed kills.
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