At a Los Angeles-area high school, countless law enforcement agents and Soldiers met before sunrise, preparing to serve 170 warrants in a single day as part of a large-scale, illegal marijuana eradication operation in June this year. The California National Guard Counterdrug Task Force received a request from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department to provide transportation support during the operation.
Although the task force places more than 200 Soldiers and Airmen on active duty throughout the state in order to fill hundreds of these requests from law enforcement each year, additional personnel and equipment are sometimes needed in order to meet the demand. CDTF commander Col. Robert F. Paoletti saw an opportunity to utilize traditional National Guard Soldiers who usually serve on a part-time basis.
“This was the perfect opportunity to bring, not just the full-time staffing of CDTF, but all the capabilities of the California National Guard to bear in our fight against illicit narcotics that to damage to our communities and our state,” Paoletti said.
A tasking was pushed out to Cal Guard units to temporarily bring service members onto full-time CDTF orders for the mission in Riverside.
1st Lt. Nigel Harris, operations officer-in-charge of CDTF’s Los Angeles district, said, “The 224th Sustainment Brigade from Long Beach jumped at the request and submitted several names of volunteers [from their transportation companies.]”
Six Soldiers with the 1498th Transportation Company from Riverside County and six Soldiers with the 1114th Transportation Company from Bakersfield were selected and heavily vetted in order to uphold the high standard CDTF maintains to ensure safety and discretion required when working with law enforcement.
“The personnel who supported the mission were professional, intelligent, and knew what to ask, what to do, and what not do,” said Harris. In addition to personnel, the brigade provided several large tactical vehicles to assist hauling illegal marijuana during the operation.
Staff Sgt. Alvin Castro, CDLA operations non-commissioned officer, participated in and helped coordinate many of these types of operations during his nearly 20 year career with CDTF. “This partnership is beneficial for the younger guys and opens the door for a career with the Guard versus only drilling on the weekend or attending annual training,” he said. “This is an opportunity that they might never have heard of and can lead to more opportunities if they choose to stick with it.”
Specialist Aaron Thrailkill, a truck driver with the 1498th Transportation Company and civilian sales manager, was excited to participate in his first CDTF mission. “There was instant comradery and friendship over morning donuts,” he said. “Even though we’re not all from the same background, we all show up as part of the task force in a common bond and purpose.”
CDTF’s purpose to augment law enforcement’s drug-interdiction efforts resulted in the eradication of 134,000 illegal marijuana plants and 3,000 pounds of illegal processed marijuana that day. The success of utilizing M-Day elements for the operation led to subsequent missions of collaboration and represents additional chances to leverage the Guard’s skills, resources and assets.
“This was a proof of concept; it can be done.” Paoletti, CDTF commander, said. “I’m looking forward to opportunities where we can bring other assets of the National Guard, like aircraft and other equipment, into play to be able to augment what we do in full-time capacity.”
Lt. Col. Chris McCarty, commander of the 746th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 224th Sustainment Brigade, said, “This type of mission provides a fantastic opportunity for the 746th CSSB Soldiers to partner with CDTF and various law enforcement agencies and participate in a large-scale operation. Furthermore, this directly supports the battalion’s Defense Support of Civil Authorities readiness mission and most importantly, keeps my Soldiers motivated and inspired that they are making a difference in their local communities.”
| Date Taken: | 06.05.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 03.04.2020 16:01 |
| Story ID: | 364482 |
| Location: | RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 176 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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