It's not easy being green- Marijuana Eradication on Guam
Hawaii and Guam’s National Guard Counterdrug Task Force (CDTF) joined the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and various Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA) for a major Marijuana Eradication mission on Guam this past June.
Operation Green Harvest, or marijuana eradication, on the island of Guam has been conducted by the National Guard since 2001, and it’s the final mission of the fiscal year for the CDTF. Operation Green Harvest’s mission is to eradicate and suppress the growing of cannabis on domestic soil cutting the life line of criminal enterprises whom profit from its sale and distribution. Operation Green Harvest has been conducted in Hawaii and California since 1977 and expanded to 25 states in 1985.
“The collaborative effort between Federal and local agencies and the National Guard allow Green Harvest to be as successful as it has been,” said Tony Marquez, DEA resident agent in charge. “The marijuana eradication on Guam has to be a joint effort, and each year the support provided by the National Guard has facilitated smooth operations and great results.”
This year’s mission on Guam took months of planning and coordination between the Hawaii and Guam National Guards, the DEA and numerous other local and federal agencies. Over 650 plants were seized this year from all regions of the island. In past years, two days were spent searching Guam and one day was dedicated to Saipan, but this year, all three days of the operation concentrated on Guam.
The moment people hear the low flying helicopters, word spreads that the marijuana eradication teams are present and most growers tear up or uproot their own plants, fearing that they will be found by the team. These actions show the operation is working, said Col. Diron J. Cruz, chief of staff Guam Army National Guard.
“It does get better every year. Success is not determined by the number of plants we uproot and seize. The success is the team and the system in place to do the job safely and with maximum effectiveness. Every year that team builds upon the communication, coordination and execution lessons learned from prior missions,” said Cruz. “To have an operation that involves so many players, and so many moving parts, and in the end, gainfully service the local community, that is a success.”
In order to gain the advantage over marijuana growers, helicopters are used to find the plants. According to experienced spotters, marijuana has a distinct “green” color and it stands out among the throngs of green that make up the Guam landscape. The Hawaii Army National Guard’s Det. 1, Co. B, 3rd Battalion, 140th Aviation OH-58 Kiowa observation helicopters and a DEA helicopter set out each day to spot cultivation of marijuana then guide teams on the ground to the exact site to pull the plants. The ground teams travel in mini-convoys to each suspected location and sometimes have to hike and “machete” their way through thick growth to reach the illegal plants. Once on site, the plants are pulled out of the ground with roots intact and if any pots were used, they are destroyed. Many times the plants are already cut or pulled, but once they are removed from the ground, they rarely survive replanting. The ground teams still celebrate finding the plants and they also let the aerial teams know that it was a good find. However, the glee is short-lived and the radios are abuzz requesting for the helicopters to find them another patch.
“Even the little ones count!” stated Capt. Phoebechelo Inigo, operations officer with the Hawaii Guard’s Counterdrug Support Program. “For many of the Hawaii Guard troops, it was their first time working an eradication mission in Guam, but they have experience working with {LEAs} back home.”
“At first I was hesitant about joining {the Counterdrug Support Program}, but after working with the different LEAs I was proud to be a part of the team,” said Staff Sgt. Scott K. Kamalii, a member of Hawaii Counterdrug Program and an intelligence analyst with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in Honolulu. “It feels good to help the community and get drugs off the street.”
This year the ground teams were composed of Hawaii and Guam National Guard Soldiers and Airmen, and representatives from a variety of LEAs: DEA, ATF, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Guam Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Federal Marshals, the Coast Guard, Navy Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), Guam and Hawaii Police Officers, the U.S. Postal Service and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The motivation generated from the mission could be felt through both the coordinated efforts of the teams and the positive impact the mission has had on the island and the drug problem in the community.
“Experience was our advantage and we established this solid network among the various agencies years ago,” said Capt. Gerard S. Valeto, Guam National Guard counterdrug coordinator.
The National Guard's involvement in the war on drugs began in 1977 in Hawaii when it provided four helicopters to Operation Green Harvest to detect marijuana fields, transport law enforcement personnel to the fields, and transport confiscated illicit drugs. The National Guard Counterdrug Program is the leading domestic Counterdrug support agency to create a drug-free America. Each state and U.S. territory has a National Guard Counterdrug Program that supports local, state, and federal law enforcement and community based organizations. Each National Guard Counterdrug Program focuses its resources to support educational and prevention operations within the community that are coordinated efforts in drug prevention.
