During the three-day assignment, I learned just how unpredictable, dangerous, rewarding, and thrilling it is to be a member of a Customs aircrew.

Photo Credit: James Tourtellotte

Pilots John Manhiemer and Tom Thatcher give a salute and thumbs up for another mission accomplished.

Tuesday, 8:15 a.m.: Intercept the unsuspecting
Aircraft: Citation
Mission: Routine patrol for suspicious aircraft
Flight Crew: Pilot in Command (PIC) John Manheimer, Second in Command (SIC) Kevin Kreigh, and AEO Dan Diette

We scramble to a Citation located in one of Customs two hangers. It looks like a small jet with a "funny" nose cone. It seats only four people. The flight crew and I are about to embark on a routine surveillance mission.

Although the headphones I'm wearing crackle with talk between the pilots and control tower, I'm speechless. This is my first flight on a Customs aircraft. I'm so nervous that I can feel the butterflies swarming in my stomach.

The control tower at Davis Monthan Air Force Base gives us the green light to take off. The weather is perfect: blue skies and no strong winds.

AEO Diette is positioned in front of the radar screen. I see several small green squares moving around on the screen. But AEO Diette sees something else. To him, those squares allow him to identify suspect aircraft based on their speed and elevation.

As I listen to Manheimer, Kreigh, and Diette spot potential suspect aircraft, I become increasingly anxious at the possibility of "sorting" a suspect.

So, what happens when they "sort" a suspect? They contact the Air and Marine Interdiction Coordination Center (AMICC) - the 24-hour radar surveillance of the entire southern border - for support. "When we're onto a suspect, we have lots of questions: Where is the suspect going? How far can we follow him? Who is the closest backup relief available? And who can we call for the bust?" Manheimer explains.

We patrol the skies in Arizona straddling the U.S.-Mexican border for over two hours. Time flies. Although we don't sort any suspects, I learn from Kreigh that "the best part of this job is that each day you don't know what you'll be doing when you get into work."

Wednesday, 8:05 a.m.: Waiting on "doper time"
Aircraft: A-Star helicopter
Mission: Assist RAIC office in Nogales with aerial surveillance
FLight Crew: PIC Brad Atkinson and Pilot Brett Howard

From a tip we learn that a smuggler will bring drugs into the arrival zone (the United States) via the Nogales port of entry for a possible drug deal with an undercover agent. The Resident Agent in Charge (RAIC) office in Nogales, Ariz., needs the branch's support in this mission. The Customs inspectors at Nogales will allow the suspect to cross the border. Riding along with Pilots Atkinson and Howard on the A-Star helicopter, we will record the drug deal.

But how will we see what's happening on the ground? The A-Star is equipped with the Ultra Media II camera. This imaging device, which looks like a computer screen, allows pilots to clearly see and record real-time action on the ground.

Because the A-Star performs its best work when it flies below the clouds, the weather is key in this assignment. Dark clouds result in very poor surveillance. "If we cannot get high enough, yet still below the clouds, we have to evaluate if we can assist the case agent," explains Atkinson. "We don't want to destroy the case by flying too low, especially when there are undercover agents involved." In Tucson, it's raining lightly and cloudy. But as we approach Nogales, the rain stops and it's partly cloudy. I hope the weather remains clear!

We land at Nogales International Airport. We wait on "doper time," or standby, for instructions from the RAIC office. I learn that we will wait for as many hours as it takes the drug dealer to make his move. What?! We may be here all day? Wow, this is one tough job!

Two hours later, we get a call from the RAIC office: "the smuggler is making his way across the border."

When we take off for the second time, Howard revs up the camera. Atkinson is in constant conversation with the case agent. We need to know where to go and who to follow.

The smuggler makes a stop at a gas station and gets out of the car. "Cars are fixing to leave now. We'll have our hands full in just a minute," warns Atkinson.

Howard records the two cars we follow. The undercover agent is in the second car. But we're now among dark clouds. Because we cannot see past the clouds, we don't see anything on the camera. "Can you get us past these clouds?" Howard asks Atkinson, who quickly maneuvers the helicopter to the west and gets us out. We're back in business.

The RAIC office tells us that the money is in the U-Haul truck. I look outside the helicopter and see tiny objects moving along a freeway, but on the camera's screen, I clearly see the U-Haul and cars that we are following!

The A-Star moves slowly and it vibrates. The food I ate at Nogales International Airport is not sitting well. I feel nauseous. Atkinson gives me pointers against air sickness: We open the windows, I look at the horizon, and I place my bare wrist on the cold windshield. It works!

After 45 minutes of surveillance, the case agent thanks us for our assistance and we head back to the base. The videotape of the camera recordings will be delivered to the RAIC office.

Photo Credit: James Tourtellotte

Operations Officer Brian Shawler and Pilot Hugh Stroube listen to pilot's instructions.

Thursday, 6:00 a.m.: In search of runners
Aircraft: Blackhawk helicopter
Mission: Assist Border Patrol officers with alien smuggling operation
Flight Crew: PIC Tom Thatcher, SIC Ted Labbe, Bust Team Leader Dan Diette, Bust Team Member and Medic Hugh Stroube, Bust Team Member Brian Shawler

The Immigration and Naturalization Service's Border Patrol Office plans to bust alien smugglers and aliens located inside a house in Sells, Ariz. They request our support in the event that they have runners.

When the Border Patrol officers bust into the house and arrest the aliens, some aliens may try to escape through the back door. Then, the Customs Blackhawk will swoop down at and hover over the aliens until the Border Patrol arrests them.

Because this is a time-sensitive mission, the crew arrives at the branch at 6:00 a.m. Operations Officer Brian Shawler briefs us on the status of this mission. Because I woke up early this morning, I become disappointed when Shawler says that the rainy weather may prevent us from going on this mission. Fortunately, within the hour, the rain stops and the clouds break.

After the Raytheon mechanics roll the Blackhawk out of the hanger, we board it. The interior is spartan with Army green cloth webbing covering the seats.

I sit facing Pilots Thatcher and Labbe. Bust Team Members Diette and Shawler sit in seats that face the sides of the helicopter. Their harnesses have bungy cords, so that they can open the window and look outside the helicopter.

I cannot see outside the Blackhawk because my harness restricts my movement. I cannot even pick up my notepad on the floor. I see only the controls, which are right in front of me.

Because we must arrive at the precise moment when the Border Patrol enters the house, timing is crucial. We head toward Sells, and wait above the clouds. When we reach our destination, everyone is silent.

Within a few minutes, the Border Patrol gives us the green light, and we swoop down toward the house. I hang onto the sides of my seat because I can feel the Blackhawk flying nose down. We're at the house in no time! There are no runners. But, the pilots decide to search the surrounding area. We don't find anyone. Mission accomplished. We head back to the Davis-Monthan base.

Photo Credit: James Tourtellotte

The fox finds his prey during a training exercise.

12:30 p.m.: The fox finds his prey
Aircraft: Cessna 210, Citation, Blackhawk helicopter
Mission: Routine training exercise
Flight Crew:

• Cessna 210: Pilot Hugh Stroube
• Citation #1: PIC Jonas Goldberg (Phoenix), SIC Mark Beaty (Phoenix), and AIOs Tom Beardsley and Jay Gultz (Phoenix)
• Citation #2: PIC Laura Goldsberry, PIC in training Tim Sutherland, and SIC Jay Sayrahder
• Blackhawk: PIC John Manheimer, SIC Ted Labbe, Bust Team Leader Kevin Kreigh, and Bust Team Member Mike Novak

Today the staff of the Phoenix Aviation Unit come to Tucson for a training exercise. Pilot Tim Sutherland is training to become a pilot in command of the Citation.

Acting Group Supervisor Lavon Duncan calls a meeting to discuss everyone's role in the exercise. The Cessna 210 is the "rabbit"; that is, a plane flown by "drug runners." Two Citations and one Blackhawk will be on the rabbit's tail. Their mission: to intercept the Cessna.

Pilot Hugh Stroube and I are the "bad guys" in the Cessna. The plane is tiny; it seats only three people.

Because this is my fourth Customs flight, I feel confident and comfortable. The takeoff is smooth. We fly slow and low, but not IMC (Instrument Meteorological Conditions) like smugglers who risk crashing into the desert.

Uh oh, the clear blue sky is deceiving. The strong winds uncontrollably rock the Cessna. We feel any bit of turbulence. This is the most frightening ride I have ever been on. I SCREAM (SCREAM!) off and on throughout the first hour, especially when we fly by the mountains. I can't even hold onto anything when the plane rocks.

Pilot Stroube reassures me that unlike jet aircraft, if the Cessna's engine dies, he can glide the plane to a safe landing. I am so frightened now that I can't believe him.

There's also no room to move on the Cessna. I feel claustrophobic. I want the training to end NOW!

But then, the first Citation appears on our right. It looks so huge compared to our tiny, crowded plane. I want to be on that Citation. Out of nowhere, Blackhawk swoops in on our left and it looks like one mean helicopter! The first part of the training is over. YEAH!

As we wait for the second Citation to intercept us, I doodle on my notepad: When will training end? When will the rocking end? But, in no time, the Citation finds us. The training session ends and we head home, sweet home.

During my trip I learned that there are many tasks that pilots and AEOs do in preparation for, and on, a flight. And they have to be alert at all times. The Tucson Aviation staff is one tough and talented crew!

Special thanks to Branch Chief Dennis Lindsay and the entire Tucson Aviation Branch staff for welcoming me as a team member. Extra special thanks to Operations Officer Brian Shawler for coordinating my trip, volunteering to meet me at the Tucson International Airport, and giving me a map of Tucson so that I may find my way around the city. Thanks to Assistant Branch Chief Ken Tuttle and Pilot Ted Labbe for lending me their flight jackets.

Tucson Aviation Branch Tucson Aviation Branch falls under the Air and Marine Interdiction Program, Office of Investigations. The Tucson Aviation Branch is one of Customs 11 main air branches. Each branch has one or more satellite offices. For Tucson, the Phoenix Aviation Unit is its "sister" unit. Tucson Branch Chief Dennis Lindsay runs a 24-hour-operation. There are four teams of pilots and AEOs/AIOs that are led by Group Supervisors Paul Cabrera, Peter Hermes, Mike Pitts, and Peter McNall. The group supervisors, as well as Operations Officer Brian Shawler, report to Assistant Branch Chief Ken Tuttle. The Tucson Air Branch has numerous missions. Its primary roles are to support air and marine efforts, as well as the investigative efforts of Customs Office of Investigations, the Secret Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The branch is the lead office for joint airspace and security efforts in conjunction with the Secret Service, and for planning and coordinating all airspace security efforts for the Salt Lake City Olympics. The Tucson Aviation Branch supports state and local law enforcement agencies. The Border Patrol is one agency that the branch assists to apprehend narcotics traffickers and backpackers using the Blackhawk. They will also transport the Border Patrol's SWAT teams and the Tucson Police Department's bomb squads and robots. By law, Customs responsibility is the arrival zone - United States and Puerto Rico - the area into which smugglers bring their drugs. However, through government agreements with Mexico, Customs supports the source and transit zones. The Tucson Aviation Branch, for example, patrols the southern international border in southern Arizona and Mexico. The source zone includes the countries (e.g., Peru and Colombia) where coca and cocaine are produced. The P-3 aircraft in Corpus Christi, Tex., covers this area. The transit zone includes the routes (e.g., the Caribbean, Eastern Pacific, Central America, and Mexico) that the smugglers take to move the coca and cocaine to the United States. The Citation aircraft is used in this area. Over the next few years, U.S. Customs hopes to increase its forces in the arrival and transit zones.

Photo Credit: James tourtellotte Pilot Laura Goldsberry. Flyin' the night shift I heard that flying during the evening is very challenging for the pilots and AEOs. In order to hone their skills when flying at night, every week the four Tucson teams rotate the night shift. What's it like to fly on a night mission? "There's more action at night," says Air Interdiction Officer Tom Beardsley. "In general, the FLIR screen works better at night because it's cooler outside and we are working in the desert." "We wear night vision goggles, so we can see the terrain and power lines," adds Pilot Laura Goldsberry, the first woman pilot hired by Customs. "For good night vision, the cockpit needs to be dark, but that makes it difficult to read maps. So, heightened awareness of our surroundings is certainly a criterion when flying at night."

It's the little ones who count A few years ago, a friend told Pilot Hank Jones and his wife about a well-run orphanage in Hermosillo, Mexico, called Ciudad de los Niños. Shortly thereafter, Jones thought it would be a good idea for the Tucson Aviation Branch to donate children's clothes and toys (the orphanage does not accept money). "Mexico has no infrastructure such as United Way, so the little things we do can make a huge difference in these kids' lives," Jones explains. Ciudad de los Niños boards 85-110 abandoned and/or abused Mexican children, and it has its own school and church services. The children's ages range from 18 months to 17 years. Some kids are there to stay, and others are there because they were badly abused. "Last Christmas we raised $1,300 and bought 96 pairs of new shoes and other clothing for the kids," adds Jones. The branch also plans to deliver the truckloads of children's clothing that their families and the Tucson area schools donated. Way to go!