The Air Force Office of Special Investigations is leading the charge of Operation Ruthless Raven, a joint effort to combat drug smuggling by identifying vulnerabilities in the Air Force transportation and mail system. The operation comprises Air Force, DOD, and other federal law enforcement agencies. The Air Force element includes active, ANG, and AFRC personnel. Working with US Transportation Command and Air Mobility Command, the task force matches overseas locations transited frequently by military aircraft that also are known as high narcotics traffic areas. The Air Force Chief of Staff requested the task force following several incidents, including discovery of 35 pounds of cocaine aboard a USAF C-17 flying from Columbia to Texas and 290,000 tabs of ecstasy on an C-5 returning to Stewart ANGB, N.Y., from Germany.
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
