AWACS_and_the_AST

AWACS and the AST BACKGROUND PAPER ON THE AWACS COUNTER-DRUG MISSION AND HOW THE AST HELPS 1. Mayhem! Chaos! Lives Destroyed! Drugs ruin many lives and it does not stop with the user. Some people are going to do whatever it takes to get drugs into the United States. United States Customs officials reported during fiscal year 2000 that over 200 tons of drugs were seized valued at almost $372 million, and arrested 3,491 individuals. How do the United States Air Force Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) airplane and the Airborne Surveillance Technician (AST) help brake up the flow of drugs' I will explain the general role of the AWACS crew and more specifically the role the AST plays in the war against drugs. You may ask where does all the action start and who is involved' Well, I am prepared to answer that. 2. An AWACS crew of about 23 crewmembers plus maintenance, would forward deploy to Howard Air Force Base located in Panama, about three miles south of the Panama Canal. The counter drug team consists of Navy, Air Force, Customs and Coast Guard aircraft. The AWACS plane is a modified Boeing 707 awacs, ast, aircraft, drugs, united, suspect, states, lives, role, way, using, radar, path, force, flying, flight, customs, air, war, stop, radios, prepared, position, panama, over, now, nation, miles, individuals, illegal, host, help, ground, fly, file, faa, destroyed, criteria, crew, continue, chaos, airborne, against, about, year, world, whatever, warning, vital, very