-Caveat Lector-
INSIDE THE ARMY [U.S.]
Monday, 21 May 2001
State Department Issues Facts On Soldiers,
Contractors In Colombia
------------------------------------------
On any given day, there are about 200 U.S. military soldiers and about
170 American contractors working in Colombia, conducting activities that
range from training and advising military troops to piloting helicopters
in support of counterdrug operations, according to a fact sheet released
from the State Department this month.
The largest number of U.S. military personnel now in Colombia are
approximately 90 Army Special Operations Forces soldiers, according to
the State Department. And the overwhelming majority of American
contractors now working in Colombia are hired through the Defense
Department, State Department and the U.S. Agency for International
Development.
The fact sheet was released amid growing concerns in Congress about the
use of U.S. contractors in Colombia, which is considered the
international front line in the war against drugs.
In April, a Peruvian fighter plane shot down a private jet carrying
missionaries from the United States. The fighter plane was acting on
mistaken information provided from an American surveillance aircraft
staffed by U.S. contractors from the Aviation Development Corporation of
Montgomery, AL, working under contract to the Central Intelligence
Agency.
Last week, the House approved an amendment to the State Department's
fiscal year 2002 budget that will require the department to submit
detailed reports on contractors operating in Colombia.
The Colombian government has crafted a six-year, $7.5 billion initiative
called Plan Colombia to fight drug trafficking and restore civil
institutions in its country. The United States has agreed to provide $1.3
billion in support of the plan through FY-01, and has pledged to spend
$800 million more in FY-02 on Colombia and neighboring countries in the
Andean region.
According to the State Department, American soldiers and DOD contractors
primarily offer aid in the areas of training and technical support to the
Colombian military.
"The primary focus of Department of Defense activities in Colombia,
through the United States Military Group (MILGP), is counternarcotics
with the provision of training, equipment, infrastructure development,
intelligence support, detection and monitoring information to Colombian
armed forces units engaged in counterdrug operations," the fact sheet
states.
"This assistance is to increase the capabilities of Colombian land, sea
and air security forces to detect and interdict narcotrafficking
operations and to assist the Colombian National Police (CNP) in its
eradication and law enforcement missions."
The fact sheet adds that the most significant activities for U.S.
military personnel have been training and equipping the second and third
counternarcotics battalions of the Colombian Army; training and equipping
the Colombian counternarcotics brigade headquarters; and providing
design, contract and oversight services for a variety of Colombian Army
aviation infrastructure projects to support the UN-1N, Huey II and UH-60
helicopter programs.
The State Department primarily contracts American companies to aid in the
eradication of coca and poppy crops. The department has an ongoing
contract with DynCorp of Reston, VA, to work on counternarcotics
projects. DynCorp employees fly OV-10 aircraft and UH-1N helicopters
during crop eradication efforts, and assist in search and rescue
missions.
A pamphlet from DynCorp advertising "opportunities" in South America --
and Colombia in particular -- seeks people looking for a "dynamic,
international career in aviation."
The pamphlet reads as follows: "Air assault . . . search and rescue . . .
scouting operations. These are just some of the exciting ways in which
you can help train South American nationals in their efforts to eradicate
the blight of drugs."
However, the fact sheet states that all U.S. contractor support to the
Colombian aerial spraying program contains a training component with the
intent to eventually nationalize the program, thus eliminating the use of
U.S. contractors.
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