military choppers

[spartan]

This afternoon at 3:50 pm had 3 (looked like) CH-53 grey in color w/ refueling probes. heading NW over Ionia County. Anyone know unit, destination etc.? Thanks (Flying aprox. 500' AGL.)

[scannerman5000]

probably "weed" sniffers. Drug helicopters.

They have been flying alot lately, and always around this time of year.

[turtlestraits]

Well I can’t help you with what you want to know Sparta, but at least I know now what type of helicopter these were. They were flying NW through Clinton County yesterday at roughly 3:30 to 3:40 pm. They sure won’t be able to sneak up on anybody. I heard the low thump of the rotors long before the flew over my house. They were rattling the pictures on the walls when they flew over.

[rdale]

I doubt drug choppers would be going around in 3's, as MSP has just one up doing that at a time, and I'm pretty sure they don't use the military to do it. Those were probably just the normal helo runs out of Grand Ledge with the NG.

[kg4icg]

CH53's are used by the USAF and the USMC, not the DEA. The were probably USAF PAVE units for search and rescue, and also get used for pathfinder operations because of the navigation gear they carry also.

R Collins

[jimsokol]

Originally Posted by rdale

I doubt drug choppers would be going around in 3's, as MSP has just one up doing that at a time, and I'm pretty sure they don't use the military to do it. Those were probably just the normal helo runs out of Grand Ledge with the NG.

While I agree that operation HEMP choppers wouldn't be in groups of three, I disagree about MSP using the military. While they do use MSP aviation unit, in my part of the state (SW), over the last few years, they were using MIANG choppers. I had also seen media reports that in the Traverse City area they had used MIANG in addition to USCG.

...jim

[PMSCAN]

Agree with Jim ... Heard NG Chopper working HEMP on Event Channels last year East of Grand Rapids off of I -96 in Ionia County.

[Ray_Air]

I saw a couple of military choppers land at Oakland Pontiac last week. Maybe its some practice op they were doing.

[bodnarp]

They are working Mary Jane and are giving out the coordinates ogf the areas they are working long and lat.

[rdale]

bodnarp - sorry but I have to disagree, I highly doubt they'd be using 3 CH-53's formation flying to do that. I always hear those operations with one chopper and a few ground units.

[detroit780]

I have heard several choppers on these operations together but I have always heard them in seperate locations working with seperate ground crews.

Most of the sites they work are sites they have had surviellance on and the chopper just directs the ground forces how to get there since most crops are hidden in the middle of Corn fields and other legal plants. The weed has a higher heat signature and it makes it easy to pick up infrared. There would be no point for more than 1 chopper to be conducting this in an operation, in fact it would make it dangerous to have 2 choppers directing the same people.

There may in fact be several ground crews chatting with 1 chopper though as he flys from one site to another.

Les

Originally Posted by bodnarp

They are working Mary Jane and are giving out the coordinates ogf the areas they are working long and lat.

[garryd451]

I agree with jimsokol and in fact about 15 years ago Michigan State Police using National Guard heleicopters found the stuff growing on a farm, right across from my brother's farm near Marcellus Michigan.