National Guard to lease property at "LOZ"

[ShawnCowden]

Another weapon in the War on Drugs will soon be just a short flight away for law enforcement in Laurel County.

On July 27, the Kentucky National Guard and London-Corbin Airport are to enter into a 50-year lease for 16.8 acres of airport property to house a counter-drug operation facility.

David Altom, public affairs officers for the Kentucky National Guard, said the $1.6 million facility is to house administration offices, supply, a drug demand reduction education center and a helicopter pad to provide a local base for the National Guard, which uses its Kiowah and Blackhawk helicopters for drug surveillance and eradication.

Under the terms of the lease, the National Guard will pay $1 per year for the property.

“The National Guard has been involved in these operations since the late 1980s,” Altom said. “Right now, the office in London is working out of the old Civil Air Patrol Building. The new facility will be state of the art.”

Altom said the OH-58 Kiowahs are used for surveillance operations and the UH-60 Blackhawks are used to transport local, state or federal law enforcement into remote areas where marijuana is growing. Once in the area, the officers will pull up the plants and bundle them to be taken away by the Blackhawk for disposal.

“We provide this logistical support for law enforcement across the state,” Altom said. “Most of it is in the eastern part of the state.”

In addition, Altom said the facility will be outfitted with communication equipment and other gear that will allow it to function as a central command facility in the event of a natural or manmade disaster.

The London-Corbin Airport already has equipment and facilities, including the Instrument Landing System and a runway large enough to accommodate C-130 transport planes and CH-47 Chinook helicopters.

Altom said the facility will initially boast one building, parking facilities and the helicopter pad, although there will be room for expansion if necessary.

 

[ShawnCowden]

By Eric Steinkopff / Staff Writer

There should be a larger presence of Kentucky National Guardsmen in Laurel County next year following the announcement of plans to construct a $1.6 million joint-service readiness center on the grounds of the the London-Corbin Airport.

“We’re very happy that they’ve decided to build an operations center in this area,” said London Mayor Troy Rudder. “It will be a tremendous asset to the region. We support their efforts and offer assistance from the London Police Department.”

The Kentucky National Guard and Military Affairs section is scheduled to sign a 50-year lease for 16.8 acres on which the Joint Readiness Center is to be built. The center will include administrative offices, a supply facility, a helicopter pad and parking for aircraft.

The planned JRC will also include an education center in which civilian youth and leadership groups can learn about drug abuse in the community.

State and federal authorities also hope to use the center to train first responders, such as police, firefighters and paramedics, but the project does not come from city or county budgets.

“Naturally anytime that you get the federal government to invest in these type of facilities, it can’t do anything but help the entire region,” said Laurel County Judge-Executive Lawrence Kuhl.

Sitting on a plateau in the center of Laurel County and the southeastern region with an aviation instrument landing system, the airport is uniquely qualified for expansion to accommodate military C-130 Hercules transport aircraft and CH-47 Chinook helicopters that could be necessary to respond to natural disasters such as forest fires, floods, tornadoes or heavy winter storms and man made disasters such as potential accidents at the Bluegrass Army Depot near Richmond.

As such, the public could expect to see exercises there and across the area as first responders practice their trade with the help of National Guard heavy equipment, aircraft and extensive communications network.

National Guard forces have been and are expected to continue helping anti-drug task force law enforcement officers locate marijuana crops and clandestine laboratories so the civilian authorities can remove them.

This latest development could mean big problems for local illegal marijuana farmers who are allegedly growing a short and bushy hybrid plant instead of the thinner and taller species once seized.

According to Laurel County Sheriff Fred Yaden, the short and broad variety is becoming the plant of choice for local cultivators because it gives them more leaves and buds for the consumer and is more difficult for law enforcement officers to locate.

But reconnaissance helicopters from the National Guard can help them spot the clandestine crop and law enforcement officers can even rappel from hovering transport helicopters into remote mountainous or heavily wooded areas where drug dealers may put a marijuana patch.

“The National Guard is a big help to us and they’ve always been there looking to help,” Yaden said. “They’re a very professional organization with good people. (The center) is going to be a big asset to London, Laurel County and the surrounding areas. It’s going to save Laurel County a ton of money.”

State officials said although the facility will be new, the close working relationship formed when the National Guard supports law enforcement officers has been underway for quite some time.

“Hardly a day goes by that a National Guard soldier or airman isn’t on duty somewhere in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, supporting a community in need,” said Kentucky Department of Military Affairs spokesman David Altom.

“The establishment of this Joint Readiness Center will put us in a better position to respond to local authorities in times of crisis and increase our ability to support the citizens of Kentucky when they need us most.”

Officials announced a ceremony to sign the 50-year lease agreement tentatively scheduled for July 27.

According to Altom, construction could begin as early as this October and could be completed as early as late July or early August of 2008.



Eric Steinkopff can be reached at esteinkopff@

thetimestribune.com.