DoD Role in Counterdrug Operations

The flow and use of illegal narcotics in the United States is one of the most significant political and military issues. Drug use economically burdens our country by promoting poor health, increased crime rates, and decreased productivity. The DoD became a main contributor to the national counterdrug effort in 1989 when the President declared a "War on Drugs." The DoD's role in the Military Operation Other Than War (MOOTW) was threefold: lead agency for detection and monitoring of aerial and maritime transit of illegal drugs into the United States; integrate command, control, communications, computer, and intelligence (C4I); and approve and fund governors' plans for expanded use of the National Guard to support the counterdrug effort. Despite adequate fiscal resources pouring into the anti-drug effort, numerous federal, state, and local crime fighting agencies acknowledge only moderate success to date. With the current protracted effort producing limited measurable results, some believe that DoD should be committed to a more aggressive war on drugs, be removed from the counterdrug effort, or be funded at a greater level. This paper examines the current drug problem in our country, describes the DoD's current activities and the comprehensive challenges, and concludes a more focused DoD effort, as a key support agent of the national counterdrug strategy, is fiscally possible and would provide better results.