Gazette - Operation Sabot

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Interagency co-operation at its best

By John Price

In 2006, the Canadian Forces created Canada Command as a single point of contact for domestic military support to Canadian law enforcement agencies and civil authorities. Canada Command co-ordinates Canadian Forces support in areas such as surveillance, sovereignty patrols and major public events, and works in partnership with other federal departments and agencies. In 2007, Canada Command provided equipment and resource support to the RCMP for the drug interdiction operations described below.

An RCMP member prepares to be lowered from a Canadian Forces Sea King helicopter to investigate a possible marijuana growing operation.

Good partnerships ensure successful missions. For eight years, RCMP Cpl Jean-Louis Rompré has been flying drug eradication missions aboard Canadian Forces Griffon helicopters as part of Operation Sabot.

Operation Sabot is the Canadian Forces code name for military support to RCMP-led marijuana eradication operations across Canada.

In the air, Rompré’s job as a member of the drug section is to help direct ground teams from the RCMP and local police during eradication operations.

A former sailor in the Canadian Navy, Rompré has experience working with the military and has great respect for the Air Force crews with whom he now flies.

“You can ask them anything and they can push their machine and their crew to the limit to get the job done,” he says.

“Some of them participated in . . . missions abroad — they have a lot of stuff to share,” says Rompré. “They can adapt to any situation . . . long hours, being in the bush, machines breaking down.”

Operation Sabot began in 1989 and has resulted in numerous arrests and property seizures. Over the last four years alone, more than 100,000 marijuana plants have been eradicated.

The operation serves as a good example of the increasingly popular interagency approach to security in Canada.

“When we land or work in small communities local people are always surprised to see that the RCMP, their local police force and the military can work together in order to make a difference in their small town,” says Rompré.

“We go to a restaurant and it’s always a good reception. We hear, ‘We never thought you guys would work as a team to come and solve this problem.’ ”

This positive outlook about the mission and the interagency approach is reciprocated by Canadian Forces personnel involved with Operation Sabot.

“By getting out there and doing the mission and finding and eradicating (marijuana), it’s a good feeling. You’re doing what you are supposed to do,” says Canadian Forces Captain Frank Tos, who has flown Griffons during eradication missions.

These missions require teamwork, and integrating two teams, even ones composed of trained professionals who have worked together regularly, is not without challenges. Both organizations have had to adapt to how the other works.

“Being in the military, everybody knows the language and knows what is expected,” says Tos. “When you are dealing with a partner agency, even if they are RCMP, you have to be very specific about what you want, what you are doing.”

A Canadian Forces Sea King helicopter patrol searching for marijuana plants.

Tos believes preparation is key to success.

“Touch base with whoever you are going to be working with beforehand,” says Tos. “The worst thing is when daylight’s burning and you’re still deciding what you want to do that day.”

Rompré has learned to plan his operations as far in advance as possible and to leverage the skills the military brings to the table.

“This year . . . the pilot sat down with our team and came up with a plan to make sure everyone got to those sites before dark,” says Rompré. “This co-operation in rainy, foggy weather allowed us to get 8,000 plants out of those swamps,” he adds.

“They are excellent observers,” says Canadian Forces Captain Terry Wong, who marvelled at his RCMP passenger’s ability to identify objects on the ground while in flight. “It’s like having a human GPS on board.”

“A lot of the cops are very gung-ho,” says Tos. “It makes it a good time for everyone when everyone is focused on one goal.”

“The more flying hours we get, the more plants we can eradicate,” says Rompré, who has seen first-hand the benefits of Canadian Forces support.

Canadian Forces personnel also see direct benefits.

“We do a lot of training where we have canned routes and canned training, but to get to fly with the RCMP where there is changing weather, changing conditions, changing crews . . . that is excellent,” says Wong.

“Low-level work, lots of hovering — it pushes your flying to the max. It would prepare us for any type of mission we would get in the future,” he adds.

The authorities and procedures for co-ordinating Canadian Forces support to RCMP-led counter-drug operations are captured in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two organizations.

The document empowers the RCMP’s Assistant Commissioner Federal and International Operations to request support from the Commander, Canada Command.

“The MOU allows for a more timely and effective response by the Canadian Forces to requests from the RCMP,” says Major John Preston, one of two Canadian Forces liaison officers stationed at RCMP headquarters in Ottawa.

Canada Command, which is also headquartered in Ottawa, tasks its six regional joint task forces to support the RCMP divisions leading specific counter-drug operations.

“When the RCMP asks for assistance, Canada Command is very receptive to responding,” Preston adds.

On the ground and in the air, these efforts seem to be paying off.

“How easy it was to work with them was the thing that surprised me the most,” says Wong. “The way we meshed together was very seamless.”

“It is more than just a partnership,” says Rompré. “It became a friendship. I really felt a part of their family and they feel like they’re part of the RCMP.”

John Price is a freelance writer living in Ottawa.