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The Bay County Sheriff's Office aviation unit
consists of two OH-58
helicopters that were obtained at very little cost from the military surplus system.
A forward looking infrared (FLIR) that is valued at $106,000 was also obtained throughout
a grant from the federal government. The FLIR uses heat differential instead of
light and is essential in all apsects of the aviation unit mission. The unit has two
full time pilots, five certified FLIR operators and a number of trained observers.
All members of the unit are fully certified deputies.
The pilots both received their training in the U.S. Army and have more than 5,000 hours of
combined flying experience. The FLIR operators were chosen from other divisions
within the Sheriff's office to include FSD,
SID and CID. They are
state trained and certified and are an extremely important part of the
aviation unit. The observers are department trained and are
equally valuable to the unit
.
The Sheriff's Office helicopters are a very valuable lifesaving asset. The are used
in search and rescue both over the land and the water. They have been instrumental
in locating lost children, Alzheimer patients and overdue boaters, just to mention a few
examples. The helicopters are also important in the war on drugs for surveillance
and in the marijuana eradication effort. The number of marijuana plants located in
the county has dropped from approximately 1,800 plants a year to about one hundred plants
in 2000. In many cases, those persons growing the marijuana have moved to locations
where aircraft cannot intervene. The helicopters are also used for community
service in areas such as the DARE program where they are a big
hit with the children learning about the pitfalls of drugs.
The aviation unit works closely with the SWAT team,
Dive team, and K-9 unit, patrol
division, SID and CID in the
accomplishment of their missions. The aviation unit is also sent to other counties
for mutual aid when they can be used to save a life, help prevent a major crime, or
capture a dangerous criminal. The unit has also been used by the U.S. Air Force for
search and rescue and accident investigation. They also work closely with FDLE, DEA
and Customs.
Last Updated:
January 08, 2008 |
