‘Badges, not bullets’ for D.C. airspace mission

Brock N. Meeks Chief Washington correspondent • Profile • E-mail

WASHINGTON - As the Department of Homeland Security debates making changes in how it helps patrol the skies over Washington, the Pentagon has weighed in on the subject, telling the department it favors a strong law enforcement presence over more guns in the air.

“They want badges, not bullets,” said a DHS source familiar with a classified Pentagon memo dated July 20, that includes a Memorandum of Agreement intended to carry the signatures of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff.

The memo is the first official document between the Pentagon and DHS regarding security in the Washington airspace.  Currently the airspace mission is outlined in a series of classified operational procedures and coordinated among civilian agencies and the military in weekly high level meetings.

A Government Accountability Office report released last month criticized the fact that civilian agencies and the military act simultaneously and without any one agency taking the lead during an airspace violation around Washington.

The memo comes to light at a critical juncture for DHS as it debates whether to keep responsibility for Washington airspace security as is, or hand off the mission to the Coast Guard, which has the capability to be more heavily armed.

However, because the Pentagon memo emphasizes that a strong law enforcement capability is needed in the air security role, some DHS officials are now questioning whether the Coast Guard is capable of taking over the mission.

The Pentagon memo outlines a three tiered level of responsibility: intercept low flying, slow speed aircraft, determine intent of the intruder and conduct a law enforcement investigation when the intruder has been forced to the ground.  The memo also says no further firepower is needed in the skies, according to three DHS sources who have either seen the memo or been briefed on its contents.  All of the sources spoke with MSNBC.com on the condition of anonymity because the memorandum of agreement hasn’t yet been made public.

The DHS currently uses Black Hawk helicopters and Citation jets that belong to the air division of Customs and Border Protection (CBP Air) to patrol Washington airspace.  A DHS source said officials at CBP Air have been told to plan on “transitioning out” of the airspace security role on Sept. 30.

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