Dear Editor,
Regarding your article, Homeland Security Deploys Predator in Texas. This is absolutely stupid. Thirty-two million dollars for two drones! We have a country with millions of people out of work and the idiot government spends $32 million on drones. What about the cost to operate and maintain them?!
For 1/10th of this they could have leased 50 small general aviation aircraft and their pilots.
Those two drones must now cover 2000 miles of border, 1000 miles each. It won’t take the people crossing the border very long to learn how to time their crossing when the drones aren’t over head. All the bad guys have to do is tie up those drones with two situations and the rest of the bad guys cross the border with no problem.
Fifty airplanes and pilots would each cover only 50 miles of border! This not only would have provided more ground coverage, but when one aircraft is involved directing the Border Patrol agents, 49 others are still patrolling for the bad guys.
Let’s get some common sense. Shut down this expensive government attempt to make it look like they are doing something and do it right by placing more aircraft and pilots on the border for a lot less money.
This would also put more people to work as pilots, mechanics, ground support people, etc., and all for a lot less money than the two drones and their support.
A greater presence of our people on the border has proven that the bad guys go away without a fight most of the time. I remember how bad it was just outside of San Diego, California, before volunteers manned the border. The bad guys went away and the violence stopped. These volunteers were unarmed and no one was shot or harmed.
Sincerely,
Michael W. Grant
Murrieta, CA
Pilot, former air traffic controller, and veteran
Regarding your article, Homeland Security Deploys Predator in Texas. This is absolutely stupid. Thirty-two million dollars for two drones! We have a country with millions of people out of work and the idiot government spends $32 million on drones. What about the cost to operate and maintain them?!
For 1/10th of this they could have leased 50 small general aviation aircraft and their pilots.
Those two drones must now cover 2000 miles of border, 1000 miles each. It won’t take the people crossing the border very long to learn how to time their crossing when the drones aren’t over head. All the bad guys have to do is tie up those drones with two situations and the rest of the bad guys cross the border with no problem.
Fifty airplanes and pilots would each cover only 50 miles of border! This not only would have provided more ground coverage, but when one aircraft is involved directing the Border Patrol agents, 49 others are still patrolling for the bad guys.
Let’s get some common sense. Shut down this expensive government attempt to make it look like they are doing something and do it right by placing more aircraft and pilots on the border for a lot less money.
This would also put more people to work as pilots, mechanics, ground support people, etc., and all for a lot less money than the two drones and their support.
A greater presence of our people on the border has proven that the bad guys go away without a fight most of the time. I remember how bad it was just outside of San Diego, California, before volunteers manned the border. The bad guys went away and the violence stopped. These volunteers were unarmed and no one was shot or harmed.
Sincerely,
Michael W. Grant
Murrieta, CA
Pilot, former air traffic controller, and veteran
