Document
OAS - 28 ( 12/12)
United States Department of the Interior
Office of Aviation Services
Information Bulletin
Number: 13 - 04 Distribution: All DOI Bureau Aviation Employees Subject: DOI Law Enforcement (LE) MOU Status ( This Information Bulletin ( IB ) replaces IB 03 - 02 “ Drug Law Enforcement Agreements ” .)
Information: This Information Bulletin (IB) identifies and clarifies DOI Bureau responsibilities in the implementation and use of these MOU ’s ; and clarifies status and currency.
The Office of Aviation Services (OAS) is currently involved in negotiation of updated or new Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) (at the request/in partnership with the bureaus). This process will be occurring over the next few years. The updated M OU’s wil l replace existing or expired MOU’s dating back to 1988. When appropriate, the new MOU’s will support conducting joint operations for the full range of DOI missions (i.e. law enforcement, fire support, resource management, search and rescue, medical evacuation, and other emergency activities or training required to support those activities).
To d ate, the following MOU’s have been updated ; to include all DOI missions, and are posted at http://oas.doi.gov/library/mou.htm .
Information Bulletin 13-01 U.S. Coast Guard Information Bulletin 13-02 U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Air and Marine (CBP-OAM); (Replaced U. S. Customs Service and U. S. Border Patrol MOU’s) All other MOU’s listed in this IB have an interim approval until expired, renewed, or cancelled according to their respective agreements. These MOUs were written for the purpose of providing an authorization to support the Nation's War on Drugs program and to allow DOI law enforcement agents to participate in joint drug law enforcement activities in other government agency/military aircraft, as prescribed in the Departmental Manual. Uses other than drug law enforcement are not included in the majority of these MOU’s .
Aviation support missions may include: 1. Transporting DOI personnel for the purpose of locating and interdicting illicit drug activities.
2. Transporting contraband in the custody of DOI law enforcement agents from the public and Tribal lands.
3. Training flights to improve coordination and tactical capabilities of between DOI and National Guard participants.
4. Aerial surveillance of known or suspected drug activities Additional Bureau and DOI approvals are required for DOI employee participation (not included above ) : (i.e. Hoist operations, Fire mission support, Resource flights , etc. ) All DOI employees participating in aviation operations shall meet specific DOI and respective Bureau aviation requirements and policies. For example, DOI minimum flight following requirements of one hour check-ins must be followed; bureau policy may require more frequent check-ins.
DOI employees must Contact Bureau Aviation Managers (unit, state, region, national as identified by your respective bureau) for specific DOI and Bureau requirements prior to use.
T he following MOUs are given interim approval : Drug Enforcement Administration ; Department of Defense ; National Guard Units Listed in this IB The Department of Defense (DOD) MOU is applicable to all active duty military aviation resources, i.e., U. S. Army, U. S. Air Force, U. S. Navy, and to the reserve component of each of the military departments, i.e., U.S. Army Reserve, U.S. Air Force Reserve and U.S. Navy Reserve.
National Guard MOUs apply to only those National Guard aviation resources located within the boundary of the listed state s and under the control of the respective State A djutant General. ( Note: Not all states have MOU’s. ) National Guard MOU’s are listed on the following web page http://oas.doi.gov/library/mou/NationalGuard/DOI+NG+MOU+Index.pdf .
Each agreement is unique an d provides important information regarding procedures and operational policy. Collectively they ensure minimum levels of aircraft maintenance and pilot experience acceptable to DOI that are essential to sustain an effective aviation safety program.
Due to th e major focus on the ongoing updat e effort it is critical that DOI employees contact their respective Bureau Aviation Manager prior to use to assure most current agreement is being u tilized .
Copies of the se MOUs are available at http://oas.doi.gov/library/mou.htm