[greeneyes]

4. War on Drugs is exempted-ie military can be used for law enforcement as part of the war on drugs.
Not in CONUS they aren't. Title 32 NG (under state control) can be used in their own state or in an adjacent state with the Governor's concurrence.

visual search and surveillance by military doesn't violate the act.

Search or reconnaissance is allowed by Title 10 (AD) surveillance isn't.
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Whatever you say.

Q posted a link to Rand.org overview of the POSSE Comitatus Act — for the Advisory Panel on DOD for support of Civil Authorities. This Panel was established by Congress as part of the 2008 NDAA.

I presented the overview, a link to the PDF, and some of what Q stated in that drop. Laws, regulations, and directives have been evolving before and after PCA as well as since 2008.

If you disagree with it, I certainly could not tell you when or where it might have changed. But at least I provided the source and link instead of just making an assertion.

I do recall that there was some sort of changes made by Congress to accommodate the War on Drugs in some of the other background information that was also provided at Rand.org, but I ain't combing back through it.

[xone]

The refs in the Rand report were specific to the times I did these missions. 18 total air support missions in Cal/AZ/NM/NV/TX. Supported Recon Companies from 1st and 2nd MARDIV, 1st Force, Army units from Hawaii/NC. 82nd Airborne for a month in El Paso with a Battalion in the field. The controlling/coordinating Command was JTF-6 in El Paso, commanded by an Army General @ the time. I also did 3 years as Intel support to LE where the LE had access to OH-58 Kiowa Warriors and we worked directly with them. Same ROE, to do otherwise is to break Federal Law. Neither the JTF JAG who I work with directly nor the otherwise useless JAG that the 82nd brought would have agreed with the Rand study re: surveillance.

The Rand study addressed 'Military Support missions to LEA ', not Military LE missions. Nothing has changed since in the last 20 years in that regard. There are no Title 10 forces (AD or Federalized NG) units doing law enforcement duties (arrests/searches of vehicles or homes/detention etc) in the counter drug 'war'. While the difference may seem only semantics, the semantics will get you and your CO a GCM if you violate the guidelines.

JTF-6

BTW, Rand doesn't go to the field, they review docs/programs etc for DoD and other gov't agencies when the said agencies doesn't have the stones to make a decision so they hire a outside consulting contractor to 'recommend' any changes. Robert McNamara was a fan of them.