Pubdate: Sat, 6 Dec 2008 Source: Free Lance-Star, The (VA) Copyright: 2008 The Free Lance-Star Contact: http://fredericksburg.com/flshome Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1065 Author: Pamela Gould Cited: Drug Enforcement Administration http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/ Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Drug+Enforcement+Administration READY FOR DRUG WAR CENTER DETAILS When acting DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart was a special agent conducting drug raids in the early 1980s, her safety equipment was a pair of plastic gloves. And she said she and her colleagues couldn't figure out why they frequently suffered headaches and "kind of had hallucinations" as they drove back to the office after raids. The Drug Enforcement Administration has come a long way in understanding the hazards of illicit drugs and drug labs in the nearly three decades since Leonhart became an agent. And yesterday, on the western side of the Quantico Marine Corps Base, the DEA took another leap forward, dedicating its $16.4 million Clandestine Laboratory Training and Research Center. Next month, the DEA moves from 11 1950s-era Quonset huts on the base and into the 31,600-square-foot building. The facility will be used to train DEA agents and law enforcement officers from local, state and other federal agencies as well as from other countries. The officers will learn the hazards of drug labs, how to safely breach buildings where labs may be operating, and how to recognize clues that someone is setting up a lab. "This means fewer agent casualties, fewer law enforcement officers hurt," Leonhart said during yesterday's dedication. "Nothing is ever as important as keeping our agents safe," she added. Stafford County Sheriff Charlie Jett attended the dedication and said four of his deputies have been through the DEA's clandestine-lab training over the years. And he said that while methamphetamine labs--the primary drug-lab problem in the U.S.--aren't a problem in the Fredericksburg area, the training helps deputies recognize the components for such labs when making traffic stops. Plus, given that meth labs are highly volatile and thus a safety issue for the public, Jett has narcotics detectives keep an eye on local stores to make sure that ephedrine sources--the key component for making meth--are kept behind the pharmacy counters as required by law. The other advantage of the DEA training is that Jett's officers know whom to call for help if they come into contact with suspicious materials. John McCarty, special agent in charge of DEA training, said officers from throughout the Fredericksburg region have been through his agency's weeklong training. Because the DEA has only 5,349 agents, it depends on local departments to help fight its war on illicit drugs, he said. But he stressed that operating safely is critical to every officer. "There are chemicals out there so noxious that death would be almost instantaneous," he said. [sidebar] Some specifics on the Drug Enforcement Administration's Clandestine Laboratory Training and Research Center at Quantico Marine Corps Base: Cost: $16.4 million Size: 31,600 square feet Time to build: two years Staff: 13, including one unit chief, one senior instructor, five course developers, four support staff and two chemists Training capacity: 900-plus officers annually Features include: . a 2,200-square-foot lab space where chemists will teach students how to synthesize illicit drugs including methamphetamines . a 2,000-square-foot tactical training facility for officers to learn how to raid and secure a lab . a "smoke house" where students will learn how to assess and process a clandestine drug lab. Students will learn how to operate while wearing protective gear and in situations where they encounter smoke. . a firearms simulation training room that enables students to practice judgment calls on when to shoot or not shoot while searching a structure . a mock lab space where various components of illicit drug labs can be displayed - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake