Chapter 9 - Posse Comitatus

The flight out to Reston was uneventful other than the conversation with the DNI regarding Finne. I had convinced the director that there would not be a failure at Target. Our technology was well positioned and ready for acceptance testing. The objectives had been well planned and mapped out with the entire extended SMA team six support staff. Many were cleared personnel hired under Intermittent Contractor status, providing them with roughly $100,000 per year for an average year and up to $300,000 after overtime for a year like this one that was about to close. Others within support team were brought in through the county sheriff to provide a slight window of compliance with the laws preventing the military from enforcing the laws of the United States.

Few realized that aside from a U.S. Marshal, the county sheriff is one of the most powerful positions of authority when a federal investigation wanders through a multi-jurisdictional state such as we were doing. Without the sheriff’s compliance and participation in local operations, we’d be left to bring in the Coast Guard in some manner to bridge the gap between what we were doing and what we were technically allowed to do. Face it, just because the National Reconnaissance Office Head quarters is located in Fairfax County, doesn’t mean that the county sheriff has the ability to run its operations.

However, many within the sheriff’s inner circle were becoming exceptionally skilled at using the satellite intelligence to manage the details of our operation. The training exercises we put them through over the past four years had bred some exceptional team players within the deputy sheriffs, paramedic/EMS technicians, and volunteer fire fighters. Within an hour after getting the call, the sheriff could have a cleared and experienced team ranging in size from four to forty on site for operational support.

As we flew over the interchange between the Dulles Toll Road and Washington’s beltway, we could see the Fairfax County Police cruisers that had pulled back into clearing behind the high burm fronting the watershed at the intersection. Although this was a common staging area for speed enforcement, at this moment it was providing cover to allow a very important car pass through the area without delay. As I watched Finne’s sporty blue car easily navigate a path through the slower traffic entering the toll road, I envisioned a lab rat navigating a maze in search of his cheese. The image was too appropriate, considering what we had planned ahead.

The helicopter was being flown by and Air Force Captain, an obvious indication of the importance that they placed on this flight. We had cut though both Pentagon and CIA airspace on our flight path to Reston. Our presence would never be officially recognized, even though several government agencies, including the FAA, had to buy off on the details of the plans. For this mission, things we’re taken care of without delay, especially today. What we needed we got – it did not matter from whom anymore.