“ Notwithstanding the booby traps law enforcement agents frequently encounter at methamphetamine labs, the firing of a single bullet, sparks from turning off and/or on light switches, flashlights, or even a flash from a typical photography flashbulb can easily trigger an instantaneous explosion. Toxic vapors produced during chemical reactions can permeate a building's structure and buildings with poor ventilation and temperature controls (like the Davidians' residence) "add to the potential for fire, explosion, and human exposure." ”

“ For the Southwest border region where the ATF investigation of the Davidians took place, Joint Task Force-Six (JTF-6) [34] was responsible for the operational support to ATF by active duty military personnel.
JTF-6's Operational Support Planning Guide, in explaining its support capabilities, states, "No list of military support capabilities is ever all-inclusive. Innovative approaches to providing new and more effective support to law enforcement agencies are constantly sought, and legal and policy barriers to the application of military capabilities are gradually being eliminated." ”

“ Assistant Secretary Holmes stated that JTF-6 does not verify whether a "drug nexus" exists before providing military assistance because it would potentially place the military in a capacity of conducting surveillance and investigations of American citizens, which is a violation of U.S. law. [141] Secretary Holmes' purported concern is not responsive to the issue. Contrary to Mr. Holmes' assertion, the verification of a drug nexus would not require military personnel to conduct surveillance of or otherwise investigate American citizens. ”

“ Typically in methamphetamine lab operations, law enforcement agents will attempt to arrest the suspects away from the premises to avoid many of the aforementioned dangers. This is usually accomplished through surveillance and investigative techniques which provide law enforcement agents with sufficient information to determine the lab's exact location, what chemicals are being used, the stage of the production process and when the suspects will leave the premises. ”

“ The working group established by the Secretary of Defense The final piece of evidence that serious problems exist in the process by which the military provides support to civilian law enforcement agencies is the Secretary of Defense's creation of a working group to review the process in the wake of the subcommittees' announcement of Waco hearings which would also explore the military's role in the incident. ”

“ The General Accounting Office should investigate the activities of Operation Alliance in light of the Waco incident. The subcommittees concluded that Operation Alliance personnel knew or should have known that ATF did not have a sufficient drug nexus to warrant the military support provided to it on a non-reimbursable basis. Senior DEA agents were members of the Operation Alliance board which approved requests for military assistance, yet they voiced no concerns regarding ATF's plan to directly assault an alleged active methamphetamine laboratory. ”

“ Without the alleged drug nexus, the ATF most likely would not have received the same military assistance as was provided Treasury and Defense Department officials have repeatedly maintained that ATF would have received military assistance even without a drug nexus, but that ATF would had to have paid for it. However, this statement is misleading because it fails to answer whether ATF would have received the same training it requested from units other than counterdrug units and for purposes other than counterdrug operations. ”

“ As of 1993, requests for military support relating to counterdrug operations were not required to be submitted to the DOMS for approval but instead were channeled through Operation Alliance, a group representing agencies such as the ATF, the Border Patrol, and other Federal law enforcement agencies together with military representatives. Operation Alliance serves merely as a clearinghouse for requests, tasking actual military organizations to provide the support. ”

“ JTF-6 and Operation Alliance have the approval authority for law enforcement requests for military assistance along the Southwest border, which means their legal advisors conduct the legal review of the proposed assistance, not Special Operations Command legal advisors at Fort Bragg. [148]
Soldiers are taught that they should always go through their chain of command to address a problem. Only under significant circumstances are soldiers encouraged to go outside their chain of command for assistance. ”

“ The process for civilian law enforcement agencies receiving military assistance must require that all requests and approvals be in writing, specifying in detail the requested and approved military assistance. Additionally, the Department of Defense needs to establish a clear and concise standard for what constitutes a sufficient drug nexus. Congress should specifically establish criminal and pecuniary penalties for willful violations of the drug nexus standard. ”

“ The special precautions required when law enforcement actions involve a methamphetamine lab After an investigation has gathered sufficient probable cause to establish that a drug lab is operating on a premises, DEA agents obtain a search warrant. Agents may request in the warrant the authority to destroy any hazardous bulk chemicals and equipment. ”

“ Methamphetamine laboratories ATF alleged to the military that it had evidence of an "active methamphetamine lab" on the premises of the Davidians' residence. Unlike general narcotics seizures, clandestine labs, by their very nature, "present a unique series of hazards and risks to law enforcement personnel." [154] Therefore, an allegation of an active methamphetamine lab should alarm any law enforcement official, because of the extreme safety and health dangers involved. ”

“ FBI officials have informed the subcommittees that the HRT maintains liaison with the military and law enforcement counter- terrorist units of friendly foreign countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, and Denmark. HRT commanders occasionally invite representatives of these units, a well as the U.S. Army Special Forces, to observe operations in which the HRT is engaged, as each of the organizations has similar skills and performs similar functions. ”

“ Congress should review the legal status of memoranda of agreement for the interstate use of National Guard personnel for civilian law enforcement purposes. The subcommittees' investigation revealed that the use of National Guard personnel across State lines for law enforcement purposes is a common practice. ”

“ While some foreign military personnel were present in Waco during the government's operations toward the Davidians, there is no evidence that any of these persons took part in the government's operations in any way.
4. Civilian law enforcement's increasing use of militaristic tactics is unacceptable. The FBI's and ATF's reliance on military type tactics greatly concerns the subcommittees. The Waco and Ruby Ridge incidents epitomize civilian law enforcement's growing acceptance and use of military type tactics. The subcommittees find this trend unacceptable. ”

“ Interviews with Defense Department counterdrug personnel revealed that self preservation in part fuels JTF- 6 efforts to secure healthy budget allocations. [139] Documents provided by the Treasury Department show that in the months following the tragic end of the Branch Davidian siege, JTF-6 and Operation Alliance were actively promoting their services to ATF. This was occurring even as senior military officials expressed concern that ATF misrepresented the required drug nexus in order to obtain military assistance. ”

“ Dangers associated with methamphetamine labs Hazards which law enforcement agents may expect to encounter in clandestine lab operations include exposure to toxic chemicals, explosive and reactive chemicals, flammable agents, irritant and corrosive agents, booby traps, and physical injury from close quarter contact with illegal lab operators. ”

“ Pickler, Commander of JTF-6, stated "that it is not the position of the military to question the veracity of a law enforcement request regarding a drug nexus." [225] DEA Agent Rochon told Waco Review Team interviewers, after the February 2, 1993, briefing, that he had offered the assistance of a DEA Clandestine Certified Laboratory Team and Pali declined the request. However, Agent Rochon did provide Lewis the phone number of the Austin DEA Resident in Charge. Agent Roshon " 'opined' that precursor chemicals for methamphetamine could also be used in the manufacture of explosives." ”

“ The disposal of methamphetamine lab equipment and chemicals presents great risk and significant problems. As a matter of routine, DEA hires certified State and local chemical disposal companies to remove the lab equipment and chemicals for proper disposal under EPA guidelines. ”

“ The Special Forces paper and the ATF response to it The fourth piece of evidence undermining ATF's claim that a drug lab existed is ATF's own reaction to the Special Forces paper on the methamphetamine lab. Sergeant Fitts testified that he and another Special Forces medic where directed by Major Petree, their Commander, to research and draft a paper on methamphetamine labs. [227] Interviews with Sgt. Fitts revealed that the paper addressed the dangers of methamphetamine labs from both tactical and exposure perspectives. ”

“ In addition to the January 5 briefing paper, monthly status reports were prepared by Aguilera, reviewed by Dunagan, the Assistant Resident Agent in Charge of the Austin, TX office and approved by Chojnacki, the Special Agent in Charge of the Austin, TX office who then forwarded the reports to the Special Agent in Charge of the Houston Office. Although these reports being provided over a 9 month period and almost daily during the weeks leading up to the raid, they never mention the case as a counter-narcotics investigation or any military involvement. ”

“ Mr. Breault's facsimile to Special Agent Aguilera also indicated that although Koresh did call the Sheriff's Department and Sheriff's Department personnel did come out to the property, one individual present at the residence when the Sheriff's Department visited said she did not personally observe Koresh turn the lab equipment over to the Sheriff's Department. [186] Mr. Breault also stated in his facsimile that one night in 1989, Koresh "was talking about trafficking drugs as a way of raising money. [187] He [Koresh] seemed very interested in getting money through this means." ”

“ When agencies fail to adhere to these requirements, "supervisors can be held strictly and severally liable for situations involving employee exposure to hazardous substances and the resulting adverse health effects." ”

“ Another Special Operations Judge Advocate memo addressing this Special Forces training, indicates that ATF again was attempting to obtain military assistance without reimbursing Defense Department: "we cannot waive reimbursement under the fiction that we are `training the trainer' as is not so subtly suggested by the 3 Aug BATF letter." ”

“ Other safety procedures include avoiding the use of shotguns or diversionary devices such as flash bangs, smoke, or tear gas canisters which can ignite fumes. [173] Additionally, agents should avoid turning light electrical switches on or off, use only explosion-proof flashlights, and use electronic strobes, not flashbulbs. [174] Once the premises are secure and everyone is evacuated, the assessment step begins.
d. Did ATF address the extreme safety and health concerns a methamphetamine lab presents in its raid on the Branch Davidian residence? ”

“ Examining and monitoring the health of all employees exposed to hazardous substances including documentation of any exposure. Provide information to employees regarding any hazardous conditions in their work environments. ”

“ The medical personnel potentially would be treating gunshot wounds of children, and military medical personnel do not have the training or equipment to treat such trauma wounds (gunshots) in small children. For example, some medical equipment for children such as breathing tubes require special sizes with which these medical teams are not be equipped. [127]
According to Lt. Col. Lindley, the JTF-6 informed him that the law enforcement action was a raid on a methamphetamine lab. [128] Having been involved in law enforcement actions involving methamphetamine labs as a civilian, Lt. ”

“ These types of operations are characterized by large-scale offensive and defensive operations. The primary objective is to seize and hold ground using all available means. This often results in extensive damage to the area. ”

“ This overflight was conducted by the Texas National Guard Counterdrug unit in a UC-26 counterdrug aircraft. Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) [86] videotape taken during the overflight indicated a "hot spot" inside the residence and three persons outside behind the residence whom ATF designated as "sentries." [87] The Texas National Guard conducted five more reconnaissance/surveillance overflights over the Branch Davidian property from February 3, 1993, to February 25, 1993. These overflights were conducted to "search for armed guards and drug manufacturing facilities." ”