Marine Aircraft Group-42 Marines home-based at NAS Atlanta, NAS New Orleans, and NAS Norfolk have been spending a lot of time in the Caribbean lately—but they're not on R&R. Their mission: providing helicopter support to local island forces attempting to destroy the region's illegal billion-dollar marijuana crop. One hundred Marines from HMLA-773, HMLA-775, and HMM-774 provided AH-1Ws, UH-1Ns, and CH-46s for Operation Weedeater 3-96 in September. Pilots flew into small, restricted landing zones—buffeted by swirling winds—on St. Lucia and St. Vincent that challenged their flying abilities to the utmost. Hillary Emmanuel (top), a St. Lucia police constable, patrols a ridgeline. This CH-46 (center, left) was bringing rations and water to a counter- drug team on a knife-edged ridge on St. Vincent. The small, tree-studded landing zone high in the mountains of St. Lucia (center, right) is typical of those the air crews encountered; crewmen provided invaluable clearance directions to the pilots. St. Lucia’s Special Support Unit (bottom) torched marijuana in terrain that reminded Marines of Jurassic Park.