Minneapolis / St. Paul News Blog

This article is very similar to one posted on May 28, but I'm glad to see it again.

However, in the May article, it also explained the significance of this type of helicopter. It says it is "commonly employed in the "war" against forbidden plants in foreign lands".

That article also said one of the reasons for doing this was to show kids you can't fly a helicopter when you're high... Which one reader comments:
"If smoking pot makes it impossible to fly war machines, maybe we should be teaching our kids to smoke more pot."

What has this world come to, that we're teaching our kids its better to kill people than to smoke pot?

As a Soldier in the US Army actually going through Blackhawk helicopter training right now. I can tell you, that if I were to be "high" or on any type of drug that could cause me to lose focus or not be 100% dedicated to the tasks involved in controlling and flying a UH-60, not only could I kill myself but I could kill my co-pilot and any passengers in the helicopter. Not to mention whoever or whatever is on the ground that we may or may not crash into! And just think, if I were high and caused a crash and my co-pilot or passengers were injured or killed, what would their families think and feel when they found out the cause of the accident was DRUGS.

Also when I hear someone call the Blackhawk a "war machine" I kind of have to laugh. Does anyone remember what kind of helicopters were being used to evacuate people after hurricane Katrina? Pretty sure they were Blackhawks, and what helicopters were being used for the fire fighting efforts in California? Yep, you guessed it, Blackhawks were there for that too. I'm willing to bet that wasn't war. Unless it's a war against mother nature. So, before ranting about how something is militaristic or intended to be intimidating why don't you think about the other side of it. Not doing drugs can allow you to accomplish great things in your life. If you choose to join the military, great, if not, great! Everyone has their own lives to live but you WILL reach a much higher potential if you do it sober.