Researching a novel - need advice from LEOs and Vietnam Vets

[arrowdynamic]

1. How does interdepartmental communication work between
a) sheriff's department of county A and sheriff's department of county B?
b) sheriff's depart and local PD?
c) PD of town A and PD of town B?
Note: these are rural counties and towns.

2. What were the typical responsibilities of helicopter mechanics in Vietnam?

3. Were mechanics ever pressed into combat/rescue missions? Is that plausible?

4. I have several questions for USMC MOS 03 infantry who served in 1968.
a) were there many who received 3 or more campaign medals?
b) I may be able to find this on google, but were there many Navy Crosses awarded for 1968 actions?

Thanks.

[kfd82]

1. going by your description of a "rural area"
a) The county A sheriff department dispatcher would normally call county B dispatcher on the phone, cops would talk on the radio car to car
b) Sheriff dept dispatch will call the city dispatch, the cops would talk on the radio car to car.
c) PD of town A dispatch will call town B dispatch, cops will talk on the radio car to car.

Most rural areas in Texas the sheriff department will dispatch county cops, county (unincorporated areas) fire dept and ems. Cities dispatch their own police, volunteer fire department and ems.

If a 911 call comes into the county and it is for a need in a city, the call is rolled over to the appropriate city 911 dispatcher.

The cops, fire and ems can all talk to each other on the radio through shared channels. Even the rural areas are now getting the 800mhz radios due to grants, but there are still county or area wide mutual aid channels.

[tvc184]

1. How does interdepartmental communication work between
a) sheriff's department of county A and sheriff's department of county B?
b) sheriff's depart and local PD?
c) PD of town A and PD of town B?
Note: these are rural counties and towns.

2. What were the typical responsibilities of helicopter mechanics in Vietnam?

3. Were mechanics ever pressed into combat/rescue missions? Is that plausible?

4. I have several questions for USMC MOS 03 infantry who served in 1968.
a) were there many who received 3 or more campaign medals?
b) I may be able to find this on google, but were there many Navy Crosses awarded for 1968 actions?

Thanks.

Out of curiosity, at what time frame in history?

Since you are going back to Viet Nam, if you are talking about police communication then and now, it is completely different.

When we used to check for county warrants when I started in 1984, we had to call the county dispatcher long distance and have them hand check a card file and get back with us. Now we have a direct link to their computer system and can do it ourselves without any direct voice contact. It is the same way with other communications. In the almost 30 years that I have been in, it has changed dramatically. For example when we would have a vehicle pursuit into or from another another jurisdiction, we would tell our dispatcher on our radio about the chase (location, direction, speed, etc.), they would have a phone in one hand and key their mic with the other hand and tell the other agency's dispatcher on the phone (usually long distance dialing), who was doing the same thing. That agency's dispatcher would have to tell their units and then the whole process would reverse as the information went back the other way.

Now we just flip to their channel and talk direct cop to cop.

So are we talking communications now or as far back as you want to go?

[arrowdynamic]

Thanks kfd82. I figured it was something like that. I didn't know about the 800 mhz radios, so that really helps.

[Daniel75]

We have about 6-7 other smaller departments (about our size) on our radio, so like TVC said, we can just switch the channel to talk to them directly, but at least in our neck of the woods, we don't do it very often. Also, we have a few cities who are on a different band (?) and we can't scan them or talk with them because of it. In theory for your book, it would be possible for them to just use their radios in their vehicles or their handheld radios on their belts by just switching to the correct channels.

[arrowdynamic]

Thanks, tvc & Daniel. That's excellent information.
The novel takes place in current times and involves chasing a stolen vehicle from one county into another. The theft is discovered by the PD in town A, county A, and they coordinate with the sheriff and PD in county B to set up a roadblock.
The Vietnam questions are because two of the older characters are veterans who play significant roles: one, a disabled helicopter mechanic and the other former Marine infantry.

Are you saying that PD and sheriff's in adjacent counties would just know the channel for their counterparts?

[Daniel75]

I know in the Fort Worth area, most departmental policies forbid roadblocks. We would use stop sticks.

[arrowdynamic]

I know in the Fort Worth area, most departmental policies forbid roadblocks. We would use stop sticks.

That's the method I use in the novel, but I have the LEOs in the second town deploy them because the LEOs in the first town coordinated with them.

[Geezy Rider]

As far as mechanics, are you wanting to know about Crew Chiefs or the guys back at the shop. One maintained the bird and flew with her and the others did the major airframe, engine, electrical or avtech work?

[arrowdynamic]

As far as mechanics, are you wanting to know about Crew Chiefs or the guys back at the shop. One maintained the bird and flew with her and the others did the major airframe, engine, electrical or avtech work?

Allaround, I'm looking for a plausible reason for a (normally) non-combatant to be in the field at a LZ picking up soldiers.
Thanks.

BTW, what rank would a Crew Chief hold?

[Storm]

It could also be a lack of replacements for injured personell they should/could be manning a bird.

[arrowdynamic]

I found a great website that really provides a lot of insight. Thanks for the lead.

http://www.squidoo.com/the-crew-chief-chronicles-vietnam-october-1966-october-1967

Once again, the green screen comes through.

[Geezy Rider]

Allaround, I'm looking for a plausible reason for a (normally) non-combatant to be in the field at a LZ picking up soldiers.
Thanks.

BTW, what rank would a Crew Chief hold?

A Crew Chief would be an enlisted man, E-1 to E-4.
The only scenario I can think of for a rear echelon mechanic being in the field, flying into a hot LZ, would be if he was on ride along on a test flight and saw a need to help out on a evac mission.
Maybe a mechanic helping to unload wounded back at the rear on a really hot turn around and the Crew Chief / door gunner is severely wounded and the mechanic takes it upon himself to jump on board and help out as the crew goes back out to the LZ for more wounded or support.
Both plausible but unlikely.

[arrowdynamic]

A Crew Chief would be an enlisted man, E-1 to E-4.
The only scenario I can think of for a rear echelon mechanic being in the field, flying into a hot LZ, would be if he was on ride along on a test flight and saw a need to help out on a evac mission.
Maybe a mechanic helping to unload wounded back at the rear on a really hot turn around and the Crew Chief / door gunner is severely wounded and the mechanic takes it upon himself to jump on board and help out as the crew goes back out to the LZ for more wounded or support.
Both plausible but unlikely.

Perfect! That's exactly what I had imagined. I just wanted to make sure that it was believable.
Thanks x1M

[Geezy Rider]

Cool, I hope to read your book some day. If you ever manage to get on down to final assy on the line, look me up.