Three decades of service to the Wisconsin Air National Guard came to a quiet end last month for the RC-26 Metroliner aircraft.

In a way, that may be fitting, as the RC-26 served best as a quiet observer for domestic operations — particularly the National Guard Counterdrug program. The RC-26 began with an operational support airlift mission, but since 1996 the aircraft had supported both state and federal narcotics, counter-insurgency and homeland security missions.

Col. Paul Felician, director of the Wisconsin National Guard Counterdrug Program, said the aircraft saved countless lives in numerous ways. One way was preventing dangerous narcotics from reaching the streets for consumption.

“By removing these narcotics from circulation, you are saving people from suffering the effects of those narcotics,” Felician explained.

The RC-26 also reduced risk to law enforcement and the public by eliminating the need for high-speed pursuit.

“A few months ago, our RC-26 was supporting a task force mission and the suspected narcotics dealer began to flee law enforcement on Madison’s beltline at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour,” Felician said. “High-speed chases are a leading cause of death for law enforcement and they are also a risk to the public. What the aircraft does is assist law enforcement in acquiring fleeing vehicles through observation support, alleviating the need for law enforcement to engage in high-speed pursuit. The suspect slows down,…