Let me explain what I mean by funding being the major motivating factor. As a matter of truth, I knew a grower who kept a small crop that was on the flight path out in Mendocino. The pigs would fly to his crop, point it out, use it to train other pigs what to look for, and then fly off into the hillsides to find the real deal. His crop was never disturbed. There's no helicopter full of SWAT rappelling into a crop of less than a few thousand plants these days. Without federal money for the bust, most local cops can't even afford to get a bird airborne these days. Without the media to make it a television event to propagandize to the public, the money to put feet on the ground doesn't exist. As for the Guard pilots out there getting their stick time, running night operations and practicing their combat take offs (the sexy ones where they stand the bird on its tail and whip backwards into the night) are really very bust doing that. Yes, they may be running thermals or FLIR, but the supposed heat signature difference cannabis and surrounding plants is antique fucking bullshit. Like all this other 70's logic I see in the industry (HPS bulbs, overhead lighting, cloning from the bottom, etc.) this rumor is propagated by good old fashioned prideful ignorance. If they really had the ability to pluck plants out of the wood with a thermal camera, they'd probably post a picture online, somewhere, anywhere, to prove what nasty pig bad asses they are with their new toy. Such a photo doesn't exist. Plenty of houses with big white exhaust ports and blood red basement levels and attics, but not one plant photo. Here's the quote from the folks who rent them from the US Embassy to the Germans. Their web site:
http://www.detectnu.nl/index.php/en/content/view/full/249
"These thermal imaging cameras are also often used by Energy Companies and Government Agencies to discover the growing of Marijuana plantations. In order for marijuana to grow the warmth of powerful lamps is necessary so that the “weed” plants grow quicker."
Warmth? Idiot fucking cops. Anyway, nothing about FLIR finding plants outside anywhere. As for the Guard, I used three versions of the military thermals back in my enlisted days, and they're purpose built by the lowest bidder to identify man sized objects sweating around 100 degrees. A plant at 56 degrees instead of 52 degrees really isn't gonna show up. But you would. If you're worried about being seen personally, go get a $1 survival blanket. They mask your heat signature if you can get underneath one that's been suspended, and they can distort your thermal image if you can only wrap yourself and stay low. Better to look like a critter than a man. Anyhow, you seem like you've taken the steps to prevent a crop from looking like a crop, so all I can do is reassure you that Mom & Pop sized operations have been given a tentative green light for now. Barring a Dudley Do-Right walking into a plant and making a pig come on foot to his location, you seem to be doing everything right. Whatever you do, don't try to disguise them with camoflauge or military netting. Once you've been integrated into the military mindset, you'll see camo in the woods before you see the trees. Trust me.
