Air National Guard Operation CORONET NIGHTHAWK

Operation Coronet Nighthawk was a U.S. anti-narcotic smuggling air patrol operation. Carried out from Howard AFB, Panama, later moved to Hato, Curaçao from Apr 1999. The Air National Guard fighter wings of the USAF's First Air Force rotated through Howard/Curaçao periodically during summer annual training periods - to intercept, shadow, and identify suspected narco-trafficking aircraft. The fighter squadrons were under the command of Joint Interagency Task Force East (JIATF-E) for the mission.