Operation Greensweep

The marijuana cultivation region centered in California's Humboldt County had over time become known as the Emerald Triangle. Operation Green Sweep was a US military operation in northern California in 1990. For two weeks a contingent of 200 active-duty military troops conducted a massive marijuana eradication maneuver in which military helicopters flew overhead surveying residents, homes, and fields, and conducting road blocks, interrogations, and detentions. There were violent demonstrations by Humboldt County locals against Green Sweep, which set back the marijuana growers profits three years.

Experience gained in Green Sweep demonstrated the need for public affairs programs to support operations, thorough intelligence preparation of the operating area, consensus building among law enforcement officials, and improved logistics for forest eradication.