Editing Drug Enforcement Administration (section)

== Organization ==
[[File:Drug Enforcement Administration.svg|thumb|500px|right|Map of the 21 DEA domestic field divisions: 1. Chicago, 2. Detroit, 3. Atlanta, 4. Dallas, 5. Denver, 6. Boston, 7. El Paso, 8. Houston, 9. Los Angeles, 10. Miami, 11. Newark, 12. New Orleans, 13. New York, 14. Philadelphia, 15. Phoenix, 16. San Diego, 17. San Francisco, 18. Seattle, 19. St. Louis, 20. Caribbean (San Juan, Puerto Rico), 21. Washington, D.C.]]

The DEA is headed by an [[administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration]] appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]]. The Administrator reports to the [[United States Attorney General|attorney general]] through the [[United States Deputy Attorney General|deputy attorney general]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/08aug20051500/edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2005/julqtr/pdf/28cfr0.102.pdf |publisher=Department of Justice |title=Title 28, C.F.R., Part 0.102 |page=57 |access-date=April 28, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070810114233/http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/08aug20051500/edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2005/julqtr/pdf/28cfr0.102.pdf |archive-date=August 10, 2007 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> The administrator is assisted by a deputy administrator, the chief of operations, the chief inspector, and three assistant administrators (for the Operations Support, Intelligence, and Human Resources divisions). Other senior staff includes the chief financial officer and the chief counsel. The administrator and deputy administrator are the only presidentially appointed personnel in the DEA; all other DEA officials are career government employees. DEA's headquarters is located in [[Arlington County, Virginia]], across from [[the Pentagon]]. It maintains its own DEA Academy located on the [[Marine Corps Base Quantico]] at [[Quantico, Virginia]], alongside the [[FBI Academy]]. {{As of|2024}}, it maintains 241 domestic offices in 23 divisions, and 93 foreign offices in 69 countries.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=Divisions |url=https://www.dea.gov/divisions |access-date=Feb 21, 2024 |website=Drug Enforcement Administration}}</ref> With a budget exceeding $3 billion, DEA employs 10,169 people, including 4,924 special agents and 800 intelligence analysts.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}{{Update inline|date=May 2024}}

{{Circa|2015}} its headquarters and the [[DEA Museum]] were in {{convert|503776|sqft|sqm}} in Lincoln Place, a rented office building in [[Pentagon City]] in [[Arlington County, Virginia]]. In September 2018 this lease was scheduled to end. The [[General Services Administration]] (GSA), circa 2015, was checking to see where in Northern Virginia the DEA could be headquartered.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sernovitz|first=Daniel J.|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/breaking_ground/2015/12/another-federal-agency-could-take-flight.html|title=GSA seeking new headquarters for the DEA in Northern Virginia|newspaper=[[Washington Business Journal ]]|date=2015-12-22|accessdate=2023-06-24}}</ref> In 2018 the government of the United States extended the lease at Lincoln Place, now to expire circa <!--2018 + 15 = 2033-->2033.<ref name=SernovitzDaniel/> The DEA administration favored retaining the original location.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2018/08/24/judge-issues-judgment-on-dea-headquarters.html|last=Sernovitz|first=Daniel J.|title=The DEA wants to stay in Pentagon City. Now, a federal judge has weighed in.|newspaper=[[Washington Business Journal ]]|date=2018-08-24|accessdate=2023-06-24}}</ref>

===Structure===
*Administrator
**Deputy Administrator
***Human Resource Division
****Career Board
****Board of Professional Conduct
****Office of Training
***Operations Division
****Aviation Division
****Office of Operations Management
****Special Operations Division
****Office of Diversion Control
****Office of Global Enforcement
****Office of Financial Operations
***Intelligence Division
****[[DEA Office of National Security Intelligence|Office of National Security Intelligence]] (ONSI)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:b647afb9-f5aa-4c52-9ee2-5083c0efaf31|title=DEA - ONSI Presidential Policy Directive #28|website=acrobat.adobe.com|access-date=March 31, 2022|archive-date=July 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713040726/https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn%3Aaaid%3Ascds%3AUS%3Ab647afb9-f5aa-4c52-9ee2-5083c0efaf31|url-status=live}}</ref>
****Office of Strategic Intelligence
****Office of Special Intelligence
****[[El Paso Intelligence Center]]
****[[OCDETF]] [[Fusion Center]]
***Financial Management Division
****Office of Acquisition and Relocation Management
****Office of Finance
****Office of Resource Management
***Operational Support Division
****Office of Administration
****Office of Information System
****Office of Forensic Science
****Office of Investigative Technology
***Inspection Division
****Office of Inspections
****Office of Professional Responsibility
****Office of Security Programs
***Field Divisions and Offices

===Special agents===
[[File:Miguelrodriguez-extradition.png|thumb|DEA agents escort Colombian [[drug lord]] [[Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela]] after his extradition to the United States in 2005.]]

As of 2017, there were 4,650 special agents employed by the Drug Enforcement Administration. DEA agents' starting salary is $49,746–$55,483. After four years, the salary rises to above $92,592. This figure doesn’t include Cost of living allowance (COLA) or LEAP which rated at 25% of base pay including COLA. Special Agents at the 13 step 5 level in high cost of living areas of the United States make near the federal pay cap of $191,000.<ref>{{cite web|title=Top Careers for Students of Criminology and Criminal Justice|url=http://online.ccj.pdx.edu/resources/infographics/top-careers-for-students-of-criminology-and-criminal-justice-ig/|website=Portland State University|access-date=30 September 2014|archive-date=October 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019192344/http://online.ccj.pdx.edu/resources/infographics/top-careers-for-students-of-criminology-and-criminal-justice-ig/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

After receiving a conditional offer of employment, recruits must then complete an 18-week rigorous training which includes lessons in firearms proficiency (including basic marksmanship), weapons safety, tactical shooting, and deadly-force decision training. To graduate, students must maintain an academic average of 80 percent on academic examinations, pass the firearms qualification test, successfully demonstrate leadership and sound decision-making in practical scenarios, and pass rigorous physical-task tests. Upon graduation, recruits earn the title of DEA Special Agent.

Because the DEA is responsible for enforcing the [[Controlled Substances Act]], it excludes from consideration job applicants who use or have a recent history of using [[narcotics]] or illicit drugs. As of June 27, 2024, DEA applicants cannot have used cannabis or marijuana within three years of submitting their application and cannot have used any other narcotic substance within seven years of applying, although allowances are made for the use of marijuana prior to an applicant's 18th birthday.<ref>{{cite web |title=DEA Employment Eligibility |url=https://www.dea.gov/how-to-apply/employment-eligibility |website=dea.gov |publisher=United States Drug Enforcement Administration |access-date=7 January 2025}}</ref> Background investigations usually include a polygraph test for special-agent, diversion-investigator, and intelligence research specialist positions.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025|reason=This claim needs a reliable source; the DEA website does not mention any specific investigative techniques.}}
<!--{{blockquote|text=Applicants who are found, through investigation or personal admission, to have experimented with or used narcotics or dangerous drugs, except those medically prescribed, will not be considered for employment with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Exceptions to this policy may be made for applicants who admit to limited youthful and experimental use of [[cannabis (drug)|marijuana]]. Such applicants may be considered for employment if there is no evidence of regular, confirmed usage and the full-field background investigation and results of the other steps in the process are otherwise favorable.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/job/agent/bef_drugQuest.html|publisher=U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration|title=Drug Questionnaire|access-date=April 28, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070513034556/http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/job/agent/bef_drugQuest.html|archive-date=May 13, 2007|df=mdy-all}}</ref>}}-->

The DEA's relatively firm stance on personal drug use contrasts with those of the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] and the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]], which in 2023 considered further relaxing their eligibility guidelines so as to combat dwindling recruitment rates.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Londoño |first1=Ernesto |title=Needing Younger Workers, Federal Officials Relax Rules on Past Drug Use |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/30/us/marijuana-drugs-federal-jobs.html |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 30, 2023 |access-date=7 January 2025}}</ref>

===Aviation Division===
[[Image:DEA - Office of Aviation Operations emblem.png|thumb|DEA Aviation Division logo]]

The DEA '''Aviation Division''' or '''Office of Aviation Operations''' ('''OA''') (formerly '''Aviation Section''') is an airborne division based in [[Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport|Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport, Texas]]. The current OA fleet consists of 106 aircraft and 124 DEA pilots.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/programs/aviation.htm |publisher=U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration |title=Inside the DEA > DEA Programs > Aviation |access-date=September 13, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920235245/http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/programs/aviation.htm |archive-date=September 20, 2008 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

The DEA shares a communications system with the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] for communication with state and regional enforcement independent of the [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]] and police information systems and is coordinated by an information command center called the [[El Paso Intelligence Center]] (EPIC) near [[El Paso, Texas]].

=== Special Response Teams ===
{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2020}}
[[File:Burning hashish seized in Operation Albatross.jpg|thumb|DEA agents in [[MultiCam]] uniform burning [[hashish]] seized in Operation Albatross in Afghanistan, 2007]]

'''Rapid Response Teams''' ('''RRT'''), previously known as '''Foreign-Deployed Advisory and Support Teams''' ('''FAST'''), were decommissioned by DEA acting administrator [[Chuck Rosenberg|Chuck Rosenburg]] in March 2017 via memorandum.  A need for domestic [[SWAT|high-risk service teams]] led to the hybrid creation of specialized tactical units residing within various geographical regions throughout the United States.

DEA officially created and standardized its '''Special Response Team''' ('''SRT''') program in 2016. The SRT was designed as a stop-gap between tactical operations conducted by field agents and those necessitating specialized tactics as a result of elevated risks. SRT operators are highly trained in various weapons systems and entry tactics/maneuvers. Because of the clandestine nature of the DEA mission, SRT training protocols and activation requirements are highly sensitive and not available to the public.  Some of the SRT missions consist of high-risk arrests, vehicle assaults, air assault/infiltration, specialized surveillance, custody of high-profile individuals, dignitary and witness protection, tactical surveillance and interdiction, advanced breaching, tactical training to other police units, and urban and rural fugitive searches.  Covertly located throughout the nation, DEA SRT teams are available to respond to practically any CONUS geographical area with little to no preparation or notification.  The DEA SRT has been involved in several high-profile operations in recent years, however, DEA involvement is often not publicized due to operational and intelligence considerations.  Considered one of the most covert outfits in federal law enforcement, very little is known about DEA SRT capabilities and its operator selection process.

In the past, DEA had other tactical teams like the '''High-risk Entry Apprehension Teams''' ('''HEAT''') in some Field Divisions, and '''[[Operation Snowcap]] Teams''' (predecessor of FAST). The teams administered by the Mobile Enforcement Section, the '''Mobile Enforcement Teams''' ('''MET'''), and '''Regional Enforcement Teams''' ('''RET'''), were mobile investigative units intended to deploy resources to state and local agencies (MET) or DEA Field Divisions (RET) in need of assistance with a particular investigation or trafficking group. These programs ended in the early 2000s.

=== Special Operations Division ===
The DEA '''Special Operations Division''' ('''SOD''') is a division within the DEA, which forwards information from wiretaps, intercepts, and databases from various sources to federal agents and local law enforcement officials. The SOD came under scrutiny following the [[2010s global surveillance disclosures]].<ref>{{cite news|title=How DEA program differs from recent NSA revelations|author=John Shiffman|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-dea-sod-nsa-idUSBRE9740AI20130805|work=[[Reuters]]|date=August 5, 2013|access-date=August 5, 2013|archive-date=March 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312164440/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-dea-sod-nsa-idUSBRE9740AI20130805|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program ===
The '''Domestic Cannabis Eradication'''/'''Suppression Program''' ('''DCE'''/'''SP''') began funding eradication programs in Hawaii and California in 1979. The program rapidly expanded to include programs in 25 states by 1982. By 1985, all 50 states were participating in the DCE/SP.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dea.gov/ops/cannabis.shtml|title=DEA / Cannabis Eradication|publisher=www.dea.gov|language=en-US|access-date=2017-06-07|archive-date=April 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405091725/https://www.dea.gov/ops/cannabis.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2015, the DCE/SP was responsible for the eradication of 3,932,201 cultivated outdoor cannabis plants and 325,019 indoor plants for a total of 4,257,220 marijuana plants. In addition, the DCE/SP accounted for 6,278 arrests and the seizure in excess of $29.7 million of cultivator assets.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dea.gov/ops/cannabis.shtml|title=DEA / Cannabis Eradication|publisher=www.dea.gov|language=en-US|access-date=2017-06-08|archive-date=April 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405091725/https://www.dea.gov/ops/cannabis.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2014, the DEA spent $73,000 to eradicate marijuana plants in Utah, though they did not find a single marijuana plant.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/10/07/the-dea-spent-73000-to-eradicate-marijuana-plants-in-utah-it-didnt-find-any/|title=Analysis {{!}} The DEA spent $73,000 to eradicate marijuana plants in Utah. It didn't find any.|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2017-06-07|archive-date=June 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623095708/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/10/07/the-dea-spent-73000-to-eradicate-marijuana-plants-in-utah-it-didnt-find-any/|url-status=live}}</ref> Federal documents obtained by journalist Drew Atkins detail the DEA's continuing efforts to spend upwards of $14 million per year to completely eradicate marijuana within the United States despite the government funding allocation reports showing that the Marijuana Eradication Program often leads to the discovery of no marijuana plants.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/jmd/pages/attachments/2015/02/01/25._drug_enforcement_administration_dea.pdf|title=U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration - FY 2016 Performance Budget Congressional Submission|website=www.justice.gov|access-date=June 7, 2017|archive-date=May 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170506135216/https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/jmd/pages/attachments/2015/02/01/25._drug_enforcement_administration_dea.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> This prompted twelve members of Congress to push for the elimination of the program and use the money instead to fund domestic-violence prevention and deficit-reduction programs.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://lieu.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/congress-wants-dea-prove-marijuana-eradication-program-necessary|title=Congress Wants the DEA to Prove Marijuana Eradication Program Is Necessary|date=2016-10-28|work=Congressman Ted Lieu|access-date=2017-06-07|language=en|archive-date=August 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830055413/https://lieu.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/congress-wants-dea-prove-marijuana-eradication-program-necessary|url-status=live}}</ref>