Air Wing branch helps keep Great Lakes safe

By Jeff Karoub - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Sep 19, 2008 17:08:06 EDT

OVER THE MICHIGAN-ONTARIO BORDER — The Black Hawk helicopter rose up to split sea and sky — the calm waters of Lake St. Clair below and puffy clouds ringing the otherwise clear blue above.

Minutes after taking off from Selfridge Air National Guard Base in suburban Detroit, the peace was broken as U.S. Customs and Border Protection pilots spotted potential trouble: a sea plane that had just taken off from Gull Island, on the Michigan side of its border with Ontario, Canada.

“What the hell is this guy doing?â€