Later uses of the sniffer

I was in the chemical detachment for the 1st Air Cav from March 68 to December 69, and I and others from our unit (and their equivalents in other divisions) flew many sniffer missions (I did somewhere near a 100, which was typical). By early 68, I don’t think anyone was using them for scent, but, instead, to locate smoke. Many North Vietnamese smoked, and despite the NVA’s very sophisticated techniques for diffusing smoke from cooking, the machines were effective at finding smoke. They were most useful for detecting large troop movements. We were told they stopped using them for scent when they put B-52 strikes on herds of monkeys, and that the device could detect a single individual smoking a cigarette beneath the triple canopy (they were very sensitive). We flew far less than 50 feet above the canopy, often following little canyons in the canopy that would put the Huey below the general top of the jungle, and flying as fast as we could. Officers often thought the missions were cake walks, and used them to get flight pay (something we didn't get until late 1969). So, we would use various techniques to make these officers nauseous, and carried barf bags to trigger the coup de grace. I thought they were safe as well, until I started searching for reports of sniffer missions and discovered how many choppers were shot down, and how many operators were killed. Our sniffer teams were generally 3 person. It may sound strange, but I enjoyed being in the air, flying fast, and watching the scenery go by.