Russell Jones (Flying Helicopters in Vietnam, Undercover Policing and the Failed War on Drugs) - Episode 1117

Behind The Shield

James Geering

Health & Fitness, Mental Health, Fitness

4.9 • 667 Ratings

🗓️ 31 July 2025

⏱️ 135 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Russell Jones is a Vietnam veteran, retired law enforcement officer and the author of Honorable intentions. We discuss flying helicopters in Vietnam, policing in California, undercover work, riding with the Hell's Angels, Operation Tipped Kettle, the failed 'War on Drugs', proactive solutions and so much more.

Russell's bio:

CW2 Army Helicopter Pilot 1967-1969

a. Flew Scouts/little birds, and the Huey. Shot down several times

b. Awarded Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Air Medal w/ 15 Oak Leaf Clusters

2. Police Officer, City of San Jose 1970-1980

a. Patrol, canine, field training officer

b. Worked undercover narcotics. Infiltrated and exposed the Nuestra Familia.

Rode with the Hells Angels (as a prospect), a case resulting in the ‘79

RICO trial.

3. Department of State contract employee 1980-1990

a. Worked undercover intelligence in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador,

during Iran/Contra

b. Uncovered Operation Tipped Kettle

c. Discovered that other contract employees, pilots, etc., were running drugs

from Central America back to the US

d. Worked narco intelligence in Soviet Union

e. Worked general intel in China, including Tibet

4. Federal and State Court forensic expert in the Psychological and

Physiological effects of drugs and alcohol 1980-1990

a. Testified in cases such as murder and rape, as well as traffic fatality cases

where drugs and/or alcohol play a role

5. Books available on Amazon including Honorable Intentions by Russell Jones.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is sponsored by Team Builder, yet another company that's doing great things for the first responder community.
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0:55.7	with wearables. And I think one of the most important things is obviously it tracks. To me,
1:01.3	it's imperative that we as a profession start tracking our people from day one and then over the full
1:08.6	span of their career, therefore catching potential wellness issues and injuries before they happen.
1:16.0	Now, if you want to try TeamBuilder, they are offering you, the audience of the Behind the Shield podcast, a free 14-day trial to experience all of the features.
1:26.5	And if you want to take a deeper dive into Team Builder,
1:29.1	listen to episode 132 with Melissa Macardo or go to team builder.com. And I'll spell that to you
1:37.3	because it's not as you think. T-E-A-M-B-U-I-L-D-R.com.
1:46.2	Welcome to the Behind a Shield podcast.
1:50.6	As always, my name's James Gearing, and this week, it is my absolute honor to welcome on the show,
1:58.0	Vietnam veteran, former law enforcement officer, and the author of Honorable Intentions, Russell Jones.
1:59.6	Now, Russell is definitely one of the most interesting people have
2:03.1	had on the show, and I say that because of the diverse spectrum of his career, from flying
2:08.6	helicopters in Vietnam to working as a police officer in California, then undercover intelligence
	...

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