I helped patrol Los Padres National Forest, CA in 1995 when i was in the Marine Corps. It was part of a program called Joint Task Force Six, which uses military assets to assist law enforcement where they are underpowered. We destroyed seventeen small marijuana plots, and set up an observation post on a meth lab we found, which resulted in the arrest of three of these fools.
We were not allowed to detain anyone, we were allowed to gather intel, work with LE, and defend ourselves. It was dangerous work then, i can't imagine how it is now. Armed guards and boobie traps awaited our patrols. They used to watch Ft. Hunter Ligget where we were stationed to watch for our unmarked suburbans or our helos when we left. They would then attempt to track us so they could hide their stuff. We also had to use Crypto on our comm gear, as they would listen to us transmit.
It was really good "real world" training and it was nice to help the law enforcement personnel who were overwhelmed.
-Brian