Macon military roundtable tackles drones, fentanyl and service support

Maj. Gen. Konata Crumbly discussed employer support for service members, drone warfare and counterdrug efforts.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Middle Georgia military and business leaders discussed strengthening support for service members and preparing for evolving defense challenges during a roundtable on Thursday.

The Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce’s Macon & Eggs Military Roundtable was held at the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team headquarters.

During the discussion, Maj. Gen. Konata Crumbly with the Georgia National Guard acknowledged Middle Georgia businesses for being supportive of their workers when they have to take time to serve.

“I’ve had airmen that have great companies that they work for, some that work for companies that don’t want to see them leave,” Crumbly said. “They don’t need that in the back of their mind when they have a M4 on their shoulders.”

Gen. Crumbly said the military is in a transformative period, with members learning war-fighting skills and how to operate new and advanced drones, which could potentially cost Georgia taxpayers.

“All that’s going on in Ukraine with drones, now we have to figure out how to defeat drones,” he said. “Some of these personal drones are less than $400.Ssome of the missles we have that we have that shoot down drones cost $900,000.”

He also discussed how local taxpayers help fund the Georgia National Guard Counter Drug Task Force. According to Gen. Crumbly, the task force has already taken more than a million lethal doses of fentanyl off the streets this year, along with a total of $330 million in drug-related seizures.

“A legal dose is two milligrams,” he said. “That’s how much fentanyl we’ve taken off the streets.”