wigstheone
Dec 6, 01, 7:59 am
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Federal air marshals try to blend into the airport crowd, sit with other passengers, and be ready to spring into action if there's an attack aboard a plane.
But beyond that, we don't know much about them or how they prepare. Secrecy, the FAA says, is an important part of the program.
The Federal Aviation Administration has received 100,000 applications for its air marshal program since the September 11 attacks, and the training process has intensified in recent weeks.
While the FAA doesn't talk about training techniques, criteria for hiring or even how many federal air marshals it will put on flights, it does say that basic law enforcement skills are helpful, because the primary part of this job is shooting a hijacker, without injuring passengers.
According to the FAA, air marshals have the highest fire-range qualifications in the federal government.
"Shooting on board an airplane requires different, what are called, rules of engagement close-quarter battle. And that's something that you don't wake up and learn in just two or three days," counterterrorism expert Larry Johnson said.
http://www.cnn.com/2001/TRAVEL/NEWS/12/05/rec.air.marshals/index.html
But beyond that, we don't know much about them or how they prepare. Secrecy, the FAA says, is an important part of the program.
The Federal Aviation Administration has received 100,000 applications for its air marshal program since the September 11 attacks, and the training process has intensified in recent weeks.
While the FAA doesn't talk about training techniques, criteria for hiring or even how many federal air marshals it will put on flights, it does say that basic law enforcement skills are helpful, because the primary part of this job is shooting a hijacker, without injuring passengers.
According to the FAA, air marshals have the highest fire-range qualifications in the federal government.
"Shooting on board an airplane requires different, what are called, rules of engagement close-quarter battle. And that's something that you don't wake up and learn in just two or three days," counterterrorism expert Larry Johnson said.
http://www.cnn.com/2001/TRAVEL/NEWS/12/05/rec.air.marshals/index.html