Originally Posted by GradGirl
MT6731,
You have asked why we don't just write to the policy makers to complain about how easy the FAMs are to spot. I just wanted to mention that the media attention to the problem of non-anonymous FAMs has been and will be influential to the policy makers. If there's a story in USA Today telling passengers how to spot the FAM, then you can bet somebody's going to be chewing somebody out up in headquarters. And complaining on FT is indeed a way to influence travel journalists, many of whom hang out here hoping for leads on stories. So it is indeed a valid form of activism to point out problems with the FAM program on Flyertalk.
Most of us don't condone bashing individuals here; we only want to bash bad policy. The fact that the FAMs make themselves so amazingly obvious seems frightening and wrong. Many of us feel guns don't belong on planes. Why don't they just train the FAMs in jiu jitsu or something? Then it would be impossible for the bad guys to turn FAMs into a major security liability.
And yes, many of us who think the FAMs make us less safe by introducing weapons to the cabin are doubly insulted when the FAM's take away our confirmed seat assignments and service class upgrades.
I think you are missing part of the point here. The folks in the headquarters don't care about the media attention. If you read what they have to say, they tend to snub the rank and file. They say it's the FAM's imagination they are easy to spot. There are multiple articles on the subject. The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) has tried to arbitrate, but it falls on deaf ears in the HQ. Complaining about the individual FAM in the seat does nothing but create hostility/resentment towards that individual. And he or she is just doing as they are told.
As too thier training, they are taught more than to just shoot. I think the emphasis on the weapons training is so that if they ever have to use it, they will be proficient with the weapon. But rest assured they are taught how to use hands on, unarmed control methods. Use of deadly force is always a last resort with any police agency.