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Air marshal program in disarray, insiders say
For anyone who has ever worked for the Federal government (or served in the military) this article should not be a surprise:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/...r-marshals.htm |
That article is a great reason not to fly. I was never in favor of this stupid program, and the way they're running it is making me feel a lot less safe than if it didn't exist at all.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Hiring standards for marshals added since Sept. 11 have been lowered dramatically, sources say. No longer must applicants pass a difficult marksmanship course that used to be the make-or-break test for the program. In addition, many new hires were given guns and badges and put aboard flights before extensive background checks were completed.</font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">In one incident last month, a marshal was removed from a flight in Washington after smelling of alcohol. The head of the air marshal program confirms at least two cases in which marshals accidentally discharged their weapons, one in a hotel room in Las Vegas. And sources say one marshal was suspended after he left his gun in a lavatory aboard a United Airlines flight from Washington to Las Vegas in December. A passenger discovered the weapon.</font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">A marksmanship test that simulates conditions a marshal might face aboard a jet was eliminated as a means of qualifying for the program, apparently to get more marshals on more flights quickly, sources say. A manager and two sources within the TSA say the difficult shooting course was cut from qualification tests after a high number of applicants began failing what had once been the program's critical requirement. Program officials insist the shooting standards for marshals are among the highest for law enforcement organizations. </font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">But marshals say making them look and dress alike is what threatens their cover. "This is really dangerous," says one marshal, who left the Justice Department for the air marshal program five months ago. "We are so obvious, the terrorists don't need to bring guns on the planes anymore. They just need to gang up on us and take our guns."</font> |
Join the lively discussion in the News Forum:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum...ML/004818.html ------------------ "Give me Liberty or give me Death." - Patrick Henry |
I read this and laughed. After reading a prior article on how the TSA (Transp. Schmucks Administration) couldn't fill all the openings for screeners by the deadline.. I decided to go online and see what was so difficult about applying. I took the 40 Question or so application test and was rejected. yes English is my native tongue, Yes I have an MBA, yes I can physically do the job, I do not have a criminal record, I am a US citizen... yada yada yada.. yet I failed.. I had to laugh that they rely on this fill in the dot exam to screen people in and out.. These people at the TSA are complete 100% morons. It starts at the top with Minnetta and works its way down to the Joe (I speak ten diff languages but English is not one of them) Screener... or in this case Air Marshall.. Its scary when the terrorists as a whole are probably smarter than the TSA
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by TrojanHorse: I decided to go online and see what was so difficult about applying. I took the 40 Question or so application test and was rejected. yes English is my native tongue, Yes I have an MBA, yes I can physically do the job, I do not have a criminal record, I am a US citizen... yada yada yada.. yet I failed.. </font> |
I have an intelligent but out-of-work friend who PASSED the test a few weeks ago, but has yet to be contacted by the TSA. I guess they're not REALLY in any hurry.
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Boy, was I wrong! I thought all the not-so-brights were running *security* at the airports. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...rum/tongue.gif
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