"Right now we cannot protect the public," says Frank Terreri, an active duty air marshal who represents a group of 1,500 air marshals. "And not because we're not proficient, not that we're not capable, it's because federal air marshal management, along with the Department of Homeland Security, won't let us do our jobs."

KendleFox is angry in the third person...

http://freeinternetpress.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=6926

"Right now we cannot protect the public," says Frank Terreri, an active duty air marshal who represents a group of 1,500 air marshals. "And not because we're not proficient, not that we're not capable, it's because federal air marshal management, along with the Department of Homeland Security, won't let us do our jobs."

KendleFox is angry in the third person...

http://freeinternetpress.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=6926

This is one source and it sounds like one with an axe to grind, IMO, so I'll take it with some salt.

That said, the Air Marshalls are one of the things we can do that go a long way towards actually providing security (not the illusion of it) *without* sacrificing our Constitutional rights and liberties (things like this are what I was talking about in the other thread) so let's hope any problems are addressed and corrected quickly.

worry to much about his accusations.

Remember, airline security has changed dramatically since 9/11. I'm not just talking about the fact that you have to remove your shoes, or be a "selectee" for further screening.

There are many layers of protection that the general public doesn't know about.

Odds are today when you board a US commercial airliner, at least one of the pilots is armed. They'll never admit it, and you'll never know, but they are.

The air marshall program is just one "ring" of several interlocking rings of security that cover flights these days.

Weird news source you have....

BTW- I just flew out of Germany the other day and we had flatware (stainless steel) knives and forks to cut throught the rubbery chicken... not more plastic on Lufthansa. Woo Hoo!

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/05/19/air.marshal/

http://washingtontimes.com/national/20060519-110253-9207r.htm

They did an article about this on 20/20 last night. An air marshall came forward and said how silly their regulations were, and that they actually endangered the public by being so obvious, that a terrorist could use his weapon against the passengers. Complained about the dress code making them stand out, walking through the exit at security in plain view of the rest of the passengers, making them check in at the counter prior to boarding, and making them board with the crew further hilighting themselves. All of this in plain clothes so it looks very out of place. I too agree he sounded like someone with an axe to grind.

They did an article about this on 20/20 last night. An air marshall came forward and said how silly their regulations were, and that they actually endangered the public by being so obvious, that a terrorist could use his weapon against the passengers. Complained about the dress code making them stand out, walking through the exit at security in plain view of the rest of the passengers, making them check in at the counter prior to boarding, and making them board with the crew further hilighting themselves. All of this in plain clothes so it looks very out of place. I too agree he sounded like someone with an axe to grind.

I spend a lot of time on planes. (I'm a "million-miler" on American.) The complaints you list above are valid. As a top-tier frequent flyer who often gets upgrades, I'm usually in the first half-dozen people on the plane. When you get on first, but find that there are already two athletic-build, fed-looking guys with short hair, sportcoats, etc. already sitting on the plane, it's not exactly a secret that they're air marshalls. It's a stupid way to run security.

I always felt like DHS was a pretty typical federal program - something that probably wouldn't improve much, and had a good chance of actually making things worse, but that would give politicians from both parties a chance to look like they were "taking action." It seems pretty much that way.