Health Issues Have Sidelined Over 2,000

The day-to-day rigors of sitting for hours onboard commercial airline flights may be taking a disturbing toll on those in the Federal Air Marshal Service, where the size of the force has been cut in half by on-the-job injuries.

A report by the Washington Times says such injuries have pulled nearly 2,100 marshals from service -- and worse, bureaucratic bickering may be keeping them from receiving health and safety benefits.

Marshals are complaining in droves of illness related to flying such as barotrauma, decompression sickness causing ruptured eardrums and severe sinus conditions. Physicians say they also suffer from deep vein thrombosis, or DVT, an illness attributed to sitting for long periods.

The Times obtained a copy of a memo from the Charlotte, NC field office saying it was missing mission because marshals were calling in sick or were grounded by physicians.

"Five percent nationwide are affected by sinus and ear problems daily. These groundings all have a commonality of being directly related to our current flight schedules," said the memo -- which also cited 17 documented cases of barotrauma in its office alone. "Our health is being eroded at an alarming rate."

Marshals have seen their schedules increase from three legs per day in 2005, to four legs per day now... this because of fewer available marshals and higher demand for flight coverage. A normal schedule sees a marshal flying five days in a row, followed by two days off.

The US Labor Department says 2,450 marshals have applied for Worker's Compensation between October 1, 2003 through September 14, 2006. The Times cites several cases of marshals fired after illnesses or injuries caused on the job meant a medical grounding.

In the case of Jimmie Bacco, he was fired while undergoing brain surgery at the Mayo clinic. Doctors say he had cerebral spinal fluid leaking from his ear, an injury related to flying. He says was fired because he'll no longer be able to perform his job -- and his disability claim for $80,000 to pay the Mayo clinic has been denied.

"The amount of guys terminated because of this is enormous," said Bacco. "Some are demoted and given administrative positions at half their pay, others are terminated."

Last year the Federal Air Marshal Service budget for worker's compensation went $3 million over its $3 million budget. This year's $6 million budget is already $1 million short.

The Times reports Conan Bruce, spokesman for the air marshal service, did not return several calls for comment.

FMI: http://ntl.bts.gov/faq/airmarshal.html