Older Marshals Say No

If you ran a law enforcement agency... would you take the greenest of recruits and put him undercover? That question comes from at least one federal air marshal, who says the TSA is recruiting people with NO law enforcement experience to protect commercial passenger flights from would-be hijackers.

The Federal Times reports veteran air marshals are worried that the quality and experience of recruits who apply after reading want-ads in newspapers and on websites isn't comparable to what it was just after 9/11. Older marshals say that is when the agency had its pick of applicants with lots of prior law enforcement experience.

Especially troubling to some of these older air marshals was an internal job posting inviting TSA employees with no previous police experience to apply

"TSA/FAMS is just looking for as many warm bodies as they can find to hurriedly fill in the hemorrhaging losses we are currently experiencing," one marshal wrote in an e-mail to Federal Times after the internal job announcement went online at USAjobs.com. "It almost seems like they are quitting every week now. The only FAMs that are going to be left are former screeners and admin personnel... with guns on planes... and zero former law enforcement experience. God help us all."

FAMS spokesman David Adams says the air marshal program isn't seeing a staggering attrition rate, citing a rate of about 6.5 percent. The total number of air marshals is classified, although most estimates put the total at about 3,000.

So what does it take to be an air marshal? According to one of the more recent job postings, you have to meet the minimum requirements for physical ability and education; have three years experience doing just about any kind of work; or have a bachelor's degree. Notice that no mention of previous law enforcement experience is made; in fact, it's not required.

"When you’re a police officer on the street, you have a field training officer showing you the ropes every day," said one marshal. "You learn to react and to deal with different situations. Air marshals get thrown in the mix right when they get on the plane."

The TSA maintains all its marshals are qualified, upon completion of two seven-week training courses. Adams adds that so far, five TSA employees have taken advantage of the program.

FMI: www.tsa.gov, www.USAjobs.com