Why?
Aero-News Analysis By Kevin R.C. "Hognose" O'Brien
Aero-News has obtained an
internal email by Bureau of Immigrations and Custom Enforcement
boss, Assistant Secretary Michael Garcia, to all hands. This email,
which covers the impact of the DHS reorganization announced
Wednesday by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, has more
details of one story that impacts the aviation world: the coming
chop of the Federal Air Marshals Service from ICE back to TSA.
In a related matter, the article on DHS Reorganization missed a
significant change in subordination for TSA -- the headquarters it
formerly reported to, the Border and Transportation Security
Directorate, is going away, and the new organization chart shows
the TSA reporting directly to the Secretary.
[T]he Secretary's review found that the mission of the Federal
Air Marshal Service and the Transportation Security Administration
(TSA) are closely aligned in the commercial aviation domain. Based
on these mission similarities, it was determined that operational
efficiencies would be enhanced if the FAMS were incorporated into
TSA.
As a result, the Secretary's plan calls for the FAMS to transfer
to TSA. While this change will not be formalized for several
months, the transition will begin immediately. By the beginning of
the next Fiscal Year, the FAMS will be reporting directly to
the leadership of TSA.
We will work closely with the FAMS during this period to ensure
a smooth and orderly transition. As we move forward in this
venture, I personally want to thank the men and women of the FAMS
for their outstanding service to the nation during their tenure at
ICE. I know the FAMS will continue this tradition of exemplary
service at TSA.
What Does It Say... and Mean?
First, the higher-ups of the FAMS,
presumably including embattled director Thomas D. Quinn, will be
reporting to TSA by "the beginning of the next Fiscal Year," at
date known to all Federal employees: October 1. Quinn, a Secret
Service retiree, has been raked over the coals by columnists and
bloggers for stuffing the higher levels of FAMS with his Secret
Service cronies, and irrationally enforcing the Secret Service "Men
in Black" dress code on the Air Marshals, who have had the
unwelcome experience of being thanked by members of the public on
flights with destinations like Orlando, where the Air Marshals' new
dress code makes them stand out among holidaymakers in shorts.
Quinn has even been accused (by columnist Michelle Malkin) of
prowling gates for casually dressed Air Marshals to discipline.
(The Marshals are grateful for the appreciation of the public, but
they need anonymity to do their work effectively).
Of course, the Secret Service benefits from having many of its
people be visible to the public. Secret Service presence has
probably deterred many would-be assassins over the years. But the
mechanics of deterrence are different, dealing with suicidal,
trained terrorists as compared to the crackpots who threaten
Presidents and other political leaders. The concern is that if Air
Marshals can be identified, they can be targeted and neutralized by
the terrorists at the outset of any attack. (Imagine the other way
around... would Osama order his people to wear shalwar kameez and
turban onto the plane?).
The most likely reason for returning the Air Marshals to TSA is
the one Garcia states: after looking at the missions, DHS realized
that it had been dumb to move the Air Marshals in the first
place.
One other, possibly secondary,
reason this may have been done, is to try to justify TSA's
top-heavy structure. TSA, which has over 800 (837, TSA spokesman
Mark O. Hatfield Jr., admits) apparatchiks drawing six-figure
salaries, has been catching hell in Congress and the press over its
profligate spending. According to Congressional criticism reported
in USA Today this week, TSA has bulked up by almost 1,000 managers
in the last two years alone. Giving them something real to manage
may finally create the appearance of work for some of the excess
managers. The head of the House Aviation Subcommittee, Rep. John
Mica (R-PA), last week excoriated the TSA, writing to DHS Secretary
Michael Chertoff of "poorly defined responsibilities" among
the TSA executives, many of whose jobs are, says Mica, "a
tremendous waste." Before the FAMS move was announced, Mica wanted
to cut the TSA's $280 million budget by almost 13%.