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%.

FMI: www.ice.gov. www.tsa.gov