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Revision as of 04:36, 27 November 2005 by OldRight (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Federal Air Marshal Service is a U.S. federal agency. It was founded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to combat the rash of hijackings occurring during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The original air marshals were United States Marshals and later were specially trained FAA personnel. Their mission was to safeguard flights against aircraft hijacking ("skyjacking") and all other forms of crimes.
Under the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the air marshals were transferred to the Department of Homeland Security. It is currently a division of the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Background
The Federal Air Marshal Program actually started as the Sky Marshal Program. In 1961 President John F. Kennedy started the first Sky Marshall program as a deterrent to the increasing number of hijackings in and around Cuba. From 1958 to 1969 77% of all hijackings were aircraft heading to Cuba or leaving Cuba. The new Sky Marshal program served as an effective deterrent against hijacking. Between 1962 and 1969 only a few hijackings occurred. The size of the Federal Air Marshall Service went from just 33 agents to several thousand after the attacks of 9/11.
Training
The Federal Air Marshal goes through a two phase training program. The first phase of the program is a 7-week basic law training course. This training is complete at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, NM. It is tailored to the role that the Federal Air Marshals will be performing while on the job. Some of the specific areas covered in this training include; constitutional law, basic marksmanship, physical fitness, defensive tactics, emergency medical, and basic law enforcement investigative techniques.
The second phase trains the candidates for tasks that they will be expected to carry out in the field. This training places an emphasis on perfecting the marksmanship skills of the candidates. The Federal Air Marshals are notorious for having some of the best marksmen in law enforcement. Candidates that complete this training will be assigned to one of 21 field offices where they will begin to fly missions.
Equipment
The Federal Air Marshals are given powerful handguns with specially designed rounds that will not pierce the skin of the aircraft. This way if the marshal must resort to using his sidearm he will not depressurize the cabin. The Marshals are also required to conform to strict dress code. They must have a conservative hair cut and shaved face. They must wear a suit and tie with dress shoes. This has been a point of controversy between the Marshals and the Federal Air Marshal Administrators. The Marshals claim that these dress codes make them targets for any possible hijackers and make them stand out as possible government agents.