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Federal Air Marshals

Thoughts on the Federal Air Marshals

  • Negative View

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I think they're their own agency

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I think they're an office of the US Marshals

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I think they're an office of DHS

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    23

Zyphlin

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Due to some conversation recently I'm interested to see what people's perceptions are about the Federal Air Marshals. Answer the above poll and feel free to post your thoughts. I'm curious to see the results.
 
It's very good for US security but i wonder 1 thing.

It is so neccesary to expand the security with so many many departments ?
 
I think they are a good thing, and they are part of TSA(but I had to cheat to know that).
 
I have a fairly neutral view of them. I also don't really know what agency they report to. I guess I've never really given them any thought.
 
I voted a positive view because they are a passive enforcer except in extreme circumstances. However, after 9/11, there are 50 to 300 self deputized air marshals on every flight, so I wonder how necessary they really are.
 
They're a good thing in the service they do.

I actually knew a Air Marshal (Or their version of) in the IDF.

I think it's sad they're necessary.

Flying use to have a certain romanticism to it. I remember as a kid we were all excited about flying! We would pick carefully what we would wear on the plane and the possibility of going to the cockpit (which was still allowed in those days and which we got to do a few times).

Now of course get ready to strip down naked, have you and your kids fondled and you better not get upset on the flight or you'll get ****ing tazered by the air marshal cause your coffee was cold :lol:
 
Thanks all.

The reason I was asking is it seems that the FAMS have a significantly different public perception and view than TSA as a whole (Which Redress is correct, they're technically an office of the TSA). However, often when the FAM Service is engaging in an activity it gets reported or presented by TSA because TSA is focused on presenting a unified face for its various offices. Due to this a lot of things that are FAM focused things seem to get a lot worse press than if TSA would simply push it as FAMS, not TSA, since people see one as a Law Enforcement agency (even though they're not an agency) and one they don't.

Take what's recently been in the news..."VIPR" programs. The VIPR program is presented, correctly, as a TSA program. However, its one that is primarily directed and led by the Air Marshals and are the primary people staffing it. The VIPR program was pushed so as to take the experienced federal law enforcement agents that the FAMS have for planes and expand their range out to other sectors of transportation that TSA was given the charge to oversee. Prior to VIPR Air Marshals were on planes and planes alone. VIPR teams now give a ground based position of FAMS at some airports and at other transportation depots as intelligence and local authorites require. It also provides the FAMS with a vehicle in which to engage in joint Federal Law Enforcement operations by having dedicated ground based teams to assist.

The FAMS are essentially the law enforcement branch of TSA, and due to TSA's charge of security of the nations transportation system their general responsability isn't just planes but other modes of transportaiton. It just takes some time to get to the point where both can be done effictively, with the VIPR program being a portion of that.

However, the VIPR program is so often then not simply presented as a "TSA" endevour, giving people the image of screeners and such conducting law enforcement type activity...something that people know the don't and shouldn't have. And TSA's PR seems far more focused on pointing at the tiny percentage of the VIPR program that utilizes screens for auxillary things rather than the primary law enforcement focus and FAM involvement. As such, recently there's been a huge PR backlash against the thing and its been a frustration of me due to the reaction.

While not many voted, it seems to be that my thinking is correct...that FAMs are looked at differently, if not entirely seperately, from the TSA and that presentation of law enforcement activities by TSA as "TSA" and not "FAMS" likely is hurting the issue.
 
I voted a positive view because they are a passive enforcer except in extreme circumstances. However, after 9/11, there are 50 to 300 self deputized air marshals on every flight, so I wonder how necessary they really are.

I want the guy with the gun in his pocket.
 
my view of them is generally positive. however, i'd like to see the multiple security agencies consolidated somewhat.
 
I want the guy with the gun in his pocket.

....struggling......must.....not......turn......into......sexual......innuendo.........




what caliber would you prefer? :mrgreen:
 
....struggling......must.....not......turn......into......sexual......innuendo.........




what caliber would you prefer? :mrgreen:
Hell, I thought Maggie INTENDED it as a sexual innuendo.
 
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