Our government needs to get their act together, Bush's changes since 911 have all but ruined our air marshall program here in the US...Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! "For years, the government touted federal air marshals as the best of the best -- an ''elite corps'' of undercover officers trained to stop hijackings on commercial flights. But today, after rushing to hire thousands of new marshals, the program is so beset with problems that sources say at least 80 marshals have quit, and other marshals say they are considering a class-action lawsuit over working conditions that they fear put travelers at risk. Documents obtained by USA TODAY and interviews with more than a dozen current and former marshals from around the nation suggest many have grown disillusioned with a program that one says has become ''like security-guard training for the mall.'' Hiring standards for marshals added since Sept. 11 have been lowered dramatically, sources say. No longer must applicants pass a difficult marksmanship course that used to be the make-or-break test for the program. In addition, many new hires were given guns and badges and put aboard flights before extensive background checks were completed. The program has struggled to provide ammunition for shooting practice at some of its more than 20 regional offices, sources say. Despite the undercover nature of the work, officials have implemented a dress code that marshals worry identifies them to terrorists. And scheduling has been haphazard: Though some marshals have not flown for weeks at a time, sources say others are working 12- to 16-hour days and are falling asleep or getting sick aboard flights. ''This used to be an elite, great group. This used to be the baddest people you could find -- war heroes,'' says one marshal who joined the program just after the terrorist attacks. ''Now they've turned this into a laughingstock.'' At least three incidents involving the conduct of individual marshals are under investigation by federal authorities. In one incident last month, a marshal was removed from a flight in Washington after smelling of alcohol. The head of the air marshal program confirms at least two cases in which marshals accidentally discharged their weapons, one in a hotel room in Las Vegas. And sources say one marshal was suspended after he left his gun in a lavatory aboard a United Airlines flight from Washington to Las Vegas in December. A passenger discovered the weapon. By law, the marshals -- all with top-secret security clearances -- are not allowed to speak publicly about the program. All requested anonymity and say they have been told they will be fired or prosecuted for talking to the news media. Based on a presidential order first issued in 1979, they cannot form a union, either. That's why some of the marshals say they're considering contacting lawyers. They say they're frustrated that managers ignore their concerns, and they say they have little hope that the organization will improve. Officials with the new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) downplay the concerns. They say any organization that has grown as quickly as the air marshal division is bound to have some problems. Although the precise number of marshals is classified, sources say about 6,000 have been hired since Sept. 11. Before the terrorist attacks, fewer than 50 marshals flew, and only on international routes. Tom Quinn, the head of the program, disputes those figures and the number of marshals who have resigned. ''I'm not going to share the number, but it's significantly less'' than 80, he says. The marshals with complaints, Quinn says, represent ''a small number of disgruntled individuals who are total amateurs.'' ''I'm very pleased with the way the program is going so far. . . . We've gotten it right,'' he says." http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20020815/4362661s.htm The more things change, the more they stay the same....Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
