Nervous Flyer News

[peteryoung]

Time Online asks "Air Marshals Or Cowboys?"

There was something a bit rich about Washington ordering other countries to place armed guards on certain flights entering the US, as Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge did on Dec. 29. After all, the country making the rules still does not inspect the vast majority of its cargo or all of its checked baggage at its airports, standard procedures in some countries. And America's several thousand armed air marshals have figured in 600 reports of misconduct from October 2001 to July 2003. Last year a marshal was fired for drawing his gun on a man who had stolen his airport parking spot.

Also for reassurance, try "A marshal was suspended two years ago after he left his gun in a lavatory on a United flight from Washington to Las Vegas, a USA Today investigation revealed. A passenger discovered the weapon."

I don't for a second believe that the level of competence of any British marshals would be any different.

Comments

[missfairchild.livejournal.com]

[trembles]

[peteyoung.livejournal.com]

[hugs]

[lostcarpark.livejournal.com]

Ireland is considering using armed Gardaí and Army Rnagers for flights which require air marshalling:

Irish flights are, at the time of writing, unaffected, but the Government is under pressure from Washington to quickly install armed marshals aboard Aer Lingus flights should security concerns arise. Although Army rangers and some gardaí have trained in armed intervention in ground-hostage situations, they have little or no airborne training simply because existing Irish policy has been to combat terrorism before, not after take-off.

Not sure whether I should be more or less concerned.

[yonmei.livejournal.com]

Had you heard about this (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/01/14/international1424EST0658.DTL)?

[supergee.livejournal.com]

When middle fingers are banned, only outlaws will have middle fingers.

[hnpcc]

I thought it was pretty funny myself. And hey, he's only been fined, not imprisoned, so that's OK then.

*snerk*

[nolley.livejournal.com]

"I don't for a second believe that the level of competence of any British marshals would be any different."

Almost certainly correct as there is not so much experience or knowledge of firearms over here as in other countries and as such the level of safety is not so great. I could quote examples that I've had in my job ('what has a BT engineer got to do with guns' I hear you ask? -Ask me in a pub!) and the way that I've seen the Police at Heathrow/Gatwick handle their Heckler & Koch MP5's scares me.

[dyfferent.livejournal.com]

I'm picturing the US Marshals like Barney Fife, and as a result am forced to picture the potential British ones as Mr Bean.