No cost changes refused by Federal Air Marshal Service Director Thomas Quinn.

The Federal Air Marshal Association announced today the failure of the Federal Air Marshal Service to correct deficiencies. At issue are five deficiencies that have been brought to the attention of the Federal Air Marshal Service and Homeland Security, yet Director Thomas Quinn has refused to make these changes. They have gone unchanged due to bureaucratic mismanagement and ignorance, according to Bob Flamm, Executive Director of the Federal Air Marshal Association.

October 5, 2004 - The Federal Air Marshal Association announced today the failure of the Federal Air Marshal Service to correct deficiencies. At issue are five deficiencies that have been brought to the attention of the Federal Air Marshal Service and Homeland Security, yet Director Thomas Quinn has refused to make these changes. They have gone unchanged due to bureaucratic mismanagement and ignorance, according to Bob Flamm, Executive Director of the Federal Air Marshal Association.

The issues include using the proper ammunition for use on aircraft, the carriage of firearms by other law enforcement officers, boarding procedures for Federal Air Marshals, a recent hotel policy, and a dress code that is out of step with the Marshal's mission.

Presently, the ammunition issued to Federal Air Marshals has only been field tested for use in routine law enforcement environs, not the specialized environment of a pressurized aircraft with critical life support systems and thin aircraft skins. The question of the ammunition's velocity and potential power to over penetrate creates a safety concern. A simple solution would be to use a slower velocity bullet, which is less likely to over penetrate the intended target. The switch in ammunition would not cost the government anything to change.

The requirement that all Law Enforcement Officers who fly armed should be required to follow the regulations of the Federal Air Marshal Service, therefore requiring the officers to keep their weapons on their person and accessible. Currently, Law Enforcement Officers flying armed merely comply with a pre-9-11 regulation that permits the officer to store his firearm in a carryon bag under their seats. The antiquated regulation also permits the officer to sleep while in the air. The Federal Air Marshal Service can also change this pre-9-11 FAA regulation without any cost to the government.

Additionally, the boarding procedures of the Air Marshals should be the same with every commercial flight. The change would require that the Marshals be permitted to board the aircraft in private, thus not revealing their identity to the passengers. Presently, some airlines are more lax than others and create a serious situation for the undercover officers. This is another change that is at no cost to the government.

Recently, the Federal Air Marshal Service has had local Agents in Charge of field offices make special, noncompetitive contractual arrangements for FAMs to use specific lodging. In a handful of instances, the lodging is at deeper discounts than the rate set by the General Services Administration. The GSA is the only authorized agency to set government perdiem rates for all government agencies and employees. The Director of the Federal Air Marshal Service has mandated that his undercover Marshals identify themselves as such to uncleared hotel staff when checking in. This action not only endangers the Marshals but also violates an official legal opinion drafted by the Office of Government Ethics in 1999 regarding the acceptance of gratuities or special preference not available to all government employees. In essence, the Director of the Federal Air Marshal Service, Tom Quinn, is ordering his personnel to violate government ethics rules under threat of termination. Changing this policy to comply with existing regulations and ethics rules would not cost anything more than what is now budgeted.

Finally, an issue that has had a tremendous amount of attention is the Marshal's dress code. Although the spokesman for Director Quinn has insisted repeatedly that there is no formal dress code, even after unknown parties leaked the official dress code policy to the media, the dress code mimics those of the Secret Service. This arcane dress code is not realistic nor in step with the travel patterns and habits of todays air traveler. Hundreds of complaints by airline employees have been fielded by the Marshals regarding the ridiculous dress code, in spite of Quinn's denials that his undercover Marshals standout, leaving them vulnerable on flights.

Each of these issues can be resolved at little or no cost within a realistic post-9/11 environment.

The fundamental reason these issues have not been effectively addressed is directly attributable to Director Quinn's intractable pre-9/11 management style and mindset.

These critical issues, as well as others, must be effectively and immediately addressed to ensure the safety of our nation's commercial aviation infrastructure.

Contact: John McNeil
310-339-7049

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