Air Marshal Mysteries
Hey Sky Mama,
Ok, so I have some questions about air marshals. How do you become an air marshal, and how many air marshals are there, anyway? What kind of training do you have to do to be an air marshal? My uncle is a police officer in a small city and I’d like to be in law enforcement, too, but a little different than what he does and I always liked planes.
Thanks,
Just Wondered
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Well, my wondering buddy,
How many air marshals there may be is a closely guarded secret, but those in the know estimate that it’s something less than 4000. How many there are on a given flight varies depending on whether there’s any intelligence indicating a potential problem or is simply based on the locations in question. Some flights will almost never see an air marshal and some flights will nearly always have one. Or two. Or three. The officials issuing assignments won’t give out any more information than that in an effort to keep the bad guys guessing.
How do you become an air marshal? Well, firstly, you have to know what it is you’re applying to do. The TSA lists the job description as follows:
“As a Federal Air Marshal, you will detect, deter, and defeat hostile acts against U.S. air carriers, passengers, and crews. You will be an armed Federal law enforcement officer, deployed on passenger flights worldwide to protect airline passengers and crew against the risk of criminal and terrorist violence. You will perform investigative work and participate in multi-agency task forces and in land-based investigative assignments to proactively fight terrorism. As a Federal Air Marshal, you will promote public confidence in the safety of the nation’s aviation system as a “quiet professional” in the skies.”
And how, pray tell, do you put yourself in line for such a gig? In order to be eligible, you must be a US citizen under the age of 40 who can successfully pass a background check. You can apply here. If accepted, there will be two phases to your training. The first phase consists of law enforcement classes, training in behaviorial observation, and classes in marksmanship. Air marshals are said to have the highest firearms qualifications standards among the federal agencies. In the second phase, you hone those skills through scenario based training and work your way through various exams and proficiency tests to make sure you’re up to par in both knowledge and skill. When you’ve met all the requirements, you’ll be assigned to one of 21 field offices where your work will begin in earnest.
Sound about right to you? All right, then. Behave yourself so the background check doesn’t cause a problem, and fill out that application, already! Good luck,
Mom
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