A Federal Air Marshal is a law enforcement officer responsible for the safety and security of passenger planes and airports in the United States. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which is part of the US Department of Homeland Security, is where Air Marshals are assigned. The exact number of air marshals employed the United States government is unknown, but it is thought to be in the thousands.
The Federal Air Marshal Service was founded in the early 1960s President John F. Kennedy in response to an increase in the number of hijackings of planes flying between the United States and Cuba. After the much-publicized hijacking of Trans World Airways (TWA) Flight 847 in the Middle East, President Ronald Reagan expanded the Air Marshal Service in the mid-1980s. Following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush expanded the service again, from about 30 air marshals to several thousand, to meet the growing threat of global terrorism to American airlines and airports.
Thousands of air marshals are assigned to airline flights every day across the US. An air marshal is required to fly 15 days per month on average, for a total of 180 days and 900 flight hours per year. Because there are insufficient air marshals to cover every airline flight in the United States, air marshals are assigned to flights that are considered higher risk targets for an attack.
A Federal Air Marshal impersonates a regular airline passenger. Air marshals maintain constant surveillance while on board an aircraft in order to prevent a hostile act before it occurs. When an attack or hijacking occurs, air marshals work to eliminate the threat as quickly as possible.
In an ideal situation, an air marshal would blend in with the other passengers on the plane and remain completely unnoticed. The identity of any air marshals on board an airline flight, on the other hand, is made known to the flight crew. Anonymity is important because it is believed that if a Federal air marshal’s identity is revealed, he or she will become an obvious target in the event of an attack or hijacking. Unfortunately, mistakes, negligence, or faulty policies and procedures have resulted in the identities of air marshals being compromised.
Because of the nature of the job, many Federal Air Marshals have previously served in the military or in law enforcement. They go through a three-month intensive and specialized training program and are widely regarded as having the highest firearm qualifications among law enforcement officers. Contact the United States Department of Homeland Security or the Transportation Security Administration for more information on the Federal Air Marshal Service.