...still in charge of the Federal Air Marshall Service?

Thomas Quinn, director of the Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS), paid a surprise visit to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Thanksgiving to thank the law-enforcement officials for their holiday work. He reportedly was angered when nearly 30 marshals deplaned and only one was dressed satisfactorily.

In response, supervisors are being assigned to airports nationwide to inspect the air cops before and after flights to make sure business suits or sports coats are being worn, according to numerous memos issued last week and obtained by The Washington Times.

I wish we'd had a better choice last month.

Air marshals should be wearing t-shirts, ripped jeans, and leather jackets, or some simlar outfit. Aside from the fact that sport coats and business suits are designed to be physically restraining, they are far to readily identifiable. If they need to identify themselves, they use their badge.

This isn't the first time the air marshal program has ended up in the news. Just to catalogue a few of the stories and claims:

• Air marshals weren't properly disciplined for misconduct.
• They were (in mid 2002) overworked and undertrained.
• Given equipment that didn't work.

I have trouble understanding how Mr. Quinn can remain in a position of such responsibility given the record of his department over the past couple of years and given his apparent inability to comprehend the mission of the FAM despite having run it for at least a couple of years. I grant that some of the problems are probably due to higher ups (eg, Tom Ridge) wanting air marshals in place no matter what their training or condition.

The ongoing problems at FAMS are well documented, and are resulting in much needed people leaving. All of this means that along with the refusal to realistic screening (PC rules), that air safety is compromised (to be polite about it). Quinn and Mineta both need to go.

The possible good news is (reading between the lines) that a low key mutiny may be underway by the marshals.

Fire him, now.
Make it as humiliating and public as possible.
Chickenshit like this must be eradicated, it rots the whole organisation.

This is right out of the Simpsons. Anyone remember Homer's "Federal Witness Protection Program" t-shirt?

Oops - better not give FAMS any ideas. Don't tell them you read this. Shhh.

Alan, from the way they do things no one in upper management at FAMS can read, so you are safe, unless you plan on flying any time soon.