Posted on 08/09/2004 12:11:25 PM PDT by E Rocc
2 Air Marshals Removed From Cleveland Flight
Air Marshals Worry They're Too Easily Noticed
POSTED: 8:53 am EDT August 9, 2004
CLEVELAND -- Some federal air marshals complain that rigid dress codes and grooming rules have made them easy to spot.
"It's a joke," one air marshal, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Plain Dealer.
For months, marshals have been trying to get the dress code rules relaxed because they say their formal dress makes them stick out, not blend in.
"You can't go out on Southwest Airlines on a weekend in a business suit," said John Amat, a spokesman for the Federal Law Enforcement Officer Association. "It just doesn't cut it."
Amat and air marshals say if the casual traveler can spot an air marshal, so could a potential terrorist. The biggest fear among some air marshals is that terrorists will specifically target them and use their weapons to hijack a plane.
Federal officials vigorously defend the dress code and say the complaining marshals are exaggerating the issue.
"They're going to look like any other passenger, but they need to be dressed professionally. The suggestion that air marshals are easily spotted because of their attire is simply not true," said David Adams, a spokesman for the service.
The issue took on renewed urgency last month, when two marshals were removed from a Southwest Airlines flight leaving Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, after a supervisor saw them improperly dressed. Their sport coats were not visible, the newspaper reported, citing law enforcement sources familiar with the incident.
The marshals were not replaced on the flight, the sources said.
Amat said this matter was the first publicly known incident in which agents were removed from a flight for violating the dress code. The association represents about 1,300 air marshals.
Air marshals told The Plain Dealer they used to be encouraged to grow beards and dress casually to blend in with airport crowds.
The current policy was put in place in 2002 by the Federal Air Marshal Service, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security. It says air marshals should wear "conservative" business attire such as sport coats and slacks. Grooming rules dictate the length of sideburns and the trim of an agent's hair and mustache.
Amat said boarding procedures that require marshals to check in with ticket agents also make them easy to spot.
"The bottom line is no one should know who these guys are," Amat said.
Ehhh, nuts.
You may be right.
Your screen name notwithstanding, the depressurization scene in Goldfinger was fiction.
It was also inaccurate.
Modern airliners can lose as many as four windows and keep flying relatively normally.
OK, you can gripe about it or you can help. Travel in a business suit and be part of the solution.
Can a country with a govt. this stupid survive?
I'm with #43 - if everyone else started dressing UP, perhaps this might be much more helpful - I know that suits are uncomfortable, but not as much as being dead from a terrorist attack! Make it "an adventure in clothing statements" "BE ALL DRESSED UP AS YOU CAN BE" (new FR slogan as opposed to the old military slogan)
OK, substitute a crowded aircraft.
It's safe for Air Marshals to fire on aircraft because they use those Glock 9mm pea-shooters, not a massively powerful handgun like my Walther PPK (snicker)...
"Even I have a hard time believing that our massive, bloated bureaucracy could be this stupid."
Really? Come on... It's easier to believe that, then believe they might be smart enough to put out disinformation.
"OK, you can gripe about it or you can help. Travel in a business suit and be part of the solution."
No thanks. Give me a gun so I can defend myself and I'll think about it, but making myself a target because some idiot in the Air Marshals service likes suits is a stupid idea.
No. "Human Shield" is always a dumb career move.
I don't care if the air marshals board the plane in hawaiian shirts and flip flops, as long as they're packing.
Does that mean Michael Moore was correct when he said flight 93 went down because white guys wouldn't fight? (He went on to say that blak people would have beaten up the skinny hijackers).
"Federal officials vigorously defend the dress code and say the complaining marshals are exaggerating the issue."
Once again..stupidity is the rule not the exception in our government. Just how do these idiots get elevated to positions where they can make decisions affecting public safety. We are doomed with the current lot in the Federal Government. The status quo has to be replaced.
To Federal Officials: The marshall's are right!!!
BTTT
Americans have a constitutional RIGHT to dress badly. Everyone knows that.
IMO, there is no excuse for showing up for a flight looking (and smelling) like you just took a break from cleaning out the garage or mowing the lawn. Once a few years ago while waiting to check in for a five hour flight, the fellow in front of me was informed "Sir, you can't fly in First Class dressed like that." The man, who looked to be in his mid thirties, was wearing what appeared to be his high school football practice jersey, one of those see-through mesh affairs with large numbers on it, baggy, knee length basketball shorts and rubber slippers, topped off with an adjustable mesh back baseball cap, then proceeded to explain how important he was (Vice president of some company or other)and how he was entitled to dress however he pleased. "Not in the First Class cabin sir." Bravo! I say. unforthunately, I don't believe they still enforce that policy.
Requiring business suits may be going overboard but there should be some limits. Personally, I prefer to travel (And I travel a lot. On the order of 50K to 100K miles per year) dressed in slacks or chinos, sport shirt and sport coat. I wear the jacket because You never know what the weather will be like at your destination and you never know when your flight to Honolulu will be grounded in Chicago for 48 hours or more while your luggage goes on ahead. I have learned from experience that I get more cooperation, and far better service when I am well dressed than when I wear jeans and sneakers.
Does that mean Michael Moore was correct when he said flight 93 went down because white guys wouldn't fight?
Not going to bother explaining the difference between "fighting back" and "offering to be killed to demonstrate political conviction" to you.
Anonymous sources throughout this whole story. It just doesn't ring true.... it rings like someone trying to make this administration and it's security attempts look silly. And, unfortunately many here are all too eager to jump on the bandwagon. I am not buying the dress code story until someone on the record reports it.
I made it work...didn't I? Petronski was the skinny guy.
At least I was able to take the latex appliances off....
Petronski couldn't....that's why he's always cranky.
OK, you can gripe about it or you can help. Travel in a business suit and be part of the solution.Naw, in the increasingly rare case that I need a business suit during business travel (I'm in manufacturing), I'll keep it in the trunk and drive wearing something more suitable. >:)
-Eric
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