US plans to use elite Delta Force commandos on flights

...after making sure that when they carry on an aircraft that they have specialized ammo, that WILL not punch through the aircrafts skin.

I had a gun like that when I was a kid: it went ''poomp!'' and shot ping-pong balls.

Calling another Ranger for you.

This is another silly "feel good" solution...
(one that moves further along the lines of restricting the rights of American citizens,
the sort of solution that politicians like and that we DON'T need).
As pointed out, Delta force would be completely wasted on something like this even if there WERE that many of them.
As I just posted on another thread:

It is virtually impossible to prevent something like this by trying to disarm all passengers.
As has been pointed out, 4-5 guys with sharp PENCILS, with some training, planning and coordination,
would have an excellent chance to pull this off against an unsuspecting -and unarmed- group of passengers and crew.
Prevention ahead of time would have the better chance...a job for intellegence rather than security.
Pre-planning would work well too...such as a locked flight deck and armed crew.

Best of all is to acknowledge that we cannot PREVENT the attempts, but we CAN prevent SUCCESS of the attempt.
Simple example:
You could give each passenger a mini-bat as they get on the plane so that passengers, crew, and terrorists are all EQUALLY armed.
Any group of terrists (or simple nut cases) are going to be seriously outnumbered and nobody is going to be "outgunned".
Problem solved!

No way. US law does not permit it, there are not nearly enough of them, and they will be needed in operations against Osama Bin Laden and others soon.

ditto. All the Way!! A-1/75 1980-82

Check your Freep Mail.

This is inaccurate information, even if it came from the media and official government release. Delta Force is not cut out, nor specialized for babysitting domestically. It is a waste of their training to utilize them in this fashion. Delta Force wouldn't be utilized for such a purpose. In all reality, they'll be working alongside the Nightstalkers in the Sahara or the Hindu Kush Mountains, or somewhere from Algeria to Afghanistan, to hunt down terrorists camps and outposts that our intel has spotted on satellite or bomber recon. I wouldn't be surprised if there being utilized now, covertly, at known terrorists outposts, under the cover of darkness... The USDOT Secretary shouldn't hold his breath- what he will get for security is stateside police, the best he could hope in military assistance is the national guard or the coast guard. (Incidentally, the Nightstalkers are the air transport arm, which inserts DF inserts and extracts DF during misssions.)

If you want air marshals, recruit and train air marshals. This is right there with Bill O'Reilly wanting combat troops checking ID's on the Mexican border. Both are stupid ideas. Combat troops should be training for combat. Border guards should be protecting borders. If you want more border guards, hire them and train them. You're right- Bill O'Reilly- always has some smartass, creative babysitting job for the military to do. All of these idiots with paternalistic state-side plans for the military need to take a hike.

We had some trouble getting Orlando International re-opened today. Following is the article regarding the bomb scare and it includes some of the new security restrictions that are implemented. Our world has changed irrevocably.

NewsChannel2000 - Flights Resume At Orlando International Airport

But passengers expecting to depart on flights Thursday had to evacuate the terminal shortly after noon when a bomb-sniffing dog noticed a suspicious package. Officials have not said what was inside the package.

Getting the nation's air system running again won't be easy, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said.

The flights that departed from Orlando may be among the very few Thursday, and those which do fly will be subject to new, instense scrutiny.

Passengers arriving at Orlando International Airport are being directed to satellite parking lots. The garages alongside the passenger terminal are too close to the airport, FAA officials have determined.

The blue satellite lot will be filled first, followed by the gold lot. Passengers on domestic flights should arrive at the airport two hours before departure. International passengers should arrive three hours before flights.

The FAA said that flights will resume, on a case-by-case basis only after more stringent levels of security have been implemented, Mineta said.

A phased-in approach is expected to assure the highest levels of safety.

As flights are allowed to resume they may have to carry along armed sky marshals.

Paul Buck has been a TWA baggage handler for 34 years. He told WESH NewsChannel 2 that he has never seen security this tight.

"(They have) dogs and everything – (They are) sniffing, checking all the trash cans, really going over the area, looking for anything," Buck said.

As of Wednesday evening, the Federal Aviation Administration extended its ban on flying until Thursday, with one exception:

The only people who were being allowed to fly Wednesday were those who were in the middle of air travel when Tuesday's attacks took place.

The government allowed flights that were diverted after the attacks to finish their journeys on Wednesday, but only after the airports took the required security measures.

Airlines were also allowed to move empty planes. Check airline Web sites.

No flights were allowed to leave Orlando International Airport or the Daytona Beach International Airport on Wednesday.

To ensure passenger safety, the FAA has ordered new rules for airports.

Uniformed security personnel at airports.
A ban on curbside check-ins and on off-airport check-ins.
Visitors no longer will be allowed to pass through security checkpoints to pick up passengers at the gate.
Random identification checks of passengers.
Identification checks of employees and vendors.
Matching all luggage to passengers, meaning that a bag cannot be carried onboard an airplane unless the passenger is onboard as well.
Increased use of hand-held metal detectors for passengers, and searches of carry-on luggage.
Searches of all airplanes before passengers board, including cabins and cargo holds.
Increased use of bomb-sniffing dogs or explosive detection machines for checked baggage.
Reduced access to runways and other secure areas of airports.
Knives and other cutting tools, including plastic ones, are prohibited. Previously, knives smaller than four inches long, such as Swiss Army knives, were allowed on board.

The restrictions against knives include plastic knives used at fast food restaurants and concessions.

Orlando airport bosses, however, would not comment on the rule or talk about how it would be enforced.