Federal Air Marshals: Bureaucratic Nonsense
Michelle Malkin has the latest paper-pusher’s trash from the Federal Air Marshals Service. From the Washington Times:
Flight reports by the Federal Air Marshal Service show that federal agents were on less than 10 percent of the nation’s flights in December, a number several air marshals say was inflated to make it appear to Congress that commercial air travel is better protected than it is.
“The numbers reported to headquarters come back higher than originally reported and are sometimes upwards of double the number of what is actually flown,” an air marshal said. “Everyone knows they are padding the numbers.”
She’s been exposing the inadequacies–or more to the point, mismanagement–of the FAMS for some time now. Back in December, she wrote about the idiotic dress code policy (”Shoot Me First” dress code) that FMS Director Thomas Quinn has put in place, and I followed that up by writing to Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL).
Finally, after the expected Beltway bureaucratic paper shuffling, I received a response from the Department of Homeland Security last week–and yes, it was a total waste of paper:
Feb 17 2005
Dear Ms. Cleaver:
Thank you for your letter to Senator Richard Shelby regarding the dress code for the Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS), a component of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, within the Department of Homeland Security. Senator Shelby has asked that I respond to you directly.
Please advise Ms. Cleaver, the Federal Air Marshals are trained to be “quiet professionals.” As such, Federal Air Marshal teams are instructed to dress appropriately for their environment. The FAMS “dress code” policy strives to find a balance of conveying a professional image while simultaneously “blending in.” Within the general guidelines of business attire, the policy allows for individual flexibility consistent with generally accepted standards of appropriate dress for business travelers.
In reference to Ms. Cleaver’s concerns on the identification of Federal Air Marshals on flights, FAMS appreciates the traveling public’s consciousness of the possibility of having Federal Air Marshals aboard the aircraft. This awareness provides a sense of security to the general public and may act as a deterrent to those seeking to cause harm.
I appreciate your interest in the Department of Homeland Security.
Sincerely,
Pamela J. Turner
Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairscc: Senator Richard Shelby
My next question: why didn’t they just save time and send me an email telling me “thanks for asking, but we don’t care to address the issue”?
What exactly are “generally accepted STANDARDS of appropriate dress for business travelers”? Are they trying to tell us that if you’re a business traveler, you’re expected to wear a suit? No polo/khaki/”nice jeans” type of dress? That’s what I usually see.
Useless lip service.
Do these bureaucrats just completely not care about what’s going on outside their desks?
Anonymous says:
Some of them don’t care what’s going on outside their pants, much less their desk.
Anonymous says:
OK I fly a lot. As a commercial airline pilot. So I know everytime these guys are on board my plane. The dress code is really a non issue. There are other things that can reveal that they are onboard but it’s not the dress code. Despite what people are saying, there is still a sizable group of people that wear nice clothes when they fly.