WASHINGTON – As they settled into first class on American Airlines Flight 1438 from Chicago to Miami, they were supposed to be the last line of defense against terrorists – two highly trained U.S. air marshals who would sit unnoticed among the ordinary travelers but spring into action at the first sign of trouble.
Imagine their chagrin when a fellow passenger coming down the aisle suddenly boomed out, “Oh, I see we have air marshals on board!”
The incident, detailed in an intelligence brief, is an example of something that happens all too often, marshals say. The element of surprise may be crucial to their mission, but it turns out they’re “as easy to identify as a uniformed police officer,” the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association said in a complaint to Congress.
The problem is not security leaks. It’s the clothes.
In an era when “dressing down” is the traveler’s creed, air marshals must show up in jackets and ties, hair cut short, bodies buffed, shoes shined.
But the marshals say they stand out like shampooed show dogs among the pound pups.
And the tip-off provided by their appearance is magnified by a set of boarding procedures that make them conspicuous. They must show a special ID at the ticket counter and again at the gate.
Because they’re armed, the marshals can’t go through the initial security screening with the rest of the passengers. The marshals often must go through the “exit” lanes – marching against the flow of arriving passengers, at times in full view of travelers.
“They lose the advantage” of being undercover, said John Amat, a spokesman for the marshals within the federal law officers group.
Officials with the Federal Air Marshal Service, however, defended their sartorial standards.
“Professional demeanor, attire and attitude gain respect,” spokesman David Adams said. “If a guy pulls out a gun and he’s got a tattoo on his arm and (is wearing) shorts, I’m going to question whether he’s a law-enforcement officer.”
As for the boarding procedures, Adams said, the agency is working to address the problems. Air marshals “are not undercover like Serpico,” he added, referring to the legendary New York City detective. “The director refers to them as ‘discreet.’ “
The air marshal service has grown from about 30 officers at the time of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to several thousand today, operating under a $600 million annual budget.
With the expansion has come an infusion of federal law-enforcement culture. The director of the air marshals, Thomas Quinn, who took over in January 2002, spent 20 years with the Secret Service.
“Secret Service people are notoriously known for being snappy dressers,” said Capt. Steve Luckey, security chairman for the Air Line Pilots Association.
And it was after Quinn took over, marshals said, that the strict rules on dress and grooming were instituted, including a ban on beards, long hair and jeans.
But today’s airliner is a come-as-you-are environment. Even “if you go in first class, you see the whole gamut,” Luckey said, from people in cut-off jeans to those in suit and tie. “I think you can go overboard with the professionalism. … The mission dictates flexibility and some relaxed dress standards.”
Many marshals interviewed – who requested anonymity because they are not allowed to talk to the media – agree.
What makes them uneasy is the prospect of being spotted by terrorists and disabled or killed before they can react.
“This is what I foresee,” said one marshal, a two-year veteran. “Two of us get on the plane and we’ve been under surveillance the whole time. There’s a minimum of four bad guys. … My partner goes to the bathroom and they come after me with a sharp pen, stab me in the neck or in the brain and take my weapon,” he continued. “When my partner comes out, they shoot him. Then they’ve got 80 rounds of ammunition and two weapons.”
Adams called such a scenario “highly unlikely.”
Yet a congressional General Accounting Office study of a two-year period from 2001 to 2003 found an average of about one case a week in which marshals reported their cover was blown.
The passenger on American Flight 1438 told the marshals “he picked them out because of their attire and the fact that they were on board before the other passengers,” an agency report on the Nov. 15, 2003, incident said. The report did not say whether the government took action against the man, although others who have outed air marshals have been prosecuted.
One marshal with previous military and law-enforcement experience said that “a bad guy on a plane can quickly narrow the pool of potential marshals. They’re not wearing jeans, they’re not wearing cargo pants. … There will not be an air marshal who is unshaven. You eliminate the unknown element.”
The marshals have petitioned Congress for help in changing the rules. Several lawmakers are following up on the complaints. Among them is Sen. Herbert Kohl, D-Wis., who talked with Quinn about the boarding procedures. And Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., has asked the General Accounting Office to take another in-depth look at the agency. DeFazio is the ranking Democrat on the House aviation subcommittee.
Changes would largely be a matter of administrative action, but congressional pressure could force the issue.
In the meantime, some air marshals have found ways to adapt. The marshal with military experience said he deliberately acts as the more visible member of his team. He walks down the jet way before the passengers. If someone stares at him, he stares back. By becoming the focus of attention, he figures he’s helping protect his partner’s anonymity.
“If they come after me first, he might be able to save my bacon,” the marshal. “At least one guy may be able to do something to defend the aircraft.”
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