Air marshal program in disarray,
insiders say Dozens of top agents have quit the service
By Blake Morrison
USA TODAY
For years, the government touted federal air marshals as the
best of the best -- an ''elite corps'' of undercover officers
trained to stop hijackings on commercial flights.
But today, after rushing to hire thousands of new marshals, the
program is so beset with problems that sources say at least 80
marshals have quit, and other marshals say they are considering a
class-action lawsuit over working conditions that they fear put
travelers at risk.
Documents obtained by USA TODAY and interviews with more than a
dozen current and former marshals from around the nation suggest
many have grown disillusioned with a program that one says has
become ''like security-guard training for the mall.''
Hiring standards for marshals added since Sept. 11 have been
lowered dramatically, sources say. No longer must applicants pass
a difficult marksmanship course that used to be the make-or-break
test for the program. In addition, many new hires were given guns
and badges and put aboard flights before extensive background
checks were completed.
The program has struggled to provide ammunition for shooting
practice at some of its more than 20 regional offices, sources
say. Despite the undercover nature of the work, officials have
implemented a dress code that marshals worry identifies them to
terrorists. And scheduling has been haphazard: Though some
marshals have not flown for weeks at a time, sources say others
are working 12- to 16-hour days and are falling asleep or getting
sick aboard flights.
''This used to be an elite, great group. This used to be the
baddest people you could find -- war heroes,'' says one marshal
who joined the program just after the terrorist attacks. ''Now
they've turned this into a laughingstock.''
At least three incidents involving the conduct of individual
marshals are under investigation by federal authorities.
In one incident last month, a marshal was removed from a flight
in Washington after smelling of alcohol. The head of the air
marshal program confirms at least two cases in which marshals
accidentally discharged their weapons, one in a hotel room in Las
Vegas. And sources say one marshal was suspended after he left his
gun in a lavatory aboard a United Airlines flight from Washington
to Las Vegas in December. A passenger discovered the weapon.
By law, the marshals -- all with top-secret security clearances
-- are not allowed to speak publicly about the program. All
requested anonymity and say they have been told they will be fired
or prosecuted for talking to the news media. Based on a
presidential order first issued in 1979, they cannot form a union,
either. That's why some of the marshals say they're considering
contacting lawyers. They say they're frustrated that managers
ignore their concerns, and they say they have little hope that the
organization will improve.
Officials with the new Transportation Security Administration
(TSA) downplay the concerns. They say any organization that has
grown as quickly as the air marshal division is bound to have some
problems. Although the precise number of marshals is classified,
sources say about 6,000 have been hired since Sept. 11. Before the
terrorist attacks, fewer than 50 marshals flew, and only on
international routes.
Tom Quinn, the head of the program, disputes those figures and
the number of marshals who have resigned. ''I'm not going to share
the number, but it's significantly less'' than 80, he says. The
marshals with complaints, Quinn says, represent ''a small number
of disgruntled individuals who are total amateurs.''
''I'm very pleased with the way the program is going so far.
. . . We've gotten it right,'' he says.
'It's not growing pains'
That's not how some marshals see it. They say they were lured
to the program with promises of promotions and four-day workweeks
to make up for the rigors of travel and days away from their
families. Now, they say they've been misled or lied to, and they
worry that new rules put them and travelers in harm's way.
''A lot of people were drawn to this agency because it was a
fresh agency,'' says one manager involved in the hiring process.
''Now it's spoiled to the point that it's rotten. They tell us to
bear with it, that it's growing pains. It's not growing pains.
It's a disease.''
After Sept. 11, the air marshal program became especially
appealing to hundreds of law enforcement officers who guarded the
nation's borders, monuments and federal buildings. Promises of
better pay enticed many applicants, who left jobs with federal law
enforcement agencies and local police departments.
The typical marshal earns about $52,000 a year, officials say
-- at least $2,000 to $5,000 more than a Border Patrol agent.
''The people I see staying are one of two types: people who
were on the border working in the heat for 60 hours a week, and
the other are local cops who are seeing another $18,000 to $20,000
a year in salary,'' says the marshal who joined the program just
after Sept. 11.
But even some of those marshals have come to regret their
decisions, says the president of the union representing border
patrol agents.
''We've had over 700 people go over there, and we hear from a
fair number of those people -- people who have left (the air
marshals),'' says T.J. Bonner, head of the National Border Patrol
Council. Bonner says the former agents he talks with say ''they
made a mistake'' by becoming air marshals.
'Real issues with morale'
''The folks were lured over and were told they'd be flying
three days a week with a day of training. Now they're flying five
days a week and rarely train,'' Bonner says. ''They never in a
million years thought they'd be taken advantage of the way they're
being taken advantage of.''
Documents obtained by USA TODAY, including e-mails, minutes
from meetings and standard operating procedures for the division,
underscore their complaints. One memo from a June 18
teleconference of regional managers notes ''real issues with
morale in the ranks'' of those applying for leadership positions
in the program.
Among the concerns:
* A marksmanship test that simulates conditions a
marshal might face aboard a jet was eliminated as a means of
qualifying for the program, apparently to get more marshals on
more flights quickly, sources say. A manager and two sources
within the TSA say the difficult shooting course was cut from
qualification tests after a high number of applicants began
failing what had once been the program's critical requirement.
Program officials insist the shooting standards for marshals are
among the highest for law enforcement organizations.
* Regular training opportunities, such as time on the
shooting range, are often precluded by the expanded flight
schedules, marshals say. Even obtaining bullets for shooting
practice has proven difficult.
Quinn denies any office ever has struggled to provide
ammunition to marshals. ''It's never been true,'' he says. But one
memo obtained by USA TODAY documents the problem last March: ''The
question keeps coming up and believe me I feel your pain,'' says
an e-mail to marshals from a manager in one regional office. ''We
are getting bullets shortly. . . . You can shoot on your
own time and buy bullets with your own money however.''
* Although they work undercover, marshals at some
regional offices have been ordered to adhere to a dress code that
requires them to wear ''conservative male or female business
attire'' during most of their trips, documents show. Without
special permission, they cannot dress more casually.
Quinn says working marshals reviewed the dress code before it
was issued, and good marshals ''would clearly understand, respect
and appreciate'' the policy. He says marshals who provided details
of the dress code to USA TODAY ''are putting us all at risk.''
Do dress codes threaten cover?
But marshals say making them look and dress alike is what
threatens their cover. ''This is really dangerous,'' says one
marshal, who left the Justice Department for the air marshal
program five months ago. ''We are so obvious, the terrorists don't
need to bring guns on the planes anymore. They just need to gang
up on us and take our guns.''
* New hires were given badges and guns and put aboard
flights before extensive background checks necessary for national
security clearances were completed. Quinn says that, in order to
hire marshals quickly, the new hires were given waivers while the
more extensive background checks were underway. ''Would I prefer
it another way? Certainly,'' he says.
So would some marshals. ''If someone slips through the cracks,
how do you not know they're not a terrorist?'' says one marshal
who received a waiver. ''You've already put them on a plane.''
* Work schedules are disorganized. Schedules reviewed by
USA TODAY show marshals often fly with different partners each
day, even though they were told during training that developing
rapport with a partner was crucial. Many end up flying more than
10 hours a day. ''It's ridiculous,'' says the marshal from the
Justice Department. ''Guys are complaining about headaches and
vertigo and dizziness. We're falling asleep. We're nodding off.''
And though one memo from a manager's teleconference says the
agency is ''being judged on how many flights we can cover,'' more
than a dozen marshals in each of two offices were not scheduled
for weeks at a time, sources say.
''In May, for 3 weeks, they forgot about me,'' says one marshal.
''And not just me. There had to be 15 guys in the office
they forgot about. We sat in the office watching kung fu
movies.''
The marshal says many colleagues, cynical about the division's
failure to offer them training, jokingly considered the Bruce Lee
movies ''our close-quarters training.'' When the marshals
repeatedly called the scheduling center in Atlantic City to try to
get on flights, schedulers said, ''Don't worry about it. You're
getting paid,'' the marshal recalls.
Charge 'totally erroneous'
Quinn denies the marshal's account. ''Totally erroneous,'' he
says. ''There was no office with federal air marshals sitting
there watching kung fu movies for a month.''
Other marshals say they routinely work more than 50 hours a
week but, because of a government pay structure for law
enforcement officers, never earn overtime.
Instead, based on a policy called ''law enforcement
availability pay,'' they are paid for 50 hours of straight time
each week even if they work more than that. Quinn says schedulers
take into consideration whether marshals have worked long weeks
and try to schedule them for less time in subsequent weeks.
But one manager says if marshals report more than 50 hours,
time sheets are changed to reflect only the 50 hours. ''I do it on
a weekly basis,'' the manager says. ''I'm having to white 'em
out.''
When he speaks with marshals at regional offices, Quinn says he
stresses two points: ''Professionals embrace change. Amateurs
cling to the past and what somebody may have said to them along
the way.''
But for some marshals, what they were told when they applied
affected their decision to join the program.
In an Aug. 1 letter of resignation obtained by USA TODAY, one
former marshal wrote of frustrations stemming from ''the lies that
were fed to myself, and most of my colleagues.'' The letter
details concerns about scheduling, pay and promotions. The marshal
who wrote it would not comment on the letter, but he accepted a
position outside the division ''because I can trust the people and
organization that I will be working for,'' he wrote.
The new job, he wrote, pays ''$11,000 less'' than his air
marshal salary.
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