How Does a Federal Air Marshal Spend a Workday?
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Undercover Law Enforcement Agent
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A federal air marshal, formerly known as a sky marshal, is an undercover law enforcement officer who is highly trained to respond to terrorist threats or other criminal activity on board U.S. domestic and foreign flights. These government agents are on call 24 hours, as they can be deployed anywhere in the world with less than an hour's notice. Trained to detect and deal with hostile situations targeting U.S. airports, aircraft, passengers, and crew, a federal air marshal is often required to operate without backup. For this reason, it is crucial for an agent to maintain a low profile in an effort to blend in with the other passengers on the flight.
On the Job
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Protecting anonymity is essential for a federal air marshal to do his or her job effectively. It also prevents agents from becoming easy targets for hijackers. One problem that officers face, though, is that they are required to walk through security checkpoint exit lanes, and are one of the first passengers to board the plane. Marshals may wear whatever clothing they choose so that they do not stand out as government agents. Agents must be extremely physically fit. Since they can find themselves in potentially high-risk situations, agents are authorized to carry firearms, and must be competent marksmen in the event that a critical situation arises. In such a case, the objective would be to put the other passengers and crewmembers in the least danger. Although required to use minimum force whenever possible, if a situation escalates to the point where people's lives are threatened, agents are trained to shoot to stop, usually firing first at the chest and then at the head of a suspect.
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Qualifications
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Federal air marshals are required to maintain firearms certification. Applicants in training for the program must be younger than 37 years of age, are required to complete a basic law enforcement course, must be a U.S. citizen, and must pass extensive psychological screening. At least three years of previous law enforcement experience is required. Although an air marshal's primary role is to protect passengers and crew, he must be able to provide emergency medical assistance if needed. Agents receive their assignments from one of the 21 field offices nationwide. Federal air marshals fly 181 days each year, which is an average of 15 days each month. That means that agents spend approximately 900 hours each year aboard an aircraft. In response to world events in recent years, the Federal Air Marshal program has been restructured, and now plays a significant role in Homeland Security, cooperating with numerous other law enforcement agencies to accomplish this goal.
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if you are marine security forrces or an mp do you still need the 3 years law enforcement or will those jobs in the marines do?
