Federal Air Marshals

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Over the years the men and women that risk their lives by boarding planes under a false identity to protect us have been called many things. The names range from simple, “Sky Marshal” to more complicated “Civil Aviation Security Liaison Officers.” No matter what they have been called through the years one thing has always stayed the same. The United States Federal Air Marshals have always been a group of our finest law enforcement officers that give up the luxury traditional police work to sit next to crying babies and old talkative ladies all day. They do this with one goal in mind, to keep the airways safe for private citizens to enjoy the luxury of travel. “The history of the air marshals is closely rooted with the history of hijackings and bombings targeting commercial aircraft. Some of the bombings and hijackings throughout history had more of an impact than others on Federal Air Marshal tactics, manpower and security procedures. These events and the responses of those in civil aviation and the US government are essential to understand the need for air marshals as a last line of defense.” (Biles, 2013) With the rise of crime in the aviation sector the US government has gone to the Federal Air Marshals more times than not for protection of its citizens. It has not always been easy for them and they have not had the best funding around but as you will see throughout this paper, The US Federal Air Marshals have always answered when called upon. The beginning of the FAM program can be attributed to one singular event. On May 1st 1961 an event would take place that would change the way the US would approach aviation security forever. “The flight for National Airlines was prepared for departure from Miami International Airport t... ... middle of paper ... ...s destruction. We must look to the future and imagine what we can do to stop these crimes from happening. One thing is for sure; with a strong number of Federal Air Marshals in service it becomes much more difficult to commit one of these crimes. Works Cited Biles, C. W. (2013). The United States Federal Air Marshal Service: a historical perspective, 1962-2012 : "fifty years of service". New York: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Grabell, M. (2008, November 13). Donate. Top Stories RSS. Retrieved February 26, 2014, from http://www.propublica.org/article/history-of-the-federal-air-marshal-service Kennedy, J. (1961, August 10). President Kennedy's News Conferences. - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum. Retrieved February 27, 2014, from http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/Press-Conferences/News-Conference-15.aspx

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