Posted by admin on Apr 13, 2009 in
News Rants,
Travel Rants I applaud the US use of force to rescue the captain of the hijacked Maersk Alabama. Finally, our president did something I approve of.
We cannot and should not negotiate with pirates or terrorists, which in my opinion, are the same thing. We tried peaceful means of rescuing the captain, but the pirates would not have any of it. If they had cooperated, the captain would still be safe and the pirates would be alive. They had a choice and they chose poorly.
Of course, the liberal media is now questioning the wisdom of killing three pirates to rescue an American, saying that it will probably escalate the situation. That will most likely happen, but it should not deter us from protecting American citizens engaged in legal business activities anywhere in the world.
Perhaps we should randomly sequester US Military aboard US-flagged vessels to repel pirates seeking to line their pockets with ransom. Then, they would begin to ask themselves if the next vessel is so armed or not and if it is really worth taking the chance.
Once upon a time, people would see the American flag and know it was unwise to cross us. We need to return to that time. Maybe if we keep up the heat, pirates will see American-flagged vessels as taboo, not to be touched.
Please support the men and women of our military. Once again – Way to Go USN! USA – USA – USA!
Tags: alabama, hijacking, maersk, navy, piracy, pirate, ransom, seals, somalia
Posted by admin on Nov 13, 2008 in
Travel Rants Since 9-11, the number of air marshals has grown from 33 to over 3000 and with good reason. However, a USA Today article casts some doubts as to the hiring practices of this agency.
According to the article, more than three dozen federal air marshals have been charged with crimes. This, believe it or not, is not the part that really concerns me. Any agency is going to have problems with a small percentage of their officers and the air marshals are no exception. The important thing is that they deal with the problems quickly and decisively.
The serious problem is not that a small few are stupid, but that the Federal Air Marshal Service does not seem to do enough to weed problems out before they are hired. They also have lessened their hiring standards to the point where it can create a dangerous situation.
According to USA Today, they dropped the requirement that required new recruits to prove speed and accuracy with firearms in close quarters such as an airplane. They still train, but do not need to prove proficiency
Also, they are hiring those with no law enforcement experience at all. This is a dangerous practice because new officers make more mistakes than their seasoned counterparts. That is dangerous enough on the streets, but it can be deadly at 30,000 feet where a marshall must make a split-second decision whether the person he or she is about to shoot is a passenger or a hijacker.
They have suspended requirements that air marshals pass a written psychological test and an interview with a psychologist or psychiatrist. These practices are standard for the hiring of a patrol officer, so they should much more be demanded by those in charge of our safety in the air. There is no backup at 30,000 feet.
Federal air marshals should be the best of the best, an elite force with more law enforcement experience than anyone else. They need to be decisive, fast and accurate with their weapons, and confident. They need to be of impeccable character and professional. They need to be as close to perfect as humanly possible. I don’t think that is asking too much.
The TSA has answered this article in their blog at www.tsa.gov.
Other TSA blog links:
Trollkiller’s World
Official TSA Blog
Tags: Air, LEO, Marshal, Officer, Safety, Travel, TSA
Posted by admin on Oct 16, 2008 in
Travel Rants We constantly see news reports of new threats and steps that the Transportation Security Administration are supposedly taking to mitigate these risks.
We also see reports where the TSA makes huge mistakes, trying to make their agents immune to security measures, or just plain not doing their job.
Aside from the pain in the rear end of having to take shoes off, I really haven’t had any problems directly with any of the TSOs or checkpoint procedures. The longest I’ve had to wait was in Seattle and that was about 10 minutes. But there are plenty of horror stories out there.
A few interesting blogs I’ve found:
Trollkiller’s World
Official TSA Blog
Tags: Air Travel, Safety, Security, Travel, TSA