The issues of air marshals on public airplanes became a hot topic after the terrorist attacks of 09/011/01. Yet most people don’t know that the Sky Marshal program has been in place since 1975. This was done because of the high risk of United States airplanes being hijacked by Cubans. President Ronald Reagan added additional air marshals during his Presidency in 1985 as well. He felt the number of air marshals in the air was not sufficient.

Air marshals are high ranking and highly trained government officers. They board airplanes under the pretense of being just another passenger on the aircraft. While air marshals aren’t found of every airplane, they are certainly aboard high risk travel routes. The information as to who is an air marshal on any plane is kept classified even from the crew of the plane. This is to keep terrorists from finding out which planes have an air marshal on them.

Air marshals generally carry firearms, even onto the aircraft. They have the ability and the right to use force and their weapon if necessary to keep those on the airplane safe. They have to be ready to go on an assignment at any given time so their work schedule is very sporadic. They also have to be observant of what is going on around them without raising any suspicions about themselves.

After the terrorist attacks of 09/11/01 the Federal Air Marshall Program was taken over by the Transportation Security Administration. The screening process for air marshals was also tightened. A very complete background check has to be completed for each air marshal. They also have to be under 40 years of age, a United States Citizen, pass an intense psychological profile, pass a physical fitness test, have a background in public safety or security, and complete a detailed training program.