[Unisaw]

Tom Ridge announced yesterday that the air marshall program will be transferred out of TSA into Customs and Immigration. Supposedly, this will allow officers who are currently within Customs and Immigration to serve as air marshalls when needed. Ever since TSA was created, I have heard reports of unhappiness among the air marshalls. I have also read that TSA proposed cutting funding of the air marshall program in order to cover its budgetary problems. Could this be an attempt to get new leadership for the air marshall program? Does anyone have the skinny on this?

[Henry Bowman]

Heard the same general announcement. No more details.

If I were an air marshall, I'd rather be in (under) Customs than TSA. But, jurisdictionally, how exactly does Customs and Border Protection have authority over domestic flights? I guess it falls under the broader Dept of Homeland Security. Still, I am just paraniod enough to not like all this mixing in the name of "security" (often at the price of freedom).

[C.R.Sam]

From the inside...
Mission assignment of nearly all in Treasury is in a state of flux due to the Homeland Security "stuff".

Sam

[tyme]

Didn't you get the memo? Jurisdiction doesn't matter anymore. We have FBI agents in Afghanistan, Iraq, and $deity knows where else. And if the CIA doesn't operate domestically, I'm Bill Clinton and I'm not a a liar. I'm not sure whether those 100-mile-inland drug checkpoints are staffed with DEA or Customs, but they're fishy either way. And let's not forget the NSA - whose acronym is not No Spying on Americans.

The new paradigm is... If it sounds like a good idea and if the people won't revolt, go for it!