Originally published February 16 2006
TSA sends air marshals into train stations and mass transit facilities
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The Transportation Security Administration is expanding its counterterrorism efforts beyond airports, as it has begun testing air marshals in a variety of mass transit settings.
Federal air marshals are expanding their work beyond airplanes, launching counterterror surveillance at train stations and other mass transit facilities in a three-day test program.
As of Wednesday, the Transportation Security Administration said, teams of undercover air marshals and uniformed law enforcement officers were descending on bus stations, ferries and transit systems across the country to protect them from potential terrorists.
"We just want to develop the capability to enhance security outside of aviation," said air marshal spokesman David Adams.
Air marshals stepped outside of their usual role of flying undercover on airliners after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans.
The so-called "Visible Intermodal Protection and Response" teams _ or VIPER teams _ will patrol Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and Los Angeles rail lines; ferries in Washington state; bus stations in Houston; and mass transit systems in Atlanta, Philadelphia, Washington and Baltimore.
The teams will consist of two air marshals, one TSA bomb-sniffing- canine team, one or two transportation security inspectors and a local law enforcement officer.
American Airlines pilot Denis Breslin, spokesman for the airline's pilots' union, said air marshals ought to stick to airplanes.
Rather, the TSA is trying to expand the role of air marshals, who have been eager to conduct surveillance activities beyond the aircraft, and tighten security at public transit stations over the holiday.
"TSA expects to find new ways to quickly deploy resources, in the event of an actual threat, that adds complexity to security measures outside of the aviation domain," the agency said in a statement.
The service has been shunted among different agencies since then, starting out at the Federal Aviation Administration, moving to the TSA, then to Immigration and Custom Enforcement and, recently, back to the TSA.
Though the exact number of air marshals is classified, pilots estimate that they cover only a small percentage of flights.
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