Flight Deck Officer Program

[Titan]

Wow ... this flew under my radar ... heard about it from my NRA membership ...

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/mar/17/guns-on-a-plane-obama-secretly-ends-program-that-l/

Now President Obama is quietly ending the federal firearms program, risking public safety on airlines in the name of an anti-gun ideology.

The Obama administration this past week diverted some $2 million from the pilot training program to hire more supervisory staff, who will engage in field inspections of pilots.

 

[EX_CV580FR8Dawg]

Gotta love Barry.... This DB and his cronies are no good for anyone... it's not about being a democrat or a conservative. it's about being sane or insane. Give it time!

 

[JakeSnake]

TSA Reconfirms Commitment to FFDO ProgramMarch 17, 2009In stark contrast to an op-ed article in today’s edition (March 17, 2009) of the Washington Times, that claims “…President Obama is quietly ending the federal firearms program, risking public safety on airlines in the name of an anti-gun ideology,” TSA officials reassured ALPA they are committed to the FFDO program and have plans for its expansion. TSA’s leadership immediately contacted ALPA and requested a meeting to discuss this news report. ALPA representatives met with TSA executives this afternoon and were told that TSA embraces the FFDO program, that there are no plans to reduce or restrict its growth, and that the agency fully intends to grow and expand the program.
Government representatives acknowledged that the program needs additional funding to achieve these goals, and that they are actively pursuing sources of additional funding. These funds will be used to enhance the program’s management structure and oversight, which if implemented, will address an ALPA Board of Directors security priority.
TSA is currently training hundreds of pilots each year and plans to continue to train at least that number or more into the future. The size of the FFDO cadre has grown so large that additional resources are needed to provide greater structure and oversight to this important program, which TSA referred to today as “an important layer of defense.”
“ALPA is very pleased that the TSA was so proactive in communicating its concerns to the Association and we are likewise pleased that we are able to report this good news to the membership,” said ALPA President, Capt. John Prater. “ALPA values its relationship with the TSA, and it is obvious from the way the agency handled this event that the feeling is mutual.”

 

[spitfire1500]

TSA Reconfirms Commitment to FFDO ProgramMarch 17, 2009In stark contrast to an op-ed article in today’s edition (March 17, 2009) of the Washington Times, that claims “…President Obama is quietly ending the federal firearms program, risking public safety on airlines in the name of an anti-gun ideology,” TSA officials reassured ALPA they are committed to the FFDO program and have plans for its expansion. TSA’s leadership immediately contacted ALPA and requested a meeting to discuss this news report. ALPA representatives met with TSA executives this afternoon and were told that TSA embraces the FFDO program, that there are no plans to reduce or restrict its growth, and that the agency fully intends to grow and expand the program.
Government representatives acknowledged that the program needs additional funding to achieve these goals, and that they are actively pursuing sources of additional funding. These funds will be used to enhance the program’s management structure and oversight, which if implemented, will address an ALPA Board of Directors security priority.
TSA is currently training hundreds of pilots each year and plans to continue to train at least that number or more into the future. The size of the FFDO cadre has grown so large that additional resources are needed to provide greater structure and oversight to this important program, which TSA referred to today as “an important layer of defense.”
“ALPA is very pleased that the TSA was so proactive in communicating its concerns to the Association and we are likewise pleased that we are able to report this good news to the membership,” said ALPA President, Capt. John Prater. “ALPA values its relationship with the TSA, and it is obvious from the way the agency handled this event that the feeling is mutual.”

This states what TSA's opinion is and what they are planning. Sure all gov't offices plan until the budget gets cut. Not a word confirming or denying what Obama and Co. are planning.

 

[Muppets]

Trust me...there are enough of these douchbags out there to supply "public safety" for the next 25 years.

 

[JakeSnake]

This states what TSA's opinion is and what they are planning. Sure all gov't offices plan until the budget gets cut. Not a word confirming or denying what Obama and Co. are planning.

Cutting $2 million.......how big is the FFDO budget?

 

[jws717]

delete

 

[HighSpeedClimb]

Cutting $2 million.......how big is the FFDO budget?

$25 million

 

[JakeSnake]

Wow ... this flew under my radar ... heard about it from my NRA membership ...

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/mar/17/guns-on-a-plane-obama-secretly-ends-program-that-l/

Now President Obama is quietly ending the federal firearms program, risking public safety on airlines in the name of an anti-gun ideology.

The Obama administration this past week diverted some $2 million from the pilot training program to hire more supervisory staff, who will engage in field inspections of pilots.

Gun program for pilots set for expansion, officials insist

Backers take exception to inaccurate editorial

Audrey Hudson THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Tuesday, March 24, 2009


The Obama administration has no plans to end a program that trains commercial airline pilots to carry guns and thwart terrorist attacks, and in fact is seeking to expand resources for oversight and training, government officials and pilots organizations say.
"We're looking for new resources and more money to bring in for next year. The benefits of the program are obvious. The pilots are an intrinsic part of our whole aviation-security strategy and one of our layers of security," said Robert Bray, director of the Federal Air Marshal Service, which oversees the program.
The Federal Flight Deck Officers (FFDO) program was created after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and has since trained 12,000 pilots on how to carry weapons and defend their aircraft against an attack. Among the planned expansions, Mr. Bray said, is the construction of a new center in Dallas, where armed pilots can receive recurring training.
Mr. Bray and the pilots groups disputed a March 17 editorial in The Washington Times entitled "Guns on a plane: Obama secretly ends program that let pilots carry guns," which suggested that recent discussions about spending some of the program's money for supervisory jobs amounted to killing the program.
"That is completely false," said Capt. John Prater, president of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the largest pilots union in the U.S. and Canada, with 53,000 members.
After the editorial appeared, Capt. Prater said, his group called a meeting with Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials and were reassured the new administration supports the program.
"We're not seeing anything other than cooperation, and certainly the fact that as soon as this opinion piece came out, ALPA and TSA met immediately, and from what we've determined, there is no truth to the fears that were put forth in that opinion piece," Capt. Prater said.

The Times' editorial pages recently were brought under new management and operate separately from the newsroom. Editorial writers produce content that is not reported or overseen by newsroom employees.
"The Editorial Department has been in transition these last few weeks. We're aware of the error and are investigating what happened so we can learn from the mistake and not repeat it," Associate Publisher Richard Amberg Jr. said.
Homeland Security officials and pilots say that the program has proven to be an important security layer and that they are interested in making the program more efficient.
"We look forward to working with the Obama administration to improve the management and funding of the program to make it what Congress originally intended it would be," said David Mackett, president of the Airline Pilots Security Alliance, an organization that lobbies Congress on behalf of the program.
The editorial cited information from pilots it did not name, claiming that the approval process for letting pilots carry guns on planes has "slowed significantly" and that the "approval process has stalled out."
Mr. Mackett said the approval process did slow last fall during the final days of the Bush administration, but it was before the election and possibly a result of dwindling funds at the end of the 2008 fiscal year.
The editorial also said the Obama administration recently "diverted some $2 million from the pilot-training program to hire more supervisory staff, who will engage in field inspections of pilots."
However, pilots are supervised by the airlines, not Homeland Security, and Mr. Bray added that no funds were diverted; rather, he said, additional money is being sought to manage gun-training programs.


Will the NRA forward this article to its members like it did the editorial?

 

[Daytonaflyer]

Oh my lord, a Republican believed lies printed in an biased editorial from a conservative "newspaper" and posted it on FI.com; I don't believe it. Republicans never lie and they are always so reluctant to share their fears and opinions with the rest of the world. How is this possible? I mean getting a Republican to share his opinion with the rest of the world is damn near impossible, please speak up more often for the benefit of everyone.

And even though the TSA and the FFDO program itself has decried the Washington Times article, I'm sure there will be some Republican who will come on here claiming the Dems or the Libs are conspiring against them. Yes, Republicans, you are correct...it's a huge friggin' conspiracy, give us all your guns before we hire the gestapo and send them to your homes.