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Obama’s Plan To Kill Armed Pilot Program

oldbanger

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The President wants to end the Federal Flight Deck Officer Program (FFDO), also known as the armed pilots program.

http://www.redstate.com/brian_d/2012/02/15/president-obamas-plan-to-kill-armed-pilot-program/

The program trains pilots for one week and arms them with .40-caliber semiautomatic pistols.

To be selected for Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) training by TSA you must:
Be available to attend the FFDO training program in its entirety on your own time and at your own expense within one year from your acceptance in the program (the cost of the training and equipment are covered by TSA and the Federal Air Marshal Service; volunteers are responsible for their own travel, lodging, and daily expenses).
All trainees must participate and successfully pass required bi-annual firearms re-qualification activities on their own time and at their own expense.


Federal Flight Deck Officers Association
 

sudden valley gunner

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The President wants to end the Federal Flight Deck Officer Program (FFDO), also known as the armed pilots program.

http://www.redstate.com/brian_d/2012/02/15/president-obamas-plan-to-kill-armed-pilot-program/

The program trains pilots for one week and arms them with .40-caliber semiautomatic pistols.

To be selected for Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) training by TSA you must:
Be available to attend the FFDO training program in its entirety on your own time and at your own expense within one year from your acceptance in the program (the cost of the training and equipment are covered by TSA and the Federal Air Marshal Service; volunteers are responsible for their own travel, lodging, and daily expenses).
All trainees must participate and successfully pass required bi-annual firearms re-qualification activities on their own time and at their own expense.


Federal Flight Deck Officers Association

So ridiculous, first it's a private enterprise they should choose how to arm or not arm pilots.

And how deluded do you have to be to that you can trust the person with the lives of hundreds of people when he flies a huge metal can miles of the ground, but better not arm him against threats to himself or other passenger?
 

thebigsd

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I agree with SVG.

What is the worst that can happen if a pilot is defending himself against a hijacking attempt and gets killed? The plane gets hijacked, the result is the same as if he had not been armed. If the pilot is armed he has a significantly higher chance of stopping any hijacking attempt. If Obama thinks the pilots are safe enough that they don't need to be armed then he should disband the Air Marshals as well.
 

oldbanger

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Rep. Cravaack – Is a Federal Flight Deck Officer the last line of defense for our travelling public?

Sec. Napolitano – I think the armed cockpit door actually is.[sic]

When further asked if it was Sec. Napolitano’s intention to phase out armed pilots, the Secretary said “I think as the budget request shows, it is our intention to reduce it. Yes.”
The Secretary admitted that they want to reduce it and wind down the program.

video
 

Dreamer

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The real reason they don't want armed pilots is that they are afraid a pilot might shoot one of their false-flag perpetrating employees...
 

Citizen

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SNIP The program trains pilots for one week and arms them with .40-caliber semiautomatic pistols.

To be selected for Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) training by TSA you must:
Be available to attend the FFDO training program in its entirety on your own time and at your own expense within one year from your acceptance in the program (the cost of the training and equipment are covered by TSA and the Federal Air Marshal Service; volunteers are responsible for their own travel, lodging, and daily expenses).
All trainees must participate and successfully pass required bi-annual firearms re-qualification activities on their own time and at their own expense.


Federal Flight Deck Officers Association


Meanwhile, the fedgov is spending millions militarizing our local police with military surplus.

I wonder how many pilots could be trained and refresher-ed for the cost of one armored vehicle to a little town in New Hampshire?

http://www.theagitator.com/2012/02/12/thunderstruck/

http://keene-equinox.com/2012/02/bearcat-causes-uproar/
 
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sudden valley gunner

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Meanwhile, the fedgov is spending millions militarizing our local police with military surplus.

I wonder how many pilots could be trained and refresher-ed for the cost of one armored vehicle to a little town in New Hampshire?

http://www.theagitator.com/2012/02/12/thunderstruck/

http://keene-equinox.com/2012/02/bearcat-causes-uproar/

I know of one pilot who is willing to pay for his own training and his own weapons. So I am going to assume others would be too, it's just more government rationalization.
 
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PrayingForWar

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The Real World.
So ridiculous, first it's a private enterprise they should choose how to arm or not arm pilots.

And how deluded do you have to be to that you can trust the person with the lives of hundreds of people when he flies a huge metal can miles of the ground, but better not arm him against threats to himself or other passenger?

Dude, we're talking about OBAMA here. It would take the sort of math that has mostly letters and symbols to figure out just how vast the depth of that fascist pig's delusions are.
 

since9

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If the pilot is armed he has a significantly higher chance of stopping any hijacking attempt.

Bingo! That's not only the whole point of the program, it's also one of the principle reasons reason all USAF aircrew are armed in combat. It's NOT (only) because we might be shot down. It's mainly to defend U.S. territory. All U.S. Military vessels, both sea and air, are considered sovereign U.S. Territory, same as our embassies. Marines protect our embassies. We aircrew protected our aircraft against unlawful boarders.

If Obama thinks the pilots are safe enough that they don't need to be armed then he should disband the Air Marshals as well.

To be fair, Napolitano was asking for a small cut to the FDDO budget, not its elimination. She asked for a small cut to the Air Marshals budget, too:

Total Budget: $59 Billion
Discretionary Budget: $49 Billion

Federal Air Marshals Service ......................................................................-$36.5M (0 FTE)
The request includes a reduction of $36.5 million relative to FY 2012. It reflects efficiencies
and program changes that leverage other aviation security system enhancements, allowing for
more efficient mission deployments focused on high-risk flights.

o Federal Flight Deck Officer and Flight Crew Training.............................-$12.6M (0 FTE)
TSA’s request includes a reduction of $12.6 million for the Federal Flight Deck Officer and
Flight Crew Training program. As TSA focuses its aviation security activities on programs
that mitigate the highest amount of risk at the lowest cost, TSA has prioritized funding in the
same manner. Funds will be redirected from this voluntary program to other high-priority,
risk-based operational initiatives. Since 2001, many enhancements to aviation security have
been made, such as 100 percent screening of all passengers and their carry-on items, the
installation of reinforced and locking cockpit doors on aircraft that operate in U.S. airspace,
and increased passenger and flight crew awareness to address security risks. Combined,
these improvements have greatly lowered the risk of unauthorized cockpit access and
represent a comprehensive and redundant risk mitigation strategy that begins before
passengers board the aircraft. The program reductions will be accomplished through a
variety of actions intended to focus on volunteers providing the highest potential security
benefit, gaining efficiencies in training facility consolidation and training contract
restructuring.

Source: DHS FY 2013 Budget in Brief, page 110. I'd attach it, but this "brief" budget is 196 pages long and so riddled with 24-bit hi-res graphics that the file is 17.5 MB, nearly twice the size of my first hard drive!

Now I know where the money's going: To graphic designers and others who'll make the department look good while helping them build their empire. :banghead:
 

since9

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The real reason they don't want armed pilots is that they are afraid a pilot might shoot one of their false-flag perpetrating employees...

Every airline pilot is already armed. Look what happened to the World Trade Center towers.

Oh, yes, of course, those were the terrorist pilots...

Seriously, though - how much did that cost our nation? And Napolitano wants to reduce funding the ONLY program that directly deters such activity?

I think she looked a little uncomfortable answering questions because the Representative grilling her NAILED IT.
 

ThatOneChick

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Now I know where the money's going: To graphic designers and others who'll make the department look good while helping them build their empire. :banghead:

Maybe they're trying to set it up for another attack then, later, Big Brother will come in with his big open arms and spout off about how "more security is needed", "more funding is needed", "you guys don't need your 2A because the government is here to protect you" rhetoric. Blech. I just made myself sick.
 

Citizen

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Dreamer

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You'll find Dreamer wasn't making up his reference to false-flag employees on an air-liner. We already know the Underwear Bomber was very likely a false-flag:


http://lewrockwell.com/orig13/haskell2.1.1.html

Or, you can read it in the original here (post dated 2/15/12): http://haskellfamily.blogspot.com/


Thank you, kind sir...

But the fact remains that mushrooms like PfW would rather survive on the diet of BS fed to them by the media than see the bright sunshine of facts. Don't confuse him with the truth. Citable references to the truth have become the SURE proof that something is a "conspiracy theory" in the New American Century...
 

Citizen

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Thank you, kind sir...

You're welcome.

I had actually forgotten about the tan-suit fellow. And, had never really thought through on all the implications. I'm glad I found that post.

You know, I'm starting to see a pattern here.

We've got the FBI arresting, what?, three or five individuals or groups? who the FBI supplied or instigated or entrapped?

Then there is the Underwear Bomber.

Then, we have Fast and Furious, the justification for which is almost facially absurd. The story is they hoped to connect the guns to drug cartels. Yet, they had no way to track them after they crossed the border. Wait a minute. That is something that would come up in early planning. "Umm, great idea, Agent Moe. But, we ain't got no way to track the gun after it crosses the border." It is such a plan stopper; if you can't actually accomplish your plan, there is just no way you would go ahead with it.

Which suggests an alternative question. They did go ahead with the scheme; thus, they clearly expected to accomplish some goal. So, what was the real goal? I'm betting it was to manufacture justification for more restrictions and reporting as suggested in that government e-mail.

We seem to have a pattern here of government facilitating illegality so it can increase its power--more legislation, more restrictions on rights, more government power, bigger budgets. Manufactured justifications.
 
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Sig229

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You're welcome.

I had actually forgotten about the tan-suit fellow. And, had never really thought through on all the implications. I'm glad I found that post.

You know, I'm starting to see a pattern here.

We've got the FBI arresting, what?, three or five individuals or groups? who the FBI supplied or instigated or entrapped?

Then there is the Underwear Bomber.

Then, we have Fast and Furious, the justification for which is almost facially absurd. The story is they hoped to connect the guns to drug cartels. Yet, they had no way to track them after they crossed the border. Wait a minute. That is something that would come up in early planning. "Umm, great idea, Agent Moe. But, we ain't got no way to track the gun after it crosses the border." It is such a plan stopper; if you can't actually accomplish your plan, there is just no way you would go ahead with it.

Which suggests an alternative question. They did go ahead with the scheme; thus, they clearly expected to accomplish some goal. So, what was the real goal? I'm betting it was to manufacture justification for more restrictions and reporting as suggested in that government e-mail.

We seem to have a pattern here of government facilitating illegality so it can increase its power--more legislation, more restrictions on rights, more government power, bigger budgets. Manufactured justifications.


Well said. I think we have reached the point in our nations history where the federal government has secretly set a mandate to disarm, misinform and completely control every aspect of our lives.
All under the guise of "protecting freedom" of course.

R.I.P. Constitution.
 

Dreamer

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We seem to have a pattern here of government facilitating illegality so it can increase its power--more legislation, more restrictions on rights, more government power, bigger budgets. Manufactured justifications.


Gee, where have we seen this sort of modus operandi before in the history of Western governments?

Wonder where this weird idea that the government can commit crimes, then blame them on an imaginary enemy to clamp down on the population came from, in recent history?

My theory is that these ideas were "paperclipped" onto the Constitution in 1945 and have been festering and growing in the halls of government, industry, and academia in the US ever since...
 

sudden valley gunner

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Well said. I think we have reached the point in our nations history where the federal government has secretly set a mandate to disarm, misinform and completely control every aspect of our lives.
All under the guise of "protecting freedom" of course.

R.I.P. Constitution.

Yep every action is policed but somehow we are not a "police state".....:eek:
 

oldbanger

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Messages
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beckofbeyond - Idaho
Back on topic.

Cam Edwards of NRA News interviewed Mike Karn of the Federal Flight Deck Officers Association and Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations on Monday about the budget cuts for the FFDO program.

[video=youtube_share;IdYj8ntYLPM]http://youtu.be/IdYj8ntYLPM[/video]
 
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