Study: Federal Air Marshals often "sleep deprived " " Medicated"

[HCM]

http://www.newsmax.com/t/newsmax/article/670111

A new study shows that a majority of FAMS are sleep deprived and suffering from health issues related to their work schedules, which are described as "physically impossible" . The study also states a majority are often medicated or using alcohol to adjust all of which compromises their ability to respond in an emergency. As might be expected with all this, their suicide rates are also quite high.

I have several coworkers who left our agency for the FAMS after 9/11 and subsequently returned to our agency due to these type of issues. It's a tough job but the FAMS admin makes it much tougher than it has to be. Long story short, unfortunately, the FAMS admin practice the "Apache style "of management - ride the horse till it dies, get it back up right at another 50 miles, then eat it.

[TGS]

Long story short, unfortunately, the FAMS admin practice the "Apache style "of management - ride the horse till it dies, get it back up right at another 50 miles, then eat it.

Makes sense given they hired a bunch of USSS guys to be their supervisors in the post-9/11 buildup.

[Paul]

It's an endemic problem in Law Enforcement, (as well as a significant portion of the military and the Gov and Civ job market). There are piss poor examples of human beings in management positions, that have absolutely no idea about what their employees' job responsibilities are and they treat their employees like crap.

Chances are if you made a FAMS higher up do an agents job, they'd be completely lost and make it about a week.

[voodoo_man]

Yeah its not just FAMS...its all of LE.

When I worked steady 3rd shift I got maybe 4-6 hrs total sleep for two or three days often times when I had court, which was nearly everyday.

When I worked narc my shift wasnt set in stone and I sometimes worked 10s, 8s and upto 16s at random all while being at court 8am mon-fri. Its not shift work, specifically, its LE that has an issue with schedules depriving people from the ability of adequately responding in an emergency. Sure many do regardless but the jobs schedule is one of the worst things there is about it.

[Suvorov]

One of my best friends left the CBP for the FAMS after 911. A lot of promises were made and very few of them ever delivered on. In the end, the schedule and complete lack of competent management drove him back to the CBP. The stories he and his friends would tell me just made my head shake. He had one supervisor that insisted they dress like G-men working CLE-MCO flights on Southwest - because a bunch of midwesterners heading to Orlando always dress in suits and ties....

Anyhow, as a guy who works the other side of the door from them, I really don't know how they do it.

[El Cid]

It's all about leadership and common sense. It's severely lacking in all federal civil service and that void is more detrimental to those in LE organizations.

[K.O.A.M.]

Everyone from my agency (6 or so) who went FAM post 9/11 is back except for one guy who lucked into some kind of middle management position after riding planes for two years. None of the guys who came back have anything positive to say, with the exception that they got to shoot a lot.

[voodoo_man]

It's all about leadership and common sense. It's severely lacking in all federal civil service and that void is more detrimental to those in LE organizations.

Leadership and common sense?

Woah there buddy, might wanna set your expectations a little lower...

[Paul]

It's all about leadership and common sense. It's severely lacking in all federal civil service and that void is more detrimental to those in LE organizations.

What fun would work be if we didn't have the added excitement of stumbling from one foreseeable crisis into another? With leadership and common sense, things run smoothly and 75% of the "supervision and management" becomes irrelevant. There's a real incentive, not necessarily a conspiracy, to keep leadership out of the upper echelons of law enforcement. A lot of the "fixer" types would be exposed for what they really are, obstructionist and incompetent.

Who it's really detrimental to are the people that are supposed to be receiving a service from LE. When the FAMS has had just about zero advertised successes stopping terrorist attacks, and 9/11 happened 14 years ago it's easy to forget why they are there. Instead of being an agency that's expected to protect us from terrorist, they become that agency that no politician is willing to kill off and the agents become marginalized and ineffective. At this point it seems like they're there, so that if something goes wrong, a bunch of politicians can cover their butts and say, "we we're doing something".

[LSP972]

http://www.newsmax.com/t/newsmax/article/670111

A new study shows that a majority of FAMS are sleep deprived and suffering from health issues related to their work schedules, which are described as "physically impossible" . The study also states a majority are often medicated or using alcohol to adjust all of which compromises their ability to respond in an emergency. As might be expected with all this, their suicide rates are also quite high.

I have several coworkers who left our agency for the FAMS after 9/11 and subsequently returned to our agency due to these type of issues. It's a tough job but the FAMS admin makes it much tougher than it has to be. Long story short, unfortunately, the FAMS admin practice the "Apache style "of management - ride the horse till it dies, get it back up right at another 50 miles, then eat it.

Yup. We lost six guys to them in the initial re-vamp right after 9/11. Five were back within 18 months, and the sixth wanted to come back but they wouldn't take him.

Not only are they sleep-deprived, the standards have dropped like a piano for the Sears Tower. Their shooting standards were the highest I've ever heard of; until they could no longer recruit anyone good enough to pass, if you get my drift.

.

[HCM]

Yup. We lost six guys to them in the initial re-vamp right after 9/11. Five were back within 18 months, and the sixth wanted to come back but they wouldn't take him.

Not only are they sleep-deprived, the standards have dropped like a piano for the Sears Tower. Their shooting standards were the highest I've ever heard of; until they could no longer recruit anyone good enough to pass, if you get my drift.

.

I've been to some instuctor classes with FAMS Academy Instructors. The phrase they used was "No FAM left behind".

[LSP972]

I've been to some instuctor classes with FAMS Academy Instructors. The phrase they used was "No FAM left behind".

Yeah. I used the same phrase when I was working for the local S.O. after retiring, and we would run a regional academy for all the smaller agencies.

Except, my phrase was… "No slug left behind."

.

[Hambo]

What fun would work be if we didn't have the added excitement of stumbling from one foreseeable crisis into another? With leadership and common sense, things run smoothly and 75% of the "supervision and management" becomes irrelevant. There's a real incentive, not necessarily a conspiracy, to keep leadership out of the upper echelons of law enforcement. A lot of the "fixer" types would be exposed for what they really are, obstructionist and incompetent.

Management worked pretty hard at self-replication, thereby ensuring leadership from the top was non-existent.

When I read the FAM article I thought it was old news. The fact that their management just figured it out shows what's going on there.

[Jay Cunningham]

Most Americans are sleep-deprived and medicated.

[heyscooter]

When I started at Glynco, I met a guy in my class who had been with them for 7 years. Every morning he would come in and finish off no less than 3 tall boy redbulls within 2 hours. After I asked him about if being a FAM for so long had did him in and he basically told me he would not be able to function without them. I just stared. I mean I've had to grab a redbull every so often when I was working a double or the night shift or something, but man.

[Dagga Boy]

Some jobs are simply like that. When I was working Air Support I was drinking 12 cups of Starbucks a night on top of my normal several cups at home. I was a graveyard/late nights cop for most of my career. Drank stimulants all night (coffee, Rockstar, yohoo). Working EP/VIP protection, same thing. Welcome to these kind I jobs. With my injuries and upper body length (I can easily see over all the seats while seated and my short legs are actually a help in confined spaces), being a FAM would be almost a dream job, except those same things would keep me out of the program.

[Gewehr3]

Most Americans are sleep-deprived and medicated.

Anyone working in medicine are familiar with these work conditions as well.

[entropy]

Dedicated guys. High turn over. New guard not like old guard.

[Gadfly]

I applied for the FAMS, never heard back. I called to check in on my application, and they say my application was cancelled because I never returned their calls. They claim I gave them a phone number that was one number off from my actual phone number... I was pissed at the time, but it was lucky for me. We lost about 10 guys to the FAMS, almost all wanted to come back, but only 3 were allowed back. Management begged some guys not to go. A couple laughed and said no way they were staying. When they came begging to come home, management remembered.

If you ever leave a job, leave with smiles and handshakes. Those that did were welcomed home. The guy who left a huge "F--K THIS PLACE" sign on his cube was not brought back... (Yes one agent left that sign on his monitor after cleaning out his desk.).

All the FAMs I knew left after 3-5 years, and none had good things to say. They did enjoy the shooting and training, but the schedule was brutal and the pay was not as promised.

[Dagga Boy]

The Air Marshals would be a great place for a ton of part timers. Much like many of the folks working courthouses for the US Marshals Service. I think it would provide a lot of relief to the full time guys who could be utilized for truly high threat flights and missions and using contract FAMS for some of the more routine stuff. Having a bunch of retired LEO's who live near major airports who could work both undercover for TSA in the airports and on flights from those locations would likely work for their mission.

[SLG]

The Air Marshals would be a great place for a ton of part timers. Much like many of the folks working courthouses for the US Marshals Service. I think it would provide a lot of relief to the full time guys who could be utilized for truly high threat flights and missions and using contract FAMS for some of the more routine stuff. Having a bunch of retired LEO's who live near major airports who could work both undercover for TSA in the airports and on flights from those locations would likely work for their mission.

There is a ton wrong with the current program, no question.

[TAZ]

The Air Marshals would be a great place for a ton of part timers. Much like many of the folks working courthouses for the US Marshals Service. I think it would provide a lot of relief to the full time guys who could be utilized for truly high threat flights and missions and using contract FAMS for some of the more routine stuff. Having a bunch of retired LEO's who live near major airports who could work both undercover for TSA in the airports and on flights from those locations would likely work for their mission.

Yes, but that line of thinking entails common sense and there is little chance of it being used. Remember, 0.000000000001 seconds after the birth of a beurocracy its sole function becomes to protect and grow its management not to accomplish its cover duties. There is no money in solving the airline safety issue (if it is an actual issue).

Heck, give me and my immediate family a deep discount on airfare and I'd join a part time crew. I'd take my wife and kids around the country on long weekends and such. Uncle sugar wouldn't even have to pay me.

[Drang]

ISTR that, when I was determining that I was too old for the program (which I was 95% sure of beforehand, since I was 42 when I hung up my soldier suit) as part of my research I learned that, on September 11 2001, there were a total of 10 /A/i/r/ Sky Marshals. (Sometimes that "strikeout" button is pretty handy. Just sayin'.)
Don't know how many there are now, and if I had a Need to Know, I would probably be prosecuted for saying it here, but it seems obvious that if you take a program like that and expand it ~1000%, there are going to be problems.
Doesn't excuse any of the problems, they should have identified and fixed them NLT Year 2, but under the circumstances only a government bureaucrat would be surprised to learn that everything wasn't just peachy.

[Dagga Boy]

Yes, but that line of thinking entails common sense and there is little chance of it being used. Remember, 0.000000000001 seconds after the birth of a beurocracy its sole function becomes to protect and grow its management not to accomplish its cover duties. There is no money in solving the airline safety issue (if it is an actual issue).

Heck, give me and my immediate family a deep discount on airfare and I'd join a part time crew. I'd take my wife and kids around the country on long weekends and such. Uncle sugar wouldn't even have to pay me.

My dad, who is a big business guy, suggested the same thing of using off-duty cops in exchange for flight credits. I had to explain that I would not want most LEO's in the air with a gun tasked with having to make surgical shots in chaos at 30,000 feet. This is why I would prefer to see a dedicated, paid, contract program with solid standards for shooting and arrest and control. I worked a contract position with the US Marshal's in the past. The background standards were tough and the pay sucked, but it was a rewarding job that I enjoyed. With that said, many of the folks I worked with were Federal LEO's from obscure agencies who essentially got the job because they were already in the Federal system and were terrible.

[TCinVA]

Part time/contract FAMS is an interesting concept...but it has a fatal flaw.

It would be much more difficult to force those employees into meetings where everyone stares at a power point presentation while someone from management drones on endlessly in the most monotone voice possible. And that, in my experience with government employment, is the thing employers value most from their workforce.

[Poconnor]

Adding part time retired law enforcement ( shooters not the gun carriers) would be the smart way to really up their performance. I am sure there are plenty of retired cops that moved and would love to fly and visit friends and family

[OldRunner/CSAT Neighbor]

*Somewhat* surprised our PF FAM hasn't weighed in here, sorta.

After having a few classes w/ him @ DB/Wayne's, plus other FAM's @ Paul's, they like to remain below the surface, can't blame 'em.

[SLG]

This is a topic that my team and I gave a lot of thought to, post 9/11. I think having part time cops or contract guys do the work is not the best way to go. At this point though, it's a wash and just doesn't matter.

Had they really wanted to do things correctly from the beginning, and they almost did, they should have had every federal agency send a percentage of their guys tdy to the fams (lets say 5%) Put them through the fams pistol training and some other, minor, relevant stuff (I've worked with the fams quite a bit and don't mean to diminish what they need to know/do/train on, but we're talking exigent circumstances here) and then put them on planes for 3 or 4 month tdy's. That gives the fams time to train the next batch of feds more thoroughly, as well as conduct an appropriate, small, long term hire and management update. On a much smaller scale than they are now. Allow the other fed agencies to hire another 5% to back fill (they already have long term hiring practices in place) This gives the fams free manpower until they are more functional, as well as training most of our feds to a higher shooting standard (or at least exposing them, many might not make it) and cross training them on another job. The other agencies get more agents, and the fams get experienced agents to do the job, tdy forever. That is, in 3 month increments. The average agent might go tdy once every few years, unless the program was set up to encourage those who wanted to do it more often. No long term burn out issues. Win win for everyone and doesn't cost the taxpayers nearly as much as it did. I'd like to say more on this, but I don't want to be prosecuted;-)

[TGS]

This is a topic that my team and I gave a lot of thought to, post 9/11. I think having part time cops or contract guys do the work is not the best way to go. At this point though, it's a wash and just doesn't matter.

Had they really wanted to do things correctly from the beginning, and they almost did, they should have had every federal agency send a percentage of their guys tdy to the fams (lets say 5%) Put them through the fams pistol training and some other, minor, relevant stuff (I've worked with the fams quite a bit and don't mean to diminish what they need to know/do/train on, but we're talking exigent circumstances here) and then put them on planes for 3 or 4 month tdy's. That gives the fams time to train the next batch of feds more thoroughly, as well as conduct an appropriate, small, long term hire and management update. On a much smaller scale than they are now. Allow the other fed agencies to hire another 5% to back fill (they already have long term hiring practices in place) This gives the fams free manpower until they are more functional, as well as training most of our feds to a higher shooting standard (or at least exposing them, many might not make it) and cross training them on another job. The other agencies get more agents, and the fams get experienced agents to do the job, tdy forever. That is, in 3 month increments. The average agent might go tdy once every few years, unless the program was set up to encourage those who wanted to do it more often. No long term burn out issues. Win win for everyone and doesn't cost the taxpayers nearly as much as it did. I'd like to say more on this, but I don't want to be prosecuted;-)

I always thought a shared services agreement with TDY federal agents to make up the bulk of the duties would work out well. I mean, hey, if UNGA can happen every year with shared services.....

This would also be a huge manpower pool to choose from. Besides the special agents in various agencies, there's a LOT of federal police officers, border patrol, customs, ect, that I bet would sign up for a TDY just to do some extra training and break up their usual routine.

To me, it seems ridiculous that we allow any federal LEO to fly armed, and require they do so if on duty, but we won't tap that same manpower pool for the purpose of securing the airplane. Cognitive dissonance.

[TAZ]

My dad, who is a big business guy, suggested the same thing of using off-duty cops in exchange for flight credits. I had to explain that I would not want most LEO's in the air with a gun tasked with having to make surgical shots in chaos at 30,000 feet. This is why I would prefer to see a dedicated, paid, contract program with solid standards for shooting and arrest and control. I worked a contract position with the US Marshal's in the past. The background standards were tough and the pay sucked, but it was a rewarding job that I enjoyed. With that said, many of the folks I worked with were Federal LEO's from obscure agencies who essentially got the job because they were already in the Federal system and were terrible.

The srandards need not change. There are hundreds of thousand or more active, retired LEO, mil, and CHL holders out there. Of those I am certain many can meet standards the full time FAM are held to. Why not make use of them for some measly airline credits? My guess is it has more to do with control than actual safety, but then I have a warped sense when it comes to government beurocrats.

[Wondering Beard]

Of those I am certain many can meet standards the full time FAM are held to.

It's not just shooting standards, it's judgment.

[TAZ]

It's not just shooting standards, it's judgment.

FAMS are people just like the other 360MM of us. If they can meet the standards so can others. I'm not suggesting that we have a set of standards for full time agents and then dumb them down for part time guys. Same standards for everyone. If a person can meet the standard they can get a badge and earn some mileage points. If they can't they are a passenger like everyone else.

[Wondering Beard]

FAMS are people just like the other 360MM of us. If they can meet the standards so can others.

Sure but what I mean to say is that what makes a FAM good at his job is different then what even "high speed" LE and mil folks generally do. Therefore, whatever standards they use is kind of unique. Having to fight, or arrest, or just plain calm things down, in a narrow flying tube filled with hundreds of people (some which may be hostile and not all for the same reason) requires a mindset (thus a capacity for judgment) that perhaps isn't as easy to find or train.

[TAZ]

Sure but what I mean to say is that what makes a FAM good at his job is different then what even "high speed" LE and mil folks generally do. Therefore, whatever standards they use is kind of unique. Having to fight, or arrest, or just plain calm things down, in a narrow flying tube filled with hundreds of people (some which may be hostile and not all for the same reason) requires a mindset (thus a capacity for judgment) that perhaps isn't as easy to find or train.

While I understand and appreciate the special nature of the job, NOBODY is that special that they are irreplaceable. If one group of people can master the skill set required to do the job well so can others. There are standards that the FAMS need to meet. Among those are physical and mental ones. Anyone who is capable of mastering all the required skills can be employed to do the job. Whether they attained those skills at FAM school or super secret squirrel school is irrelevant. If they pass background, physical, mental and psych evaluation then they are good to go.

[TGS]

While I understand and appreciate the special nature of the job, NOBODY is that special that they are irreplaceable. If one group of people can master the skill set required to do the job well so can others. There are standards that the FAMS need to meet. Among those are physical and mental ones. Anyone who is capable of mastering all the required skills can be employed to do the job. Whether they attained those skills at FAM school or super secret squirrel school is irrelevant. If they pass background, physical, mental and psych evaluation then they are good to go.

There's one problem with your idea:

Being a FAM is about a lot more than just performing to a given standard. There's a reason that the techniques, tactics and procedures are for the most part exclusive to FAMS, and a reason a top secret clearance is required.

Without getting too verbose, you can't just hand out the playbook to everyone. If your response is that everyone who passes the standards gets a TS investigation, then feel free to show us the trust fund you're going to donate to pay for all those TS investigations. They ain't cheap, and lots of people fail them as it is.

[SLG]

There's one problem with your idea:

Being a FAM is about a lot more than just performing to a given standard. There's a reason that the techniques, tactics and procedures are for the most part exclusive to FAMS, and a reason a top secret clearance is required.

Without getting too verbose, you can't just hand out the playbook to everyone. If your response is that everyone who passes the standards gets a TS investigation, then feel free to show us the trust fund you're going to donate to pay for all those TS investigations. They ain't cheap, and lots of people fail them as it is.

Which is one reason it has to be 1811's for my idea to work.

[TAZ]

There's one problem with your idea:

Being a FAM is about a lot more than just performing to a given standard. There's a reason that the techniques, tactics and procedures are for the most part exclusive to FAMS, and a reason a top secret clearance is required.

Without getting too verbose, you can't just hand out the playbook to everyone. If your response is that everyone who passes the standards gets a TS investigation, then feel free to show us the trust fund you're going to donate to pay for all those TS investigations. They ain't cheap, and lots of people fail them as it is.

Agree that the OPSEC part needs to be addressed. Someone's stated a problem: not enough FAMS to go around so they are overworked, unrested, and potentially medicated to cover their flights. Even then there are still uncovered flights. The ideal solution is to get the number of FAMS up. You can either do it by putting the correct number of full time FAMS on the job, but the argument against that was the cost involved with keeping that many full time employees on the pay, benefit and retirement tax tit is cost prohibitive. The alternative supplied was to bolster the number of full time guys by drawing on qualified individuals who would do the job for free essentially.

If the solution to the stated problem is to raise the number of FAMS; you're going to be running those background checks on applicants who don't currently possess the clearance levels needed anyway so it's nothing new. You can limit volunteers to only those with the requisite clearance and see where you get. If the numbers are still not enough you can open it up more.

There is a solution out there to the problem IF PEOPLE WANT IT. Question is do they want to solve the problem or whine about their panties being bunched??

[TGS]

Agree that the OPSEC part needs to be addressed. Someone's stated a problem: not enough FAMS to go around so they are overworked, unrested, and potentially medicated to cover their flights. Even then there are still uncovered flights. The ideal solution is to get the number of FAMS up. You can either do it by putting the correct number of full time FAMS on the job, but the argument against that was the cost involved with keeping that many full time employees on the pay, benefit and retirement tax tit is cost prohibitive. The alternative supplied was to bolster the number of full time guys by drawing on qualified individuals who would do the job for free essentially.

If the solution to the stated problem is to raise the number of FAMS; you're going to be running those background checks on applicants who don't currently possess the clearance levels needed anyway so it's nothing new. You can limit volunteers to only those with the requisite clearance and see where you get. If the numbers are still not enough you can open it up more.

There is a solution out there to the problem IF PEOPLE WANT IT. Question is do they want to solve the problem or whine about their panties being bunched??

You will never get a FAM or some sort of augmentation on every flight, no matter what plan you come up with. Not even close. That isn't the goal, anyway.

[TAZ]

You will never get a FAM or some sort of augmentation on every flight, no matter what plan you come up with. Not even close. That isn't the goal, anyway.

Agree 100% that the goal was never adequate or even decent coverage without employee abuse. 99% of the times when government beurocrats cry wolf it's cause they want to extort more $$ and freedom from people. They could give a crap about stressed out unhealthy employees so long as the budget train keeps moving.