Air Marshals Prepare for Summer Olympics
News & Happenings
June 2, 2008
While the eyes of the world will be on Olympic venues in Beijing, China this August, an elite team will be on hand to ensure that all the action occurs on the field and not on aircraft flying in to or out of China. This elite group are the air marshals that fly to and from China and other countries around the world every day.
U.S. Federal Air Marshals are part of a tight-knit, global law enforcement air marshal community whose primary mission is to protect innocent passengers onboard aircraft. Members of the international air marshal community represent one of the most capable law enforcement resources in today's post Sept. 11th world.
As viewers around the globe were last watching the Olympics in 2006, Chinese and American air marshal officials were busy working out agreements to allow marshals from each country to travel to the other, significantly increasing security of these key trans-Pacific routes. This partnership culminated in the summer of 2007 when U.S. Federal Air Marshals hosted a training exchange with members of the Chinese Air Marshal Program at our facility in Atlantic City.
During this training, techniques and philosophies like aircraft tactics, use-of-force applications, defensive measures, investigative techniques and tactical information sharing were exchanged, enhancing abilities and preparedness in both the U.S. and China. This dual training increases the security of aircraft on both sides of the Pacific and is just one example of the collaborative nature of this dedicated group of law enforcement professionals.
The U.S. Federal Air Marshal Service represents one of the most rapidly deployable law enforcement resources in the world. The service has a proud record of providing critical protections during planned events and in times of crisis. In addition to the law enforcement support provided during past Olympic Games and the 2006 World Cup in Germany; air marshals were deployed to New Orleans to aid recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; to Cyprus to support the evacuation of non-combatants during the civil unrest in Lebanon in 2006, and provided 100 percent coverage to affected flights during the heightened threats to aviation security in London in August of 2006.
Wherever, whenever, thousands of U.S. and foreign air marshals stand ready to protect the flying public.
