20/20 put nothing out there that the public hasn't already seen for themselves. Spencer merely had the fortitude to speak out in defense of all of us. If he gets fired, all of these managers had better get the axe as well. Can't wait to see them squirm in the office.

OH MY!HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO PROTECT OUR COUNTRY FROM UNDERCOVER CELLS IF OUR UNDERCOVER POLICE ARE WEARING FLOURESCENT SIGNS? MAYBE THE FEDS SHOULD STOP THINKING ABOUT THE LOOK OR IMAGE, AND JUST DO THE BEST UNDERCOVER SECURITY POSSIBLE FOR A VERY VULNERABLE PUBLIC. SURELY OUR GOVT. IS AWARE THAT, JUST AS WE PROFILE OTHERS, THEY ARE ABLE TO PROFILE US. THE PRACTICE OF AIR MARSHALS ID'ING THEMSELVES TO TICKET AGENTS SEEMS PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS TO ME. I'M SURE THEY ARE 'SCREENED', BUT, LET'S FACE IT, OUR AIRLINES ARE NOT WELL-KNOWN FOR TREATING THEIR EMPLOYEES FAIRLY, WHICH CERTAINLY MAKES THEM MORE OPEN TO CORRUPTION. UNFORTUNATELY, I DON'T HAVE THE SOLUTION, BUT THANK YOU FOR MAKING IT SO OBVIOUS TO US THAT SOMETING MUST BE DONE.

I second the posting by "Nobody" I too was hired post 911, gave up a local law enforcement position in SRT, soon to be promoted to take this oooh sooo wonderful job as some high speed steely eyed killer with the govt. All the carrots dangled in front of me. Only to be pulled away by a bunch of old senior citizen retired Secret Service suits!!!!!

As far as your posting mr. OPSEC soldier, I hardly believe you are even in the military. I'll leave it at that.

Without giving out too much info, I am a female FAM. In the past week I flew 5 flights while wearing jeans and sitting in the middle of the plane. No one had an inkling as to who I was with the exception of the FFDO's and other armed LEO's flying. If the big wigs watching me (FAMs) in the airport couldn't pick me out of the crowd then they can't rat me out either, get it? Great jobs guys and gals!

Well, Mr. Blue, you might want NBC to go broke for some other reason but this story, and this website are ABC news. Maybe you should threaten them instead of NBC. And what do you think is making all the air marshalls and flight attendants whose comments above describe their experiences with procedures as being unacceptable and dangerous are doing? Just making stuff up? They obviously feel endangered and it has nothing to do with their political beliefs. They are concerned with your safety as well as theirs.

Holy crap!!! I cant believe that ABC would even show this story. As a current flight attendant, I would like to personally thank 20/20 for giving everyone the opprotunity to see excatly what the FAMs do. What stupidity!!!! I know that it takes a whole lot of you know what to do what Spencer did. But does that mean everyone else has to suffer and look over their shoulder constanly. I can not wait to go to work this weekend.

Spencer, It was a pleasure working with you and I am glad to see the agency hasnt killed everyones integrity. The airing of this desperate problem is in no way a shot at Pres. Bush or his administration, it is merely a desperate attempt by concerned Patriots who want to do nothing more than serve their country and provide its citizens with the best possible protection they can provide. As a former FAM and Co-Worker of Spencers, I applaud him for having the guts to once and for all face down a very poorly ran "good ole boy" system. I elected to leave the program after two years because I was forced to identify myself on a flight and was subsequently placed on admin leave and recommended for termination for my actions. What a joke. Now lets take it another step...Why have over 40% of the FAMs hired resigned?? Surely the agency cant say they hired that many people who just couldnt handle the job. Mabye it was because its hard to work with your hands tied behind your back.
Great job Spencer and Good luck. A former LASFAM

Great report !!! As a current and soon to be departing FAM I applaud your spot on reporting. Keep digging your just at the tip of the iceberg. God bless you and Spencer. The only difference between the FAMS and the Titanic was that they had a band.

Looking forward in watching ABC's Evening News with the rest of the story. The criminal conduct by management in Chicago will hopefully soon be exposed. It's a matter of national security and the lives of the American public is at stake.

As a current and hopeful soon to be ex FAM I must applaud this FAM for speaking out and assure that behind the bosses backs is already a hero.

This agency almost seems to be established to fail from the beginning. During the hiring process, A-type personalities that were unconventional operators and well trained individuals were hired to be "covert operators." These individuals and current FAMS had a pool of talent second to none (i.e. during a recent lunch with three other FAMS at the tale were 1 BA, 2 MS and 1 soon to be PhD and a combined pool of 10 fluent languages sat at the table.)
These individuals/we were promised to receive training second to none, including working with military teams such as SEALS and DELTA.
Then the management team was brought in. What was brought in was a group of RETIRED, Secret Service ex-managers. These managers came with a predetermined mindset of what they wanted the agency to be. We were to become "Quiet Professionals" wat this meant was shut up and do what we say.
With a group of individuals as the FAMS are and the mindset of management equals condisention from above and antagonism from below with no middle ground to be found.
FAMS repeatedly come up with excellent ideas to run the agency more efficiently and in a more proactive way that would increase FAM safety. The FAMS have been labled as disgruntled or unprofessional.
I could write for days on all the pent up emotions I have bottled in the last four and a half years, but let me leave you with this questions; As the premier "anti-terrorist" agency in the federal government isn't it amazing they/we haven't investigated a single thing?

As some have posted I also apologize to the flying public for our failing to your safety and plead to all that if you want this to change contact your members of congress. Only if you the publc put the pressure will a change occur.

Another leaving FAM.

It just figures that that the people that make the rules & policy in this nation have no idea what is goin on. They have their head in the sand as usual.They just live in a bubble.

To FAMs from a former F/A with a post above: Do we all agree standard LEO procedure isn't appropriate? i want to hear it..

Good idea. If you want to email your members of congress, go to www.house.gov and www.senate.gov. It's very easy to get your congressperson's contact info and it takes just a few minutes to fire off an email to him/her. Let's all of us here tonight take a few minutes to do that right now.

In ground boarding of our airplane is it even more obvious to all employees who a FAM is, plus they are walking in front of a huge window that over looks our entire operation with passengers watching. Since FAMs preboard our airplanes, I have grown to recognize a few of them as I have walked them out numerous times. I have seen the same FAMs flying us and one of them was even wearing the same clothes as the last time. What’s more obvious than a physically healthy person wearing business casual attire boarding a plane alone when they have no handicap need to. It is so obvious as to who they are. FAMs should be treated as just another passenger, from check in to landing. Also should be allowed to blend in as they see fit i.e.: jeans and a t-shirt if they want, whatever makes them look normal. I think it is better for the crew to not even know who they are as puts the crew in danger since they know a secret. If no one on the airplane knows, we are all better; it's called the element of surprise.

As a frequent flier I have been able to spot an air marshall from aross the airport. I feel the whole program is a joke if annonimity is the the basis for success. Most of these guys stick out like a soar thumb, from going throught the exits to pre boarding.It is very obvious when you are the 2nd person on the plane and there are already two people seated. I agree the dress code can be a give away, it is one thing if you are taking the 7am shuttle to DC it is another if you are flying into Orlando. I find it is typical of our governments attitude of being totally oblivious of real world conditions.

Please see Linda's post and act on it. It's a start. Thank you Linda

What the American public should be asking is why didn't the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General investigate and report this gross malfeasance. The answer is because they are all Ex-U.S. Secret Service Agents just like the Air Marshal management. The U.S. Secret Service is not a law enforcement agency, rather a criminal organization specializing in gross malfeasance, misfeasance, cover-ups, and organized criminal activity. They are the cancer in Federal law enforcement that has spread to several other agencies including the Federal Air Marshal Service and Inspectors General. I will be writing my Senators requesting a Special Counsel not affiliated with the U.S. Secret Service be appointed and call a Special Grand Jury to investigate the Federal Air Marshal management.

The entire system is a joke. The airline staff will check your credentials and board you in plain sight of all the passengers. Southwest is the worst inadequate procedures.

Spencer while I understand your intentions I have to question your judgement. The media is not the place to be airing out our dirty laundry. You may have intended to draw attention to the ridiculous nonsense that we have to put up with every day, but what you have really done is erode the public confidence in our ability to protect them while flying to see their loved ones.

I also do not agree with policies such as the hotel and dress code. That is why I choose to ignore them. I have been flying since 1/02. I have worn jeans just about every one of those days, with a few exceptions. I use the hotel list as a list of hotels to avoid staying at because that is where the rest of us will be (along with Al Qaeda surveillance). My point is that we play by big boy rules. If you break them and get caught then you handle your business. You DON'T go on national television and air out every single complaint. Just reading the posts here tells me that you have done severe damage to our reputation and image to those who trust us to protect them.

Flying public: Please know that regardless of the stupid rules and regulations that we (are supposed to) follow, you are protected by some of the finest men and women that I have met in my 9 year career in law enforcement. 99% of us are more than willing to lay our lives on the line (and more than capable of killing the enemy should they choose our plane) so that we can look at your children and say to ourselves "its not going to happen on my flight".

Sincerely,
John
Federal Air Marshal
WFO

Nothing on the current Secret Service, but I heard another FAM describe the current management. Their abilities should have been limited to jumping in front of bullets, not manageing a law enforcement agency an area which is obviously foreign to them.

The Secret Service is a security force who's investigative abilities are limited and when it comes to general law enforcement skills is zero.

None of the Secret Service managers ever passed the full rigours of FAM camp (academy), they went through "gentlemens course" and most when at the range only hurt their teams average shooting scores. As far as training in the simulator or fighting in the mat room, never. Yet these individuals who can't do the job don't train on the skills feel they know more about doing the job. How diluted and far removed from reality can you be?

Please don contact your congressmen. Let them know that you want a change!