well, duh....!

It is about time! Godd work.

Wow..!! What a great idea, a brainstorm. The only guy on the plane in a three-piece suit. I can't believe the ingenuity in this decision, and those in charge deserve a bonus, no matter what the price

One small step for FAM, one giant leap for FAM kind.......
I can ID my dog with an embedded chip for $25 bucks....... you can't tell me the FAM guys can't have a similar ID system to get them past "Check-in" woes with their 'duty equipment' so as not to arouse whistles, buzzers, and bells to go off...

gimmee a break and help these out please..

Seriously guys, it not obvious that this was "overlooked". There is a greater plan in the works here.

You mean to tell me these people didnt think of this. If that is true, and I dont beleive it is, we as Americans are in deep deep caca. Where has the common sense gone. Nowhere....that was diliberate.

Humph, how stupid do you have to be to set restrictions like that in the first place? The whole idea of having them on planes post 911, was to make sure that they could observe and stop the bad guys. They can only do that if the bad guys don't know who they are. Enforcing a dress code and requiring that they show badges and board the plane befoe the passengers is just plain stupid. If this is how we are still thinking, it is no wonder we will lose the war on terror!

I just want to know when the media will stop giving away all the info and changes the US is doing within to help stop the terrorist's from attacking us again. Some things need to be kept hush hush, they do a great job at suprising us because THEY DONT BLAB EVERYTHING. wise up mediocre america TURN OFF THE TV AND READ A BOOK OR PLANT A TREE!

Journalism as a catalyst for change? Imagine that....

Now let's point that power in more important directions, yes? Say, for example, an expose covering how it is in fact our foreign policies in the Middle East that breeds extremism.

Can you give us an update on what happened to Spencer Pickard? I recall in the original broadcast that he said he would probably be fired. If he didn't get fired, did he get reprimanded, commended, etc... Thanks.

All you have to do now is look for the guy setting off all the metal detectors and being waved through every time.

Why not just make the cockpit inaccessible from the cabin?

While the news that these policies has been revamped is indeed good, Brian Ross and is producers should be ashamed of themselves for acting as if they had ANY part to play in this.

In fact, they came LATE TO THE STORY; there was NOTHING ABC "uncovered" that hadn't been reported about YEARS ago.

The claim that "after an ABC News investigation revealed policies which air marshals said compromised their undercover status" is so laughable I can't stand it. Ross et all are falling into the Dan Rather syndrome of trying to make their involvement in this bigger that it is.

Good news for the air marshals; same ol B.S. "we got it first" from ABC News.

Just Google "air marshals" and 'dress codes" and see how many other news organizations had this story LONG before Ross woke up to it.

Isn't it sad that someone had to go to the media with these problems, risking his job, because the goverment managers of the Air Marshall program have the IQ of turnips?

To Dreek:

Are you seriously suggesting that air marshalls be chipped like your dog is?

If you are serious then stop and think about it for several seconds until you spot the flaw in your plan.

Hmmm... It would seem to me that one way to keep in-flight FAMs "undercover" would be to have them pose as "flight attendants." (Or maybe even members of the flight crew?)

Very few passengers/potential terrorists would think TWICE about members of the flight crew. So, why not? HEre's how I see the scenarios would play out.

You have one FAM posing as one of the flight's "cabin attendants." (can't say "stewardesses" anymore. Not "PC" since it doesn't take into account all the male "flight attendants.") Doing so allows him/her to bypass some of the (supposedly more) stringent checks that TSA agents perform "randomly" on passengers at the airport's security points. Or, at least it should cause "less" suspicion among other passengers waiting in the security line when they see flight crew members (in uniform) aren't being "wanded" or searched as carefully and (relatively) breeze right on through.

The attendant/FAM can then pre-board the aircraft easily to check for hidden weapons (as they are suppose to) or move between the boarding gate/aircraft freely -- and without raising suspicion among the flight's other passengers waiting at the gate to board.

Said undercover agent can also be the one that carries ALL the weapons for all the OTHER FAMs who will be on that flight, posing as passengers. Since the FAM/flight attendant is ALREADY ON-BOARD the aircraft BEFORE the passengers board AND since he/she would ALREADY know those other FAMs (by sight AND also by seating chart, which EVERY flight attendant gets in advance anyway!), they can easily distribute the "tools of the trade" to their partners during the boarding/seating process.

The FAM's gun/holster/other tools can be hidden in special pillow/blanket packages and passed from the "attendant" and appropriate "passenger" discretely and without rousing other passengers' suspicions. (Think about it... How unusual is it for a passenger to ask for a pillow/blanket?)

If the passenger sitting next to the undercover FAM does become suspicious -- say during a mid-day flight that isn't very long (or long enough for a "nap") -- the FAM just tucks pillow/blanket behind them at the small of their back and say "I hate these coach class seats.. they're bad for my lumbar." And that's that. (Added benefit -- since they don't have to worry about concealing the gun on them, undercover passenger FAMs can dress any way they want! Short sleeves & shorts, without a jacket, or even in tight-fitting outfits. (Hey, gotta think of the FEMALE FAMs!!) And of course, that all HELPS to keep their cover from being blown.

Of course, I'm sure there are downsides to this idea... Things like airline union rules that probably won't allow FAMs to pose as "attendants" (since it will take away slots and "jobs" from their union members).

But I think those "power that be" will poo-poo the idea mainly because it sounds like the plot device out of a cheesy spy book or Hollywood action flick. (Hell, it might have even already been used in some mindless work of fantasy!)

But if anything, you gotta admit.... We (the "good guys") HAVE TO HAVE TO start thinking this way -- the simple things that might be easy (and COST EFFECTIVE) to do in order to protect ourselves.

After all, the IDEA of Bad Guys FLYING fully-loaded passenger planes into buildings seemed silly, outrageous, and dumb. Hell, it was EVEN used in a mass-market fictional work. (Read the end of Tom Clancy's "Debt of Honor.")

Yeah, so no need to try SIMPLE things... not when we can spend BILLIONS of dollars and create hundreds of programs, departments, and security "gadgets" that DON'T seem to make a LICK of difference. (But, by god, we're sure "doing something" about security!)

This makes you wonder what type of idiots are "running" the FAM program. The whole upper management plus Dana need to be fired ASOP.

Oh ho!!...Now we, as well as the rest of the world know what Federal Air Marshall Spencer Pickard looks like...thank you ABC News. Another media award for the war on terror.

If I were an air marshall I would hope I would have the common sense to board inconspiciously no matter what the damn dress code. I know these guys don't wear clown suits and don't have to obviously flash badges at the check in counter.

This is overconcern for sure.

Yeah, Mike, it's the media's fault. How dare they report on things that lead to changes in stupid policies like this one. How dare they hold the government up to scrutiny. How. Dare. They.

Rediculous! That extremism has been in existance for at least 1500 years before the US was even dreamed of.

I'll bet the Israeli's figured this one out years ago. I'd also bet that any ten year old could too. How could we be so stupid for so long.