Federal Air Marshal
Meet a Federal Air Marshal. She may have been sitting next to you on a flight.
CHILDHOOD
Esther Fausett (EF) was always fascinated by flying with her parents toward new areas to explore. She hoped for a window seat to watch the ground disappear as the plane rose from the runway, through the clouds and into cruising altitude. She was never nervous about taking off or landing, which as an adult, she attributes to not understanding – as a child – the risks involved, ranging from normal problems like weather or engine failure to unusual problems – since 9/11 – like increasingly unruly passengers and worse, terrorists.
EDUCATION
EF is college educated though the science courses of her major academic concentration were ultimately unrelated to her final career path.
ABOUT FEDERAL AIR MARSHALS
Little information is released to the public about how, why and where Federal air marshals operate. As they move through airports and board flights, they resemble common passengers – napping occasionally, watching in-flight movies and eating bland airplane food. But air marshals are working undercover, with concealed guns and the legal authority to make arrests. Because of their top-secret security clearance, the number of flights they work, the looming threats behind assignments, the alarming behaviors they are monitoring and even the size of the Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) are – and must be always – shrouded in secrecy.
Since 1962, federal air marshals have been ensuring aviation safety in the U.S., flying in airline cabins to and from domestic and international destinations. In recent decades, the responsibilities of air marshals have expanded to include securing the country’s entire transportation system. Marshals operate at airports, but also on ferries, trains, buses and on the U.S. border with Mexico. They support transit security at events that draw large crowds like the Super Bowl, the Indy 500 and the United Nations General Assembly.
CHOOSING THE CAREER OF FEDERAL AIR MARSHAL
Esther Fausett (EF), age 43, was studying cellular biochemistry in college, on a pre-med track, when ‘9/11’ occurred.
(Editor’s note – On September 11, 2001 – known briefly as ‘9/11’ – four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks were carried out against the U.S. 19 terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners scheduled to travel from the East Coast to California. The hijackers crashed the first two planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City while aiming the next two flights toward targets in or near Washington, D.C. One terrorist team succeeded in striking the Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense near D.C. As a result, 2,977 people were killed – either on the ground or within the planes – making it the deadliest terrorist attack in history.)
Immediately following news of the attack, EF “felt like I could do something more daring or impactful related to safeguarding our national security and the lives of others. But I wasn’t sure in what capacity.” So, she continued to pursue her education through college, graduating with a Bachelor’s of Science degree focused on biology.
FIRST ADULT JOB IS NEVER A BINDING CAREER COMMITMENT
Among career paths for college biology majors is to become an Agricultural Specialist, which qualified EF to be hired by the Customs and Border Protection Agency at the seaport in Miami. There, EF’s responsibilities included inspecting inbound cargo ships for agriculture products banned in the U.S. (e.g. illegal drugs plus plants identified as possibly carrying invasive insects.)
In 2005, the Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) was hiring new workers. EF believed that working as a marshal would be a great opportunity to serve the public through increasing national security. Plus, flying to national and international destinations seemed more interesting than being assigned to one seaport while inspecting the interior of cargo ships.
Submitting a job application doesn’t always lead to immediate employment even if the applicant is qualified and ready to start promptly. EF did not receive a response from FAMS for two years following her initial application.
BECOMING AN AIR MARSHAL
Requirements – Applicants must be U.S. citizens (including ‘naturalized’ citizens who have immigrated from another country, passed the citizenship test and vowed to obey the laws of this country). Other requirements include a valid driver’s license, a minimum of three years of work experience plus a Bachelor’s degree (or higher) and/or a combination of education and experience which the agency deems useful and sufficient for the agency’s needs. Military veterans may apply for a waiver of the full requirements, allowing for employment before their 40th birthday. Applicants must pass a pre-employment background check, polygraph, medical evaluation and physical fitness assessment.
A military or law enforcement background is not a requirement.
Training – For EH, training to be an air marshal was “an eye opener.” In her class, there were a lot of individuals with paramilitary experience and only about three or four women. had been a soccer player in college so her long-distance running capacity was ok but pull-ups were a problem. Without any pre-training preparations, EF entered the marshal training program unable to perform a single pull-up. By the end, she was doing 13.
There are two phases of the training. The first phase was conducted at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, New Mexico. It is essentially the Uniform Police Training Program that covers U.S. Constitutional law, firearms safety, use of force, active threat response tactics and other security related courses.
After successfully completing the first phase, EF transitioned to phase two, involving control tactics, observation techniques, physical fitness, in-flight tactics, advanced firearms and other related topics. There was a major focus on firearms during this phase because FAMS has stringent firearms qualification standards.
Shooting a weapon was difficult for EF at first. She had never shot before, so she needed a lot of practice. She concluded that a person could be completely a novice, but the instructors could push you to the expert level.
EXPERIENCES AS AN AIR MARSHALL
An air marshal’s schedule is irregular and unknown for months out. Said EF, “You just don’t know what you’ll be doing. At the same time, because you don’t know where you’ll be or what you’re doing, it is definitely exciting.
The federal air marshal service is also a supportive and tight-knit community. When EF’s son was diagnosed with brain cancer at age 2, meals would be sent to EF’s home and fellow marshals would come to her son’s bedside at the hospital. EF’s gratitude for such co-worker support will always be appreciated. As of this writing, EF’s son has been five years in remission.
A CAREER OFTEN PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES TO EXPAND YOUR ROLE
While she started her marshal’s career as a flying federal air marshal in the Boston field office, EF was eventually promoted to a ground-based assignment in the service’s investigation division. Later, she served as a liaison to the F.B.I., Customs and Border Protection, and Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Countering Human Trafficking. Recently, EF was promoted to the Assistant Supervisory Air Marshal in charge of the Washington, D.C. field office, where she organizes resources – staff, budget and equipment – while also responsible for overseeing a few Washington field office units of air marshals.
(Editor’s question: EF’s promotions no doubt add interesting aspects to her daily duties, especially when responsible for more people than yourself. But one wonders if a leader can occasionally ask another leader to ‘mind the store’ while you schedule yourself to fly to a favorite destination for a several-day ‘mini vacation.’?)
CAREER CHALLENGES
The traveling public is largely aware that there has been an uptick in flight disturbances since the onset of the covid pandemic.
As noted, juggling work-life balance can be challenging due to irregular flight scheduling.
(Editor’s note – For national security reasons, EF declined to comment on the frequency of her travels and the mix of international versus domestic flights.)
CAREER SATISFACTION
EF views her constant heightened awareness – looking for unusual behavior, signs of human trafficking, unattended packages and overall attention to her immediate area – not as a burden, but as a new skill to enable her to guard the safety of her fellow citizens.
In addition to fulfilling her job duties, EF is able to fly – at government expense – to newly favorite destinations like Italy, Portugal and Spain, where she routinely experiences unique colors, architecture and history.
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This career story was based on multiple sources including a news article written by Christine Chung, published by The New York Times on August 1, 2024 plus internet research, including Wikipedia.
