[OT] USA - TSA Obstructing Armed Pilots?

On Tue, 23 Dec 2003 10:49:35 -0600, "No Spam!"
wrote:

All -

I'm especially interested in comments from any of the "current and
former military pilots with top-secret clearances" (as mentioned below)
that might be out there.

---

First, this reply is not cross-posted but only appended to
rec.aviation.military.

I'm a former military pilot who held TS clearance. That is irrelevant
to the article you posted, since I don't fly for the airlines.

TS clearance has nothing at all to do with competence with personal
weapons. A military aviation rating has nothing to do with competence
with personal weapons.

I am an NRA Life Member and have held a concealed carry permit for the
last nine years.

I have a close friend, ex-fighter aviator and current major airline
pilot who is a graduate of both Gunsite and Thunder Ranch. He has a
concealed carry permit in his current state of residence and is a
reserve police sergeant in a major American city near his airline
domicile. He has not been approved (yet) for the TSA training.

Dare we note that federal bureaucracy is seldom the most efficient
solution to major problems. I like the idea of armed cockpit crews. I
like it better than sky marshalls. I am convinced that training is
required, but feel that the training could be better handled by
contract schools rather than federal bureaucrats.

Now, did you have a specific reason for asking for comments from
former military with TS clearances?


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8