Certainly many many LEOs are the last people who we should give a gun to. As I ahve pointed out there is an attitude that seems to go with being a paid (as compared to volunteer) LEO that seems to be everyting many of the people on here that sound like they are LEOs attribute to FDOs.

So much ignorance……. so little time…..

The ONLY accurate post in this entire thread was done by “someone who knows”.

As someone intimately familiar with firearms (NRA certified pistol instructor, 25 years of concealed carry as a civilian), I can say with no uncertainty that the FFDO procedures, and particularly the ADH (auto discharge holster, as it’s been dubbed by FFDOs) are inherently dangerous.

That there haven’t been more ADs with this system, especially given the fact that there are well over 10,000 FFDOs dealing with it on a daily basis, is truly a miracle, and testament to the professionalism that these volunteer pilots conduct themselves. Sure, there have been a few moronic actions, but overall, in spite of the ADH and stupid SOP, FFDOs are, as a group, far more responsible than most LEOs re: weapons handling and safety.

Carrying a gun safely is not brain surgery, nor does it require being an LEO. FFDOs should carry and transport their weapons in the safest, most secure manner possible, which is on the body, all the time. The less the weapon is handled, the better. It has nothing to do with being a cowboy or LEO wannabe (Many couldn’t afford the pay cut or the lousy schedule), it’s all about safety and security of the weapon.

Like it or not, FFDOs ARE Federal LEOs, (it says so right on the creds). Why this rubs many of those in the LEO community the wrong way is baffling to me. Well, knowing many LEO types, and their fragile egos, maybe it isn’t that baffling. The badges are insurance against a “blue on blue” (or in most cases, white on blue) issue in the heat of battle on the aircraft and to lend credence to FFDOs when dealing with LEOs in not so gun friendly states (cough: NY, MA, NJ CA etc.). An FFDO was arrested for “impersonating an LEO” when he was stopped for a traffic violation in one of these states, BECAUSE he didn’t have a badge.

IMHO, every pilot should’ve been issued a weapon on 9/12. No fancy LEO title required. Pilots have COMPLETE control of a potential WMD every minute of every day at work. A pistol is nothing compared to that. The tsA didn’t want the program, since airline pilots are not federal employees, it didn’t feather their empire building beds enough. Congress rammed the program up their keisters. In response, the tsA came up with ridiculous vetting requirements and procedures, designed purely to discourage participation. The folks that wrote the SOP had never flown an airplane nor handled a weapon in their lives, and they completely ignored EVERY suggestion from those that have done both. The tsA made the program far more complicated than it needs to be.

The level of training FFDOs receive is MORE than adequate for the mission at hand. As others have stated, they are not executing warrants, arresting felons or making traffic stops etc. They have one mission and one mission only. To protect the cockpit from being taken over by terrorists, and subsequently used as a weapon of mass destruction. Period. This is by no means an easy task.

Those who have never tried to fight a determined assailant(s), strapped in a seat in a confined space, with your attackers at your back with NO backup other than a future new hire in the F-15 with a sidewinder anywhere close, should really refrain from commenting on this subject. Comparing FFDOs to Barney Fife is an insult, and shows pure ignorance. I know far more “real” LEOs who are closer to BF than any FFDO I’ve met, and I know plenty of both.

The hardened cockpit doors, while better than their cardboard predecessors, are not unbreachable by any means. When the door flies off it’s hinges after the bad guys place a few oz of binary explosive on the bolts and hinges, the weapon needs to be immediately accessible in flight, and this means wearing it.

The bad guys are still out there. In addition to passenger awareness and reinforced cockpit doors, armed pilots are one of the best deterrents to another 9/11 type occurrence.

FFDOs are the good guys.

You can’t put up with crap like that.
Stories like that get me frothing at the mouth, Ray. I don’t know why I’m not in jail. I take a lot of crap from people when it’s stuff that doesn’t matter but when somebody wants to rough you up or threatens your life, that’s a whole different ball game. I’m just lucky the situation has never been there for me. I’ll avoid situations that don’t look good but I’ve never run away from one that started happening around me. Things just always seem to settle down before they get too out of hand.

I did one time tell one of my daughter’s boyfriends that the only thing standing between himself and a hole in the ground was a thumbs down from my daughter. That was a few years ago and I haven’t met up with him since. There was no doubt in my mind that I meant it. I even owned an excavator at the time.
What a crazy world.

Now it is an idiot to assume that this type of behavior will continue?