Now it is getting a little worrying....
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Sky guards get a licence to kill
By TANYA TARGETT and CHRISTINE JACKMAN
19dec01
AUSTRALIA'S new anti-terrorist air marshals will have a licence to kill when they take to the skies next week.
The airborne security squad will carry semi-automatic pistols and will be authorised to "shoot first and ask questions later", the Herald Sun can reveal.
"They are authorised to use lethal force if necessary," a senior intelligence informant said. "If there is a terrorist with a machine gun or something running towards the cockpit, there's not going to be a lot of time to say, 'stop'."
The marshals, who graduate tomorrow, will carry Heckler & Koch semi-automatic pistols (pictured above) with special bullets that can kill without piercing an aircraft's fuselage.
The sky force members will wear bulletproof vests and carry batons, but are unlikely to be armed with knives as are their Israeli counterparts.
About 6000 men and women have applied to be air security officers, including an 85-year-old Victorian man who fought in World War II.
It is believed the man, who had retired from the prisons system, wanted to die serving his country.
Airlines and police have reservations about the shoot-to-kill guards. But Attorney-General Daryl Williams said the marshals had received training from police and US guards.
Mr Williams said yesterday the 22 new graduates could be in the air as early as next week. A total of 111 marshals are expected to patrol domestic and international flights by the end of next year.
The top-secret agents will use fake identities and cover stories to blend in with other passengers.
They will also have to conceal their true occupation from family and friends. All the graduates from the five-week course were former counter-terrorist specialists from the Australian Protective Service, the Federal Government's specialist security team.
But police have argued that the guards should have been drawn from police ranks.
Police Federation chief executive Mark Burgess yesterday told the Herald Sun police were better trained for the job than most of the APS.
"It's almost the same as putting two security guards in a police car and letting them go out on patrol," Mr Burgess said.
Airlines also have reservations about the shoot-to-kill guards.
Virgin Blue spokesman David Huttner said there had been no consultations between the airline and the Government despite operational and safety concerns.
"At this stage we are not clear as to how this will improve safety on board the aircraft," Mr Huttner said.
"Some of our pilots have expressed concern about the specifics . . . and that is why we've asked for clarification."
Mr Williams said the air marshals' program had been developed in co-operation with state and federal police and the US air marshals division.
Sources said several would-be air marshals were kicked out of the program for failing to meet high standards of marksmanship, physical aptitude and psychological testing.
Senior intelligence officers said about 2 per cent of the applications were from "nutters" who offered to bring their own weapons to save on the cost of ammunition.
Suspected terrorists face a 48-hour solitary grilling from ASIO agents under a new anti-terror dragnet endorsed by Federal Cabinet yesterday.
And Mr Williams said terrorism offences would carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
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