Wait a minute.
Wary Bush Administration spokesmen say $900 million will be needed initially and $250 million annually to train 85,000 commercial pilots to carry weapons on American jetliners.
Training costs of $10,500 each is pure crap.
Most airline pilots are former military jet jockeys who carried sidearms in wartime and peacetime after rudimentary training in their use.
Armed jetliner pilots will actually save money for taxpayers and airlines. Armed air marshals won’t have to be hired, trained and booked on flights.
The Editor remembers carrying a loaded .38- or .45-caliber revolver when picking up registered mail for the U.S. Post Office in the late 1950s.
If a 20-year-old part-time postal employee can pack heat without training or directions, surely more mature military veterans with training and directions can do the same. (8 SEPTEMBER 2002)
