First group of airline pilots set to begin firearms training BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) =97 The first commercial airline pilots who will carry= =20 guns into the cockpit are set to begin training. The 48 pilots in the inaugural class at the Federal Law Enforcement=20 Training Center will be taught how to handle .40-calibre semiautomatic=20 handguns, the only type of gun pilots will be authorized to carry. The=20 training program was signed into law last fall by President Bush. Airline=20 pilot organizations had lobbied for the program to prevent terrorist=20 hijackings after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and= =20 the Pentagon. Agents from the U.S. Transportation Security Administration=20 will train the pilots in legal and psychological aspects of firearm use, as= =20 well as defensive tactics, said TSA spokeswoman Suzanne Luber. The 50-hour= =20 seminar will start April 13. Pilots who complete the program will be=20 deputized as federal law enforcement officers. As a security precaution,=20 authorities won't reveal which airlines have pilots in the program, Luber=20 said. Only volunteer pilots who meet federal screening requirements =97=20 including psychological evaluations and criminal background checks =97 will= =20 be allowed to carry handguns, Luber said. The Air Line Pilots Association=20 worked closely with the TSA to develop the program. It also nominated 36 of= =20 the 48 pilots in the inaugural class. Association spokesman John Mazor said= =20 union officials will observe the training and then offer suggestions on how= =20 to improve it. "Not every plane is going to have a pilot who is armed,"=20 Mazor said. "But you won't know if your pilot is armed or not, and that's=20 the deterrent." The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, near= =20 Brunswick, is run by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It trains=20 agents and officers for 76 federal agencies. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.carstt.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************