On a usual day, Mr. Fisher starts his class off on an enthusiastic note, going around the room “red robin” style, skipping from student to student extracting key concepts and ideas from the previous day’s lesson.  Likewise, he ends his class with a prolific phrase that resonates with students: “I’m Mr. Fisher, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.”

On Friday, May 24th, it was a different day in Mr. Fisher’s Honors History class as Mr. Bill Isbir, a special agent with the Federal Air Marshal Service, paid a visit.

The classroom, which is very different from his usual workplace, a commercial airplane, has been familiar territory for Mr. Isbir. From time to time, Mr. Isbir ventures from school to school and shares with students what it’s like to be in the Air Marshal Service.

Mr. Isbir attended Clarion University in hopes of one day becoming a teacher.  However, during his last semester of college he applied to the Secret Service and successfully glided through the hiring process and worked for them for about a year.  Once 9/11 occurred, he absconded D.C. and transferred to the Air Marshal Service, as he has been with them for eleven years now.

During Mr. Isbir’s presentation, he covered topics like what he does on a daily basis, what has occurred since 9/11, his training, and his professional background.

Mr. Isbir articulated, “We work five days a week with two days off and take from anywhere three to five flights a day. It could be from anywhere between six to fourteen hours, not including delays.  We travel to any major city in America, and we also do international travel.”

Mr. Isbir went on to talk about “Special Mission Covers” also known as SMC.  Essentially, a Federal Air Marshal will follow a suspected terrorist on a plane to keep a close eye on them and protect the civilians that are on the plane so they aren’t endangered.

“With these SMCs, we will follow the terrorist around, whether it be they are a terrorist, have terrorist connections, donate money to a terrorist organization, or any number of different things.  However, for the most part of my career I have only had to deal with drunks coming out of Vegas,” Mr. Isbir said. The class chuckled after that jocular remark.

However, Mr. Isbir quickly returned to a serious note that hooked the attention of the classmates sitting in on the presentation.  Mr. Isbir explained to the class that he followed a potential dangerous situation that could have escalated quickly.  A passenger on the plane had a medical emergency, and the suspected terrorist bolted into immediate action.  To grab a hold of the situation, Mr. Isbir jolted to the rather unsafe environment and started to administer CPR.  Despite this, Mr. Isbir was pitted into a thorny and difficult situation; the suspected terrorist was about to administer a shot of adrenaline since the medical victim was in cardiac arrest.

Mr. Isbir explained that this terrorist was swinging around an unwieldy needle that was packed with adrenaline.  If jabbed into someone’s side other than the medical victim, that person could potentially enter cardiac arrest and die.  Fortunately, the plane was swooped down and landed in order for the patient to receive medical attention and nothing came about this poignant situation.

Mr. Isbir stated, “Remember we want to protect that cockpit at all cost.  We want to make sure that they [terrorists] don’t get control of that plane and turn it into a steerable missile, which can cause a lot more loss of life.”

Mr. Isbir highlighted that he keeps a gun with a holster on him at all times to protect him and everyone on board on the plane.  Similarly, Mr. Isbir crafted an ingenious demonstration that simulated real life defensive moves that sometimes he has to utilize.  He invited a couple students up to the front of the class to show moves that can protect yourself whenever someone has a gun or knife pointed at you.  Additionally, Mr. Isbir showed how to deal with an incompetent rider, as you can control a person from sitting up or down by exerting pressure on the notch right below the Adam’s apple.

Mr. Isbir’s presentation undoubtedly created a ripple effect, as students were clinging on to his every word and were eager to expand their knowledge about what it’s like to be apart of a bold organization: the Federal Air Marshal Service.