"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. If you would rather not know the truth about the appalling state of airline security in the U.S., please stop reading now. Thank you for your cooperation."

I have no desire to ruin anyone's summer travel plans, but Americans need to know that, almost five years after the 9/11 attacks, our air transportation system is still inexcusably vulnerable to another terrorist attack. In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the Federal Air Marshals program was dramatically expanded, from less than 50 marshals to approximately 4,000. But according to some reports, the air marshal program has shrunk to approximately 2,000 officers.

The aim of the air marshal program is to protect at least 3 percent of the 28,000 daily airline flights in the U.S. Protection is defined as at least two air marshals on board. Whether or not they're meeting that goal, federal air marshal training is first rate. Graduates of the training classes are reputed to be some of the finest marksmen in the world. Their standard-issue duty weapon is the SIG Sauer P-229, chambered for the .357 SIG. The magazine is standard law enforcement issue and holds 12 hollowpoint rounds.

Air marshals are the consummate professionals. They are always undercover while on duty but until recently were required to dress conservatively and keep their hair short, like G-men from the J. Edgar Hoover era. The marshals complained mightily about the so-called "shoot me first" dress code. The rules were finally relaxed to allow the marshals to blend in.

The air marshals got some much-needed reinforcements in 2003, when the Federal Flight Deck Officer program was implemented. Flight-deck officers are airline pilots who volunteer to carry handguns in order to protect airplane cockpits from terrorists and other violent individuals. Their standard-issue weapon is the H&K USP-40 semiautomatic pistol.

Unfortunately, the deck-officer application and training process is such that only 13 percent of all airline pilots have currently turned in applications. The Airline Pilots Security Alliance--a nonprofit organization of concerned pilots--estimates that as many as 50,000 pilots would volunteer to be deck officers if the price of admission wasn't so steep.

To get the approval process started, flight-deck officer applicants must fill out a 14-page application. For comparison, the standard government application for access to sensitive nuclear weapons and intelligence information is only 10 pages. Deck-officer candidates must take written and oral psychological tests in order to prove they can handle the responsibilities of carrying and using a weapon. (These tests are in addition to the Federal Aviation Administration requirements for all airline pilots to have regular physical and psychological examinations, alcohol and drug tests, background investigations and flight-skills tests.)

For pilots who become flight-deck officers, day-to-day life has its own unique set of nightmares. They must keep their weapons locked in metal boxes when they are not in the cockpit. If a deck officer needs to use the airplane lavatory, he must first lock his gun in its metal box. When he returns to the cockpit, he must retrieve the weapon and place it in a holster. These weapons carry and storage rules mean that the average flight-deck officer must handle his weapon about 10 times per day. The average federal law enforcement officer handles his gun only twice a day.

When deck officers are off duty and riding as airline passengers, they must place their guns in checked baggage. This requirement is simply dangerous. During the 2003 Christmas season, approximately 275 flight-deck officers' weapons in checked baggage were temporarily lost. Suitcases containing weapons have been left unattended on jetways and tarmac areas and on endlessly circling baggage carousels.

Flight-deck officers are often left in the dark without current terrorist threat information. While the Transportation Security Agency says deck officers receive all necessary threat information prior to takeoff, Dave Mackett of the Airline Pilots Security Alliance says almost no threat information is provided to flight-deck officers, federal air marshals, pilots or flight attendants.

"Most of us get our best intelligence from CNN," Mackett says.

The APSA believes that if the flight-deck officer selection and screening process were repaired, 50,000 to 60,000 pilots would probably volunteer--offering armed protection on, the association believes, 97 percent of all domestic airline flights at a cost of about $30 million per year. The current program costs almost $700 million per year and protects less than 5 percent of all flights.