When you consider what a FAM is expected to do in a situation, training with lots of live ammo makes perfect sense. A pinpoint pistol shot on a bad guy in a probable hostage or at the very least close vicinity to innocents in an enclosed space that may potentially catastrophically decompress if certain items are hit (windows) and doing it under pressure is certainly a daunting task. In my opinion, give that guy all the ammo he needs to be proficient.

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Originally posted by bettysnephew:
in an enclosed space that may potentially catastrophically decompress if certain items are hit (windows)

This same old trope shows up anytime someone mentions Air Marshals.

"Catastrophic decompression" of an airplane from a bullet has been tested and thoroughly debunked, most famously on Mythbusters, but elsewhere in more scholarly studies too.

Here's a good synopsis: https://www.smithsonianmag.com...-pressure-142253641/

For those who don't feel like reading an entire article, here's the pertinent part:

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Pilot and author David Lombardo writes in his book Advanced Aircraft Systems: “Hollywood has fostered an image of rapid cabin depressurization that has come to be known as explosive decompression. [Someone] shoots a hole into the side of an aircraft and it results in total loss of cabin pressure with paper, food trays, and baggage flying everywhere...”

“Reality simply does not work that way,” explains Lombardo. “A bullet hole in a cabin wall would have no perceived effect on cabin pressure…. A bullet hole is far smaller than the opening of the outflow valve [through which cabin air escapes during routine depressurization]. In fact, such a hole would account for less air leakage than what is normally lost around door and window seals.”

Even if they somehow managed to knock out an entire window, it's not going to be that dramatic:

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On July 13, 2009, a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 (Flight 2294) depressurized after a one-foot hole appeared in its upper fuselage... The cabin depressurized about 30 minutes into the flight at 34,000 feet, and no injuries were reported, although the NTSB noted “The damage left a hole measuring approximately 17 inches by 8 inches.”

In the event of a larger hole in the fuselage, there’s more risk of hypothermia than decompression.

That 17" x 8" hole was larger than the average 12.5" x 9" airplane window.



So no, stray bullets are not going to cause the airplane to catastrophically decompress like you might see in movies (alongside the similarly fictional concept of Air Marshals carrying around cocked P229s... )

Even if someone managed to poke so many bullet holes in the cabin that the cabin fully depressurized, at an altitude of 30,000 feet the passengers and crew would still have around a full minute before losing consciousness. Plenty of time to access supplementary oxygen while the flight crew descends to a safer altitude.

That they train to such a high degree of proficiency can’t just be explained by saying they want to know that they’ll hit their intended target on a whole plane full of people with only the peoples’ heads visible. Huh, now that I think about it, being able to headshot the guy in 4B from 22E applies well to a church, auditorium, movie theater, etc. Now where can I get a bunch of folding chairs for cheap?