. >> next, the director of the federal air marshal service, roder roderic allison testifies for an hour and ten migz minutes. >> the committee on homeland security, subcommittee on transportation will come to order. the subcommittee is meeting today to hear testimony on examining the federal air marshal service. and its readiness to meet the evolving threat. i now recognize myself for the opening statement. welcome, everybody, to today's hearing on tsa's federal air marshal service. the subcommittee is meeting today to examine the federal air marshal service and its readiness to meet the evolving threat. before we begin, i'd like to express my support for the administrator who assumed his position at tsa last week. i had the opportunity to sit down with mr. neppinger and i'm hoping that he can provide steady leadership that is badly needed at tsa to bring tsa into a new and more effective chapter. while it is clear he will have his work cut out for him, i believe that his experience in the united states coast guard will be a valuable asset to tsa and i look forward to working with him a