Washington ( CNN ) -- Eight federal air marshals are being fired for drinking alcohol during training , and six others are being disciplined for not reporting it , according to the Transportation Security Administration . The marshals , who typically fly with guns to protect commercial flights , were in New York in February for training and were not scheduled to fly that day . The group , which included one supervisor , went to lunch at a restaurant , where eight drank alcohol , TSA spokesman David Castelveter said . Some of the marshals had their weapons with them at the time . The incident was reported to an internal federal air marshal website by a marshal who was there , and the TSA launched an internal investigation , Castelveter explained . Under employment rules , seven of the agents will have a chance to appeal their terminations . One of the agents had recently been hired and was still on probationary status and so was fired immediately . `` TSA holds all of its employees to the highest professional and ethical standards and has zero tolerance for misconduct in the workplace , '' Castelveter said in a statement . `` TSA 's decision to remove the individuals involved in the misconduct affirms our strong commitment to the highest standards of conduct and accountability . '' TSA screener spilled grandfather 's ashes , then laughed about it , Indiana man says .
The others face charges for failure to report the drinking , TSA says . The incident took place during a training session in February . The eight marshals had drunk during lunch at a restaurant . Some had their drinks at the time .