Todos
← Back to Squawk list
Confessions of a TSA Agent
I hated it from the beginning. It was a job that had me patting down the crotches of children, the elderly and even infants as part of the post-9/11 airport security show. Once, in 2008, I had to confiscate a bottle of alcohol from a group of Marines coming home from Afghanistan. It was celebration champagne intended for one of the men in the group—a young, decorated soldier. He was in a wheelchair, both legs lost to an I.E.D., and it fell to me to tell this kid who would never walk again that… (www.politico.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
that is such a well written piece, I intend to follow Jason's writings going forward. How illuminating!
Going through security several times in the last 6 years I always thought it was more theater than security. This was a very well written piece and I know that honestly I am not any safer than before 9-11. I hope this starts a change, but I honestly doubt it. Government agencies, once given power will never give it up.
I'd like to see this article as a "Sticky" on FlightAware (if possible).
My career spans far enough back that there was a time when our valid airline crewmember IDs allowed us to bypass the magnetometers and x-ray eye-wash "theatre" entirely.
Then, it changed (sometime in 1988, iirc? Late 1980s, for sure). But, it was usually the case, back then, that the screeners knew how ridiculous it was, to "examine" pilots and F/As. But now, the TSA? A whole 'nuther animal!! A beast that's outgrown its usefulness and effectiveness.
And the most galling thing for we pilots was, management always told us "Don't make any waves." Being hassled for having a fricken allen wrench (which BTW) was 2.8 inches long? While in uniform. With all proper ID and authority to be there. To fly a leg with an airplane full of passengers and cargo. (Pssst....KDFW? Are you reading this?)
But, "Don't make any waves", they told us. Should I (not) mention the blatant gaps in every airport's (cough, cough) 'security' that still exist?
My career spans far enough back that there was a time when our valid airline crewmember IDs allowed us to bypass the magnetometers and x-ray eye-wash "theatre" entirely.
Then, it changed (sometime in 1988, iirc? Late 1980s, for sure). But, it was usually the case, back then, that the screeners knew how ridiculous it was, to "examine" pilots and F/As. But now, the TSA? A whole 'nuther animal!! A beast that's outgrown its usefulness and effectiveness.
And the most galling thing for we pilots was, management always told us "Don't make any waves." Being hassled for having a fricken allen wrench (which BTW) was 2.8 inches long? While in uniform. With all proper ID and authority to be there. To fly a leg with an airplane full of passengers and cargo. (Pssst....KDFW? Are you reading this?)
But, "Don't make any waves", they told us. Should I (not) mention the blatant gaps in every airport's (cough, cough) 'security' that still exist?
TSA is the proof that the terrorists have won so far.
Amen
WALLACE24 is correct. We have become more scared and mistrusting of each other than ever before. Though we certainly always need to be on guard for terrorism, security has never been handled intelligently. It is loaded with knee-jerk reactions. The TSA is prime example. This gentleman has been proving it in his blog for years.
Yep,that's it in a nutshell.
The most starkly real and frightening thing he says here is when he mentions how if a terrorist really wanted to make an impact, all he would have to do would become a TSA officer. To me this is a very real and scary threat, but perhaps more scary is the relative ease in which literally thousands of people at each major airport are issued SIDA badges. Literally every single ramp worker and customer service worker are granted direct access to aircraft, without having to pass through security at all.