Boggie Dog

When some TSA screeners refer to themselves as "sworn officers" it pretty well proves the point of TSA's intent.

All federal employees take an oath but sworn officer it does not make.

gsoltso

Many people disagree with you that the uniforms or badges look "fake cop stuff", or that their title shouldn't be "Transportation Security Officer". I think you know this as well. You may not agree with those opinions, but they have just as much validity as yours or any other.

gsoltso

Just like I have posted elsewhere - holding the title "Officer" does not mean that you are necessarily a "sworn Officer". TSOs take an Oath, and they hold the title of Officer.

chollie

As I posted earlier, many people (including actual LEs) hold the opposite opinion.

TWA884

Well, traditionally, the term officer was used to describe those in position of authority in hierarchical organizations, such as militaries or maritime crews. I have no idea how that word morphed to describe the equivalent of privates in police forces.

Boggie Dog

All federal employees take an oath. Sworn Officer designates a person with law enforcement authority.

The uniform TSA puts its screeners in is clearly cop like so perhaps it isn't the uniform which is fake.

chollie

Not to go OT, but I was just in OMNI reading about a p****-grabbing politician and the word 'privates' in your post threw me for a minute. Not least because it's not unusual to read 'TSA' and 'privates' in the same sentence.

FliesWay2Much

Kip Hawley, at the same time as he invented the cop-like uniforms, effected a change in the job series of TSA clerks. They are now Series 1802: "Compliance Inspection and Support" series. Kippie did this to get them more money and to make them more competitive within the DHS.

WillCAD

Many of those people are wearing the very uniforms of which we are speaking.

Meanwhile, in the real world, most Americans see a paramilitary uniform on a government employee and believe that those uniformed employees bearing the arbitrary title of officer are law enforcement officers, are surprised when told otherwise, and are resentful of the deception (whether or not the deception was intentional, which I believe it always was).

In many ways, the current uniform is a classic case of stolen valor, though it's perpetrated by an entire slimy government agency rather than a single slimy individual.

Randyk47

As WillCAD many people think that uniformed TSA personnel are not only law enforcement but also armed. There was some discussion about this on CruiseCritic in connection with the recent FLL shootings. Ran the gamut from people wondering why the "armed" TSA officers didn't respond to the shooting to people saying TSA ought to be armed to TSA ought to take over baggage claim area access and so on. Some of the confusion probably stems from the somewhat misleading uniforms and the presence of local airport authority/local law enforcement officers at some security checkpoints. Of course many also think TSA already runs the security checkpoints in cruise terminals which is not true.

Boggie Dog

I don't think there is any reaonable doubt that TSA has attempted to blur the lines of reality with the screener uniform. So many other choices that would be both functional and professional but that's not the direction TSA went.

gingersnaps

You are likely correct. From 2008

TSA's New Policelike Badges Worry Cops

"The attire aims to convey an image of authority to passengers, who have harassed, pushed and in a few instances
punched screeners. "Some of our officers aren't respected," TSA spokeswoman Ellen Howe said."

CKA1

I have the solution. TSA personell should have to buy their own uniforms. There could be a list of approved suppliers and this would keep costs down. I know I work in the private sector, wearing a suit 3-4 times a week, wearing Dickies workwear every other day. I would like to see them wear a pair of khaki pants, a short sleeved khaki shirt, optional sweater or smock, necktie and dress shoes. If they want, they can have their uniforms purchased from Brooks Brothers, or Walmart, but they should have to pay for them, out of their own pockets.

Badges? My grandfather was a commissioned army officer from Korea to about 2005 when he died. He didn't need a badge, he had a uniform which identified him as a soldier. And I suspect most of his uniform items he purchased on his own.

What really gets me is when they're in (CATSA which is different in scope) uniform and they're all Sergeants. When you want to talk to their officer, they are nowhere to be found. You say, "I want to talk to your Lieutenant" and nobody there seems to be in charge. I think years ago I saw a Corporal. Back when you could, my aunt accompanied me to the security checkpoint. She was absolutely shocked that they seemed to have nobody in charge, at least by rank. Allegedly their LT is sitting in an office, but you can't see him till you're past security.

I also think they need to press their pants and shirt, shine their shoes, keep their hair cut in a respectful, but not military manner and shave, unless religiously against that last statement.

Chuck

Carl Johnson

Clerk West, the clerk who filed a false police report against Phil Mocek and then committed perjury swore to tell the truth in court. Even ignoring the fact that he violated that oath, that didn't make him a "sworn officer" or an officer of any kind. The clerk who filed a false police report against Roger Vanderklok and committed perjury in court took an oath.

TSA clerks are "officers" as much as secretaries and janitors employed by the federal government are "officers" - they perform (<deleted>) duties assigned to them by the federal government. But the technical and general understanding of the term "officer" is more specific than that, and the duties of TSA clerks do not fall within the generally used, and generally understood, meaning of the term. Calling clerks "officers" is an attempt to give a false impression about their responsibility and authority, as is giving them little plastic toy badges. Unfortunately, the toy badges seems to give the clerks a false impression of their responsibility and authority. Many of them seem to think that their sole job is not to learn and follow the rules of their job, but to enforce passenger acquiescence to their misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the rules of their jobs.

I can hire a housekeeper and give her the title of Elephant; that doesn't make her an elephant.

VelvetJones

I should have posted this earlier, but after watching "A Christmas Story" on TBS for the 100th time this past December I think I finally found the perfect uniform for TSOs. I'm sending my suggestion to President Trump as soon as I'm done posting this.