sbrower

Random gate checks have officially returned. The TSA Manager at SNA (one of the good airports, in my opinion) confirmed that it is a directive from DC that he would not share as SSI. According to him, they have not found any instances of items that should have been located at the checkpoint. He is doing the program because DC told him to do so as a pilot program.

Centurion210

The last time I flew the airlines was when my wife and I were traveling to Orlando to see her folks and to see my fathers lawyer on his transferring ownership of his T-310 to me since he lost his medical certificate. The idea was to fly oneway by Delta from GTF to MCO via STP and then return in our new plane. So I flew unarmed since this was a personal trip and not authorized Gov travel. They have since gotten anal about the flying armed bit over the years. So when we hit security, my wife got through okay although she griped about walking barefoot. I sent my wallet, keys, change and creds with badge through the scanning machine and stepped through the metal detector. Naturally the system beeped due to some metal particle in my chest from a .25 bullet. So they wanded me and I explained what it was and offered to show them the scar. They declined. But when I went to get my items from the bin that went through the scanner, my creds weren't there. I asked for a sup and explained what was missing, he stated that one of the screeners had accused me of trying to use my creds to avoid security. The sup produced my creds and I snatched them from his hands and claimed that was a huge amount of BS and that I had sent them through the scanner so how could I have attempted to use them? The body scanner TSO backed me up and I brushed past the sup and joined my wife. I then pulled my airport ID card and swiped the door that led to the airport offices and went to the station chiefs office and filed a complaint. The floor sup saw what I was doing and then got visibly upset.

After that, we boarded our flight, I got a 1st class upgrade, and that was the last time I ever used the airlines. Since then, the T-310 has been our primary mode of long distance travel.

Spiff

Keep filing those complaints, folks!

TSA Complaint Line 1-866-289-9673

Let's get these disgusting, un-American searches and those responsible for them terminated with prejudice.

Centurion210

I appreciate the caveat. I prefer to maximize their embarresement without bringing undue attention to me. So I do what the general public did, acquiesce and let them dig their own hole and pull the dirt over their heads. Then I zap them. It was amusing to see them flail about when they realized they made themselves look the dolts they generally were. Good security agents were few and far between, mainly all you ran into were people impressed with their own sense of importance and authority. A bad mix, IMHO.

The other side of the coin is that when I flew armed which I did a lot in those days is not wanting to bring extra attention to myself. Some airlines wanted to pre-board me and I had mixed feelings about that. The pro side was that I avoided the onslaught of people attempting to board, con was that all eyes were on me when I went down the jetway by myself. It was hard to avoid that because the ticket agent said to identify myself to the gate agent.

Oh well, those days are behind me now.

FliesWay2Much

I used to take the same approach back in the days where I had to carry classified information on occasion. The best policy was to not draw attention to yourself. I always carried the stuff appropriately wrapped in my standard briefcase that I locked. Also, our security people did a great job keeping up with the exact words the FAA required on a courier letter in order to prevent a security screener or a cop from opening the package. The hassle carrying classified was to figure out your back-up plans if you missed a connection or got weathered in somewhere with no place to lock it up.

Fortunately, in the TSA era, there's virtually no need to carry any hard copy classified stuff anymore. I can't imagine what it would be like in today's environment carrying as much classified stuff as we did 10-20 years ago. Can you imagine a gate-groper ripping open a pouch? Or, being separated from the Holiest of Holies while someone is doing a "random or retaliatory" secondary on you? Or, some screener yelling across half the airport to his supervisor, "Hey, Joe! What do I do with this package of Top Secret stuff this guy says he's carrying?"

Centurion210

I think couriers went out with the cold war. Not much call for it since everything can be encrypted and sent in burst transmissions or carried in encrypted electronic form. I do know the State Dept. couriers always tried to use military flights when possible.

mikeef

Rats. I guess that means no remake of "Gotcha." That movie was a classic.

Mike

MrAndy1369

Ah, I have to disagree. Gate checks haven't "returned." They were always there. You can find multiple reports and similiar thread topics ("Are gate checks back?") from 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, and 2002. Gate checks aren't new; they have always been around since the inception of TSA.

Not that I agree with it.

cparekh

I have to believe (though I do not know for sure) that the rules would be similar to carrying confidential documents, which I often have to do in paper copy because they need to be signed. When my briefcase is searched, the confidential documents are sealed in a pouch marked "Privileged and Confidential -- Prepared for the Use of Counsel." The TSA may X-ray this pouch individually, but they cannot open it without a an written order from a judge (some type of warrant). I am not an attorney, so I don't know any of the law behind this, but this is what my firm's legal department tells us.

FliesWay2Much

I was carrying stuff well into the "Peace Dividend." Regardless, thank heaven for SIPRNET and JWICS!

DevilDog438

Couriers are still used. There are certain devices that need transporting from place to place that have to be hand-carried. According to some friends, there are also some documents that are still hand-carried, instead of being forwarded over SIPR/JWICS, that still require two-person courier teams.

sbrower

I am going out on a limb and I will stick with my statement. While I acknowledge that there have been rare exceptions, based on my observations at various airports, and my discussion at SNA today, I believe that they have "officially returned" in a quantity which will be materially different. (Advance apologies, to you, if I am proven mistaken.)

FliesWay2Much

Right -- There's lots of classified hardware and stuff other than PowerPoint briefings that I'm very happy to leave to the professionals. It's just that I don't have to carry any written materials and briefings any more. I remember some friends back in the 1980s (we were all young Air Force captains back then) who were involved in handcarrying 2-person stuff to Europe. The standard procedure was to have THREE guys courier the stuff, especially on the transatlantic flights, so one of them could use the lav or catch a nap without breaching the 2-person rule and getting a whole lot of people annoyed.

The strangest thing I had to do during that time in my life and career was to accompany two weapon control system computers for a tactical nuclear system. It was decertified and declassified, so, at least there wasn't a 2-person rule. As it was, each of the systems was contained in about 3'x'3'x6' metal box capable of withstanding small arms fire. So, each box weighed about 80lbs. The transportation shop did a great job crating them up.

So, I had to take these things, check them in, and fly from LHR to SEA on old Pan Am (nonstop), clear customs, and then fly to the contractor facility in San Diego. The NCOs had fixed me up with all the required documentation. The Customs guy started giving me a hard time about these two crates and the shipping documentation. By this time, I had about all I could take with this Customs weenie. I mustered up all the gumption of an Air Force Captain, looked him in the eye and said, "Look, pal. I don't think we have a problem smuggling high-tech INTO the country, do you???" He shut up, stamped the forms, and I was on my way to San Diego.

Geez -- I must be getting old. I'm telling war stories...

PS: Sorry -- this is a long way from gate gropes in 2009.

MrAndy1369

What do you mean exactly?

GUWonder

The use of couriers is but a fraction of what it used to be, but some of that still goes on even with commercial flights.