Originally Posted by
gsoltso
I am stating that the training specifics of TSOs are not something I care to publicly disseminate past what is on the TSA.gov website, and there is no specific mention of that on the site... think....cya maybe? Most of what I put on here is opinion or directly from a TSA operated site, therefore when I am asked a specific question that I can't find reference to, I tend to decline answering on the grounds that I like my job and want to keep it.
What does the question about whether TSO's are trained in identifying illegal drugs have to do with the mission of the TSA? It doesn't. As such, the TSA can not hide behind the SSI rubric to refuse to answer that question.
Truth is, TSO's have no training from the TSA in identification of illegal drugs. Why? Because if they did, each arrest related to a screening checkpoint find of illegal drugs by a TSO would be thrown out. And though TSO's say they are required to report illegal drugs, what are the consequences to them if they don't? Absolutely none. How can you hold a TSO responsible for not reporting something that they are not trained to identify? You can't. As such, TSO's shouldn't be generally reporting their suspicions other than those related to WEI.