Originally Posted by FWAAA

That's not accurate. A fair number of the screeners hired by the TSA were retired military, retired police and more than a few police force washouts. Since 2002, quite a few of the self-described TSA screener flyertalk members are in those groups. And that is part of the problem: too many TSA screeners view their workday as a firefight in the war on terror, egged on by propaganda provided by their employer. You don't have to have served in a war (abroad or in the war on drugs) in order to view an x-ray monitor looking for guns, large knives and bombs.