FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - What is the rank structure and hierarchy of TSA personnel at the airport?
Old Jul 18, 2011 | 11:31 am
  #14  
sbagdon
 
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Originally Posted by WhyNotKnow
There are other positions above a TSM such as:
DASFD - Deputy Assistant Federal Security Director- Usually answer to AFSD/S- mostly at Category X Airports

AFSD/S - Assistant Federal Security Director for Screening
AFSD/G - Assistant Federal Security Director - Generalists (use to be AFSD for Operations)
AFSD/I - Assistant Federal Security Director for Inspection
AFSD/LE - Assistant Federal Security Director for Law Enforcement
DFSD - Deputy Federal Security Director
FSD - Federal Security Director
AD - Area Director

Other support service positions are:
Program Assistant
Program Analyst
Program Manager
Management Analyst

Stakeholder Manager

Customer Service Manager

Field Intelligence Officer

Coordination Center Manager

Scheduling Operations Officer

OSHA Program Analyst

Training Instructor
Training Specialist
Training Manager

Payroll Analyst
Payroll Manager

HR Specialist
HR Manager

Administrative Officer
Thanks for bringing up the DAFSD and AD roles.

You can also org-chart it from the other direction, unless there's been a re-org recently (there was one a few years ago). Some of the names might be inactive, or been moved out of that position (titles/names are suprising hard to verify, between Pistole and the FSDs).

Secretary of Homeland Security - Janet Napolitano
Deputy Secretary - Jane Holl Lute
Assistant Secretary of the TSA - Administrator John S. Pistole
Deputy Administrator - Gale Rossides
Assistant Administrator for Security Operations - Lee R. Kair
Deputy Assistant Administrator - Ray White

Now leaving Headquarters?

Area Directors (6 total)
Deputy ADs
Assistant ADs
Deputy Assistant ADs

Now leaving SES?

Federal Security Directors
Deputy FSDs
Assistant FSDs
Deputy Assistant FSDs

Now leaving suits?

Then keep going down.

Area Director regions are Region 1 (North Eastern Area), Region 2 (South Eastern Area), Region 3 (North Central Area), Region 4 (South Central Area), Region 5 (North Western Area), and Region 6 (South Western Area). No idea what airports fall into what region.

A number of these deputy roles appear to have been created over the last few years, for this cynical reason... as the organization has aged and matured, and as there's been shake-ups and firings, it appears the organization needs to be able to have a higher-level take over control quickly, vs. having a lower-level role take over as "acting" (for instance, when the HNL fiasco occured, the DAD, and not a DFSP/AFSD/DAFSD, was made the acting-FSD).

For such a "young" organization, it really has fully embraced the bureaucratic org-chart.

Anyway, the two comments about wanting to know the chain-of-command... the average pax will never talk to an FSD, they'll almost always talk to the office of the FSD, who will put them in touch with the lowest-ranking available suit. And talking to a suit is almost always a time-issue, so it's do what the uniform says, or miss your flight (unless you're trying to make a point, and don't mind missing your flight).
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