There are some outstanding supervisors who lead, inspire, motivate and develop subordinates. Then there are the run-of-the-mill supervisors who aren't necessarily bad but don't have that extra touch that distinguishes them as leaders. And then there are those who may have looked good on paper, may have interviewed well but turned out to be huge disappointments. I challenge anyone in here to point out how this is different than any other organization.

The issue with abuse from passengers is a different story. Being yelled at, unfortunately, comes with the job. When I train officers, I tell them that they are NOT paid to get angry; so let the supervisor earn the little bit of extra money that he or she is paid to deal with the angry passenger. The frustration comes from how supervisors deal with the passenger. In some instances, the supervisor really has no choice because of policies established either by local TSA management, airport management, the airport police or a combination of all three. Still, a good supervisor will know how to handle even the most disagreeable passenger with good old fashioned customer service. Many people respond better when the supervisor makes an earnest attempt to help resolve issues rather than to impose some measure of authority or hide behind the ol' SSI veil of secrecy.

Passengers who strike or otherwise physically abuse officers is a non-starter. That should be an automatic go-directly-to-jail-do-not-pass-go-do-not-collect-$200 situation with the violator's adventure at the airport ending right then and there. And TSA ought to throw the book at these violators by making them permanent members of the Standard Pat Down Club at every airport across the country.

However, before it gets to that point, I think there are a lot of more reasonable alternatives that can certainly help prevent the situation from escalating. And that all begins with good old-fashioned leadership. TSA certainly goes to great lengths to teach it; but it doesn't matter if supervisors don't put it in practice when they return to the floor. Again, I think those who have weak leadership skills are the minority. But all it takes is one lousy leadership decision to taint the perspective for both passenger and officer.