Good-bye
I'm not returning to FlyerTalk.
Seems that the same people obsess over the same topics no matter how many of us TSA employees try to correct myths, misperceptions and exaggerations. For a while, there appeared to be some give-and-take progress, but recently it's taken a turn for the worst. Perhaps the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back was the lack of objectivity by the so-called moderators. No fun playing against a stacked deck.
I've mentioned perspective in many of my posts, and I think it's appropriate that I share my perspective in this last and final post on FlyerTalk.
I'm a retired Army intelligence officer. While the majority of my experience dealt with operations conducted against our Cold War adversaries, the latter half of my career entailed the new asymetric threat that emerged after the Cold War. Hate to put it this way, but it seemed that the world was a safer place when two superpowers had arsenals of intercontinental ballistic missiles aimed at each other. The rules of engagement were somewhat simpler; and each side was careful to avoid triggering a global nuclear holocaust.
All of that changed when the Soviet Union and its cronies went away. The new threat that emerged has no regard for rules. Instead of a chess game, we find ourselves in a street fight. This became quite obvious to me when, during one of my stints in a war-torn country, I came across what I thought was a thrown-away doll, and it turned out to be the remains of an infant who was victimized by a senseless massacre euphemistically called "ethnic cleansing."
My first exposure to terrorism was when I lived in Germany when the Baader-Meinhof Gang was bombing American military bases. Shortly after that, a group called Black September murdered 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympic Games. While the majority of my military career entailed counterintelligence and counterespionage investigations/operations, I eventually became involved in counterterrorism activities. I wasn't surprised that it was al Qai'da who would orchestrate the atrocities of September 11th; however, I was amazed at the simplicity of their plan and its devastating efficiency.
The events of 9/11 are why I became an airport security screener first working as a private contractor for the Wackenhut Corporation and then becoming a screener for the Transportation Security Administration. I clearly understand that I qualify for higher paying and higher ranking jobs than my current position as a Lead Screener. However, I've always been a tip-of-the-spear type of guy, and to me, my expertise is needed at the security checkpoint instead of behind some desk in some office buried deep inside some bureaucracy.
I, too, am frustrated over the inconsistencies TSA wide. I was frustrated at the discrepancies when we were privately contracted airports and thought TSA would finally bring some standardization. Apparently, TSA still has a lot of work to do to bring about some consistency. However, I can certainly influence things in my airport with my screeners assigned to me on my shift. All I can say to you is that when you pass through Terminal 1 at San Antonio International Airport anytime after 12 noon, I'm going to screen you as if my own family were on the same flight.
One last thing: this is World War III. The bad guys are going to try it again. The defense of this nation is not at the security checkpoint as some of you have mischaracterized. Security checkpoints are only part of a multi-layered defensive perimeter coordinated among several different agencies under the Department of Homeland Security. The true defense of this nation is in the hands of silent warriors who impose maximum violence of action at the objective under the cloak of covert operations. You will never read of their successes, you will most certainly hear of their failures because the root weevils who infest the media love to kick a man when he's down. But be assured, the fight will be won in places like Iraq and Afghanistan so that we don't have to do it on the streets of America.
When you put it in that perspective, within that context, taking off your shoes is not the worst thing in the world that could ever happen to you.
Safe journey.
To the brave and the bold: RANGERS LEAD THE WAY! HOOAH!