Fascinating (and eyebrow-raising) article here by a reporter who went "under cover" to work for the TSA:

http://tinyurl.com/39apts

One relevant excerpt:

It is 5:45 a.m., less than an hour into my first day on the job, and already I am failing miserably. I had no idea that this pre-dawn hour is considered prime time at the checkpoint where I'm working. My first assignment is to monitor the walk-through metal detector and assess the readiness of passengers to enter the portal. I am to scream the litany of instructions across the barrier so that no passengers will dare approach me wearing their shoes, coats, or other any verboten gear.

"Remove all jackets and footwear," I recite, weakly. "If you have a laptop, take it out of its case and put it in a bin by itself…."

I'm working with Carole, a preternaturally calm former social worker, who nonetheless makes her displeasure with my performance clear.

"C'mon, Barbara, I can't hear you," she says in singsong. The other screeners laugh at me.