I had to go back and read the above article, because your statement that the TSO's had to surrender their badges when off duty was a new one to me. Maybe I missed it, but I read it that the TSO's were "barred from wearing them" when not working.
Yes, I think the phrasing "...unlike police, who often are required to carry their badges while off-duty, screeners will be barred from wearing them when they are not working" is ambiguous. I took is as meaning that they would have to surrender them, since their authority appears to end outside the airport, and when the shift ends. Controlling badges when they imply no authority outside of the airport might seem sensible, but I am probably reading too much into these vague words.
Was I a rogue screener?
Heavens no...come to think of it, flashing a badge in front of those punkazzes (who probably wouldn't have been able to discern a TSA badge from any other badge) might have given them a well-needed brick in the trousers. But seriously, when I think of rogue screeners flashing a badge, I think more of using it for unauthorized free passage on the Metro, or worse, such as confiscating property.
Or just an adult (yuck! I hate that word to describe myself)
