I was on a MHT-ORD-SFO flight the other day, and I handed the ID checker my MHT-ORD boarding pass. The guy then asked me if ORD was my final destination. When I said no, he began to ask me questions about where I was going. At this point I became beligerant and said I don't know, and I won't know until I get to ORD. That was the end of it until I was "randomly" selected for additional screening by the WTMD... I've never been asked questions like that anywhere else. Is the TSA starting to expand the behavior detection program that was previously limited to BOS?

It almost happened to be at BDL. I think the guy said "I need to ask you some questions" but being hearing impaired I was not sure. So, I replied, "I am hearing impaired, so if you are going to ask questions I may not understand your questions." He seemed unaware of how to proceed, and just started marking off the BP while not looking at me. There is more to the story, but that was the end of the official questioning.

Probably more of the new RBS - Random B.S..

MHT has a history of coming up with their own random procedures based on what is going on elsewhere (or what they seem to think is going on elsewhere). E.g., insisting that all wallets be x-rayed or that they will be hand inspected, and making you twirl after the WTMD so they could look at your butt for a wallet.

Could be an expansion of the pilot, but just as likely to be a regular old-fashioned BDO/SPOT or some random policy a local supervisor made up.

TSA has been using behavioral detection in the Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques program for years, with something like 3,000 officers now at 161 airports. The BOS pilot program is apparently a reaction to criticism from several sources, notably Rep. John Mica, that TSA rolled out the program without adequately validating it.

Some of the descriptions of the SPOT program in the media, and even from Rep. Mica himself (emphasis added below), appear to have been somewhat inaccurate, suggesting that behavior detection under SPOT is limited to observation from a distance rather than engaging the passenger with questions:
If you actually read the Government Accountability Office report (GAO-10-763 pdf article) that Mica was referring to in his press conference, you find (p.10)
And there's this from a 2006 article in the LA Times (emphasis added):
So it seems that a main difference between the current BOS pilot program and the pre-existing program is that now all passengers will be engaged in conversation (presumably drawing from a predetermined set of questions) rather than just some passengers selected by BDOs.

I myself was taken aback last year when a uniformed agent who I presumed was a TSA agent approached me while I was in a checkpoint queue, I think at LAX, and started playing 20 questions with me. Since I travel a lot and had never experienced this before, and since it was clear to me that not all of the travelers were being asked these questions, I started to get very annoyed. He let it rest, and off I went.

Like what?

I've gotten BDO'd specifically quite a few times -- mostly when traveling with a large musical instrument. They usually come and ask me something like how long I've been playing, etc.

I'm actually fine with common-sensical stuff like that as long as it is extremely brief and non-invasive. I doubt the utility though, if I'd said, "I'm just carrying it for a friend" or just made up some stuff quickly I bet they really would not logically behave differently. Also, if I shied away from them touching it, it may have just been a really, really expensive or rare instrument, which might give a similar reaction. But to look closely at really weird stuff going through the security queue, or followup on strange observed things is fine.

What I DON'T approve of is harassing every single person with a canned interview, or assuming obvious non-terrorists are terrorists, effectively strip-searching and groping people, or just being a total jacka$$ to the average traveler, which is what the TSA currently does.

To me, the term "casual conversation" refers to things like "how are you doing?", discussing the weather, sports, current events, etc. It does not include questions about travel plans. I have no problem whatsoever about the former, but serious problems with the latter.

...except that the motivation in both cases is based on you (and the rest of us) assumed to be a threat to national security because we showed up at the airport to catch our flight.

Yes, but the former could just as easily be a TSO exercising his/her First Amendment rights as anything else and prohibiting them from engaging in casual conversation (from which you have the right to abstain) could be construed as a violation of their right to free speech.

Like the beady eyed BDO at the bottom of the escalator going up to the checkpoint at SMF. "Good Morning, how are you?" while looking at me suspiciously as if he was about to escort me to my jail cell. Bizarre. "fine, how are you?" go right on past. If I were a true bad guy, I could easily plant a third eye in his forehead and what was he going to be able to do about that.

Questions about an item I'm carrying, fine. Questions as to purpose, destination, the name of my cat, go to h*ll.

A private individual does not violate another persons right to free speech since this is a limitation on government.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/First_amendment

+1

To me, the term 'casual conversation' means I have the option to decline to answer a particular question without consequences.

It's 'casual' partly because there's nothing at stake.

This is how they think:

There's nothing 'casual' about a BDOs questions. It is an interrogation with serious consequences if I fail to 'please' my interrogator.