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TSA missing "contraband" at high levels

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Old Sep 22, 2014 | 5:13 am
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TSA missing "contraband" at high levels

As evidence of the toll this is taking, Kasprisin cited the results of agency tests in which undercover operatives try to sneak weapons or explosives through airport security. He said security employees are increasingly missing the contraband, with the frequency of failures reaching a frightening level.
http://tinyurl.com/mfcgeml

Also in the article:

And at the Transportation Security Administration, a DHS agency created after 9/11 to enhance airport security, the hemorrhaging of both senior and junior personnel has had a tremendous effect, said Kenneth Kasprisin, a former acting TSA head who left the agency in May.

You cannot sustain a high level of security operations when you have that kind of turnover, he said, attributing the defections to a toxic culture and terrible morale.
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Old Sep 22, 2014 | 9:08 am
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Old Sep 22, 2014 | 9:31 am
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"Culture" and "morale" come from the top down. If you have inept, apathetic, or hostile management, you'll have apathetic, hostile, and miserable employees. Not to mention poor job performance, high employee turnover, and lousy customer satisfaction.

If TSA were a business, it would have gone bankrupt years ago. They have a leader who seems hell-bent on turning them into a law enforcement and intelligence agency focused on everything except terrorism - which is ironic considering his blatant disregard of the law and contempt of Congress - and he's obviously hiring and shuffling tons of incompetents for his upper and middle management positions. Their crap rolls downhill to the individual stations, which are then staffed with a motley collection of incompetent buffoons and jackbooted wannabes.
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Old Sep 22, 2014 | 10:37 am
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Originally Posted by WillCAD
"Culture" and "morale" come from the top down. If you have inept, apathetic, or hostile management, you'll have apathetic, hostile, and miserable employees. Not to mention poor job performance, high employee turnover, and lousy customer satisfaction.

If TSA were a business, it would have gone bankrupt years ago. They have a leader who seems hell-bent on turning them into a law enforcement and intelligence agency focused on everything except terrorism - which is ironic considering his blatant disregard of the law and contempt of Congress - and he's obviously hiring and shuffling tons of incompetents for his upper and middle management positions. Their crap rolls downhill to the individual stations, which are then staffed with a motley collection of incompetent buffoons and jackbooted wannabes.
Many comments to the linked article speak to that point exactly; everyone except Pistole knows how "well" the TSA is doing.
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Old Sep 22, 2014 | 10:38 am
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Originally Posted by goalie
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^ and a big
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Old Sep 22, 2014 | 6:47 pm
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Originally Posted by petaluma1
As evidence of the toll this is taking, Kasprisin cited the results of agency tests in which undercover operatives try to sneak weapons or explosives through airport security. He said security employees are increasingly missing the contraband, with the frequency of failures reaching a frightening level.
Lemme guess: 70%?
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Old Sep 22, 2014 | 7:22 pm
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WaPo: Former Acting Head of TSA says TSA has a toxic culture and terrible morale.

Another former high-level TSA official waited until he left the agency before admitting what FTers knew all along:

Washington Post:
Top-level turnover makes it harder for DHS to stay on top of evolving threats

September 21 at 8:03 PM


The relevant section:
And at the Transportation Security Administration, a DHS agency created after 9/11 to enhance airport security, the hemorrhaging of both senior and junior personnel has had a tremendous effect, said Kenneth Kasprisin, a former acting TSA head who left the agency in May.

You cannot sustain a high level of security operations when you have that kind of turnover, he said, attributing the defections to a toxic culture and terrible morale.

As evidence of the toll this is taking, Kasprisin cited the results of agency tests in which undercover operatives try to sneak weapons or explosives through airport security. He said security employees are increasingly missing the contraband, with the frequency of failures reaching a frightening level.
Uh-oh, looks like Kenneth Kasprisi revealed some SSI....
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Old Sep 22, 2014 | 9:08 pm
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Originally Posted by RadioGirl
Lemme guess: 70%?
"The 70% failure rate of the organization does not reflect on the high levels of professionalism and dedication of the organization..."
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Old Sep 23, 2014 | 2:20 pm
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"Today, employees describe a stifling bureaucracy made up of agencies with clashing employee cultures and overtaxed by high-pressure responsibilities and relentless congressional carping..."
I could wish for more Congressional oversight, actually.
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Old Sep 23, 2014 | 11:41 pm
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Originally Posted by Schmurrr
I could wish for more Congressional oversight, actually.
You forgot the
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Old Sep 24, 2014 | 1:33 am
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TSA missing "contraband" at high levels

The TSA is completely irrelevant with respect to national security and the entire DHS is not far behind if you extract FEMA and the Coast Guard.

Is anyone surprised that Francine Kerner (the Googling Attorney), Blogdad Bob, West , and Kelli Mae have remained employed by the TSA this long???
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