Perform a search. I have answered your questions more than once and am not going to do it again.

I would also like to know what you mean by this? Are you saying that just handwanding the person in the bra area should be enough to tell if there is a gun there or a underwire bra?

I know I never noticed anything different in regards on how the HHMD rings or acts when it's in the presence of a large metal source such as a weapon other then a sustained alarm from it. But you can get the same kind of alarm from a wallet with a metal coin in it.

I've always said that the typical flyer didn't understand a thing about security. This forum just proves my point. I don't expect the typical flyer to understand what we're doing. I don't even expect them to agree with it. I just expect the same respect that I'm showing them. There�s no need to complain and cause a scene. You're not going to prove anything other than the fact that you're delaying yourself from moving on to your gate. If you really want to complain, take names and badge numbers and request a complaint card at the desk. Call or e-mail TSA headquarters with the contact info on the card and state your case.

I've learned that GradGirl and CameraGuy are bullheaded and would disagree with you if you told them their heads were on fire.

I've also learned that there are far more satisfied passengers than there are dissatisfied. I've had one too many jerks, but I've also had many pleasant experiences where people expressed their appreciation. I performed a pat down on a Medal Of Honor recipient. Now if anybody has a right to complain, it's this guy. He didn't complain, he praised me for a thorough job and told me that he understood why I was searching him.

For all of you selfish flyers that think we shouldn't search you, think of all the lives you'd be putting in danger for a little convenience. It's sad that you don't care. Selfish and sad�. Go earn some flyer miles by charging your Grande Latte at Starbucks and try to have a pleasant flight.

I guess I'm not your typical flyer.

Not only do I know exactly what you're doing, but I also know the precise, feeble excuse for all your activities, no matter how much you try to wrap them in the sorriest excuse for secrecy on the planet: SSI.

You're fooling no one.

You treat passengers as if they were suspects in a crime. The searches you perform would be illegal in any other public thoroughfare without a warrant. That is the farthest thing from respect. How is it respectful to coerce a stranger into letting you touch her breasts?

First of all, no one's life is in danger from my not being searched. I've never had an item confiscated, and I've never been charged with a crime. You're the one wasting everyone's time searching me.

And it's completely disingenuous of you to say that our concern is convenience. Our concerns are: loss of privacy, invasion of private parts of our bodies, being forced by government agents to undress, and the loss of the safety that could have been provided by spending all the millions we're spending frisking each other on real anti-terrorism measures.

[QUOTE=GradGirl]First of all, no one's life is in danger from my not being searched. I've never had an item confiscated, and I've never been charged with a crime. You're the one wasting everyone's time searching me.
QUOTE]

This is what I mean about not understanding security. You see, you know you're not going to do anything, but how do we know that? Should we just take your word for it and send you along on your way? I'm sure you would answer yes to that question since you don't understand security.

By the way, it seems like you get searched alot. Why is that? If you have some sort of medical implant there is no way around it, but if not, why are you always searched? For someone who hates it as much as you do, you think you would have learned by now how to get around it.

TSA John: Welcome to Flyertalk!

I know that my underwire will set off the detector, so I wear a tank top with a shelf bra when I fly. Likewise, I have a pair of shoes without metal that I always wear. I don't like getting felt up when I fly nor do I like getting my bags rifled through. I'm sure you guys don't enjoy it any more than I do. What other things can I do when I fly to avoid unintenionally triggering a search? I recently learned that a keychain can look like the detonator of a grenade, so I'll be mindful of that when I pack.

Another concern I have is that if my bag is searched or my laptop is swabbing, I want to be right there. I don't like the thought of someone else grabbing my laptop off the belt, and taking it aside for swabbing unless I am watching. I also don't like the thought of someone digging through my bag unless I am right there to make sure they put on clean gloves and so I can see exactly what they touch (cause if they touch my undies, those go straight in the trash). What tips do you have so that we can all deal with this with a minimum of pain?

but that is exactly the point that everyone is making. you should know who are the greater risks to security. this random appproach diverts huge resources away from actually finding someone who is trying to do us harm. TSA has taken a "needle in a haystack" approach to airport security while destroying the civil liberties we are trying to protect. The enourmous resources being spent on checking shoes and doing secondary screenings could be put to better use in other activities.
The other problem is that in most cases it seems that the procedures are either not being followed uniformly or are sufficiently vague to allow for interpretation on a wide scale. Being an upper level manager who sets policy for my company I can tell you that the worst problem I can have is when a procedure is not being followed or changed by the line people. There is NO way to effectively evaluate any program which is checking everyone's shoes in SEA and no ones in ORD. It appears that the procedures for things such as shoes and secondary searches are being changed location to location. You cannot have any effectiveness in a program where such broad implementations of a policy occur since there is no way to measure it from location to location.
Someone here has a great Franklin quote for a sig and I think TSA should really take the quote more to heart.

Actually, you can (in my experience) determine the relative density and mass of the metallic object based on the distance from the item that the HHMD alarms. For instance, a gun in a pocket will cause the HHMD to alarm farther from the pocket than a penny will.

Hey, Spiff. Screeners don't set SSI and (as a rule) don't deserve to be targets of vitriol from dissatisfied travelers. The administration sets policy and determines what's SSI. Unhappy travelers should consider venting to a Federal Security Director or, better yet, to Adm. David Stone.

I'm not excusing the abusive or criminal acts committed by a relatively minute number of screeners. Those folks deserve to have the book thrown at them, IMO. But that's another topic.

Golly-willakers, GradGirl. And here I thought we had a good thing going in the other thread. I guess my wonderfully worded and persuasive comments, coupled with my incredible wit and disarming charm, haven't made an iota of an impression upon you. That makes me sad.

The problem is that I, like Spiff, do know a bit about security and other related disciplines. My problem is that what I see at the checkpoints is government-sponsored security gone awfully wrong. A lot of money is wasted on methods that will not accomplish what they are (officially) set out to do: catch terrorists so that an incident similar WTC can be avoided.

As long as I don�t see any changes, I will remain critical of the whole process. I try to be civil at the checkpoint, but sometimes the stupidity of some screeners make it very hard. Even though I travel relatively often, I only visit a very limited number of airports. So far I have been spared the shoe carnival but I�m sure it will happen one of these days. That will not be a pleasant time, I�m sure.

Screeners do like to quote SSI, however. And some really enjoy talking down to travelers while doing so.

And there are some actions that are inexcusable, whether a screener sets policy or not. Being a willing participant in the Shoe Carnival is one such example.

I can honestly say that was true with the wands I used with my private company but the wands now don't give me that same feeling. Of course before TSA. We didn't exaclty have to keep it a exact distance from the body, we were always told "Keep it close." So your distance would change from time to time and you felt different sensations from the wand.

TSA requires a certian distance and I haven't had the pleasure of screening someone with a gun hidden on them as weird as that may sound, tested or non tested.

[QUOTE=L-1011]I try to be civil at the checkpoint, but sometimes the stupidity of some screeners make it very hard.QUOTE]

I agree with you 100%. Some screeners slipped through the cracks. The TSA does have some real idiots in its ranks and some of them are in high positions. This will probably anger some TSA folks, but most of the idiots I work with are from the former private companies. The Govt. had to hire a certain amount of former screeners and man did we inherit some losers.

But you know what? For every idiot there is a good screener trying to make a difference.

Give the whole shoe thing up because that's in writing. There is nothing we can do about it. But, when a screener is rude to you or does something that you think is stupid, ask for a supervisor or go see one at the desk when you're done being screened. Chances are, the supervisor is already going to know that this person is an idiot. The more you complain about these people, the better chance we have a getting rid of our weak links. Take names and badge numbers. But remember, don't complain about the things that we're supposed to do or the sup will plainly tell you that we're doing our job.