Ask a SPOTnik
 

Hello everyone,

I am a BDO, I have been reading your forum for some time, and have finally been inspired by your open hostility and derision. I will attempt to answer any questions or concerns you pose me, and we'll all see how long I keep my job.

I am not an official TSA spokesperson, and am not authorized to take this action, although I view talking with the public and attempting to answer questions to be part of my official job duties. I am, however, doing this all on my own time, so please understand if I am not as quick with the responses as you might like.

To start, I'm curious about your experience, education, training, and overall qualifications to be interpreting any individual's behavior.

Welcome to Flyertalk, spotnik.

Why do you think other FT posters post on anything other than their own time and are therefore able to respond quicker? Is that something that triggers automatic suspicion in the mind of a BDO? Is this your first attempt at a troll? Or is it just par for the course and BDO personnel really are that stupid? Enquiring minds need to know ;)

first off, welcome to flyertalk.

When I answer your questions in a tongue you don't speak, am I a terrorist?

Can you truthfully say you've made air travel safer?

Do you believe you serve a purpose in the "layers" of security, or are you just there for a paycheck and a possibility of moving up in the Federal job ladder?

I have a beard and like to wear multiple layers, am I a terrorist?

Yes that is a Quran in my carryon, am I a terrorist?

I have multiple ID's from multiple jurisdictions, am I a terrorist?

I'm traveling with USD $10,001 cash, am I a terrorist?

Am I a terrorist until proven otherwise?

Welcome. I'll keep it civil.

Can you legally keep someone from flying if they refuse to engage you in conversation, or do you just delay them?

I had about 2.5 years with TSA prior to my promotion to BDO, and about 2 additional years of security experience before TSA, which included work in a casino and on a college campus. I hold a bachelor's degree in criminal justice with additional coursework in psychology and sociology, and I am a police academy graduate.

The basic SPOT training consists of 4 days of classroom training and 3 days of OJT, as has been reported in many media outlets. I will look up the links again, if you like. The days are typically 10 to 12 hours long, and the instructors are not shy about informing students that they will work as long as it takes to cover the day's curriculum. Every person I know who passed the training studied 3 to 4 hours after class. People do fail the training.

There is also a candidate screening process accomplished through the application and interview process. All I know about that is that I passed.

I stated in my introductory post that I am doing this because I consider it a part of my duty as a public servant. I wanted to specify that I was using my own time, so as to avoid any problems that might come from people (my employer, for instance) assuming that I am, therefore, using federal time to post on an internet bulletin board.

I have also seen many posters on this forum express interest in the BDO program. I am only one person, and might easily be overwhelmed by the sheer number of posts to which I must respond.

Thank you for the partial reply. You obviously missed the quote of your original post which would tend to suggest that I already read it. I eagerly await the answers to the other questions I posed :rolleyes:

Has nothing to do with behavioral detection

Probably more so than the checkpoint TSOs

Every security plan has layers of security. I dont know too many people that work for free, but I know many volunteers. Moving up? To where? Not in the SPOT program.

You are not a terrorist but probably live in the north.

Has nothing to do with behavioral screening

No, you just move around alot

Could be buying a car, a boat or something for cash but we really wouldn't have or need to make the time to count it. Thats the LEOs job.
Probably not a terrorist, but maybe an illegal. Just thought that I'd share my thoughts:cool:

I added numbers to help clarify my responses

1. If you answer questions in a language other than the ones which I speak, I will make every effort to communicate with you effectively. If that is not possible, I will ensure you are screened according to TSA requirements, and I will do everything I can to make sure you get on your plane without further problems.

2 & 3. I believe that behavior detection, if applied correctly, greatly helps the security of air travel. I believe that TSA has developed a good program, and I believe that any BDO found violating that program should be fired with prejudice. I also believe that the "layer" approach is a good approach. I think we should spend less time on "random" elements and focus more on elements that have a record of producing results.

4. Probably not. Beards and many layers are quite popular in my region, especially from September to May.

5. Quar'ans have impressed me as being, nearly universally, some of the most beautiful of religious texts. I understand it has a lot of passages about living peacefully, being generous to your fellow human beings, and behaving modestly.

6. Probably not. Not sure what is SSI on the ID issue. I will research and post more when I find that answer.

7. Probably not. Again, I will research and respond in more detail once I know what the TSA will let me say on the issue.

8. You are innocent until proven otherwise. I'm pretty sure that issue is covered in amendments 4 through 6.

Thank you.

Unfortunately, your question is kind of a complicated issue. You do not, to my knowledge, have to talk to any TSA employee. This includes BDOs. You might, however, be able to decrease the length of your delay by engaging in conversation. There are also numerous stories on this forum about rouge TSO/BDO who decide to harass people for "failing to cooperate." If you run into one of them, all bets are off.

Well, SUSPENDED, I'm sorry you found my first reply inadequate. I shall try to do better:

As I explained, I do not wish to give my employer statements to use against me. That is why I specified that I am posting on Flyertalk with my own time. There is no more motive than that. I am one person, so I might be overwhelmed with questions. If that happens, I ask for your patience.

I am not sure what you mean by "Is that something that triggers automatic suspicion in the mind of a BDO?" Based on context, I can only assume that you mean 'Are you automatically suspicious of people who spend their own time discussing travel safety and security or government policy?' If that is in fact what you meant, my answer would be 'No, I find it refreshing to encounter people who challenge the government. I think this is a good thing.' If I misunderstood this question, please attempt to rephrase it and I shall try again at an answer.

I am not trolling. In fact, given the way TSA seems to like their people posting on this forum, posting at all is probably a bad idea. Many of you seem to be frustrated by the lack of information from TSA, and I think the program would benefit from better contact with the public. (NOT press releases) I think this action will benefit the public, who I serve, and the program that I believe to be extremely valuable to US aviation security. That is my only motive.

"Or is it just par for the course and BDO personnel really are that stupid?" Again, I am not quite sure what you mean by this. I don't think BDO personnel are stupid. Many have significant education and work experience beyond the base program requirements. The job requires a great deal of mental engagement, which I would love to tell you about as soon as the SSI office says that I can. If you mean to say that BDOs frequently attempt to engage you with disingenuous trap type questions, I would say that, at best, those BDOs need more training. At worst, you have encountered some of the rouge TSOs who decided to do their own "SPOT." If you encountered the latter, I hope those TSOs were quickly put in their proper place (the unemployment line.)

I live in Puerto Rico and fly mostly out of SJU and MIA ;)

Agreed

Wow... thanks. Seriously. I know that none of it is illegal, but nonetheless, I am curious

Mind sharing that with the rest of your coworkers?

Several TSA staff that I know only went there as it was the easiest way in the federal government and have used it as a launching pad to other jobs within the fed. That's what I meant.

I live in Puerto Rico :p

That's the most common sense answer I've ever received with that question. Seriously.

So would you report me to an LEO even through that isn't illegal

LOL!!! That's awesome. I've never been called an illegal. That's great.