dryfly

Been lurking for a while. I was leaving BZN last week and in a line waiting for the TSA checkpoint to open at 9:00a.m.! The guy in front of me got to the ID desk and showed the female TSA his elaborate FAA ID, adding that he did not have a boarding pass - standard procedure I guess and it makes sense. They made him stand aside [he was not protesting at all] while a "supervisor" and a couple of other TSA's conferred on their little white earphones, mumbled together in a group, made some calls, etc. Meanwhile, the rest of us sailed on through, including a couple of characters I wouldn't want in my row on the plane. About 15 min later I saw the FAA guy emerge from the security theatre. When he was far enough away from the blue shirts, I asked him if he had to put up with that all the time. He said sometimes,adding that he thought we were all on the same team, but maybe not. He was a pleasant fellow and seemed a bit meek about the whole thing. I told him that I thought it was ridiculous. As a Fed lawyer, I was once again embarrassed to be a federal employee. I filed a comment card with the airport and observed that in the last few years that I have been flying out of BZN for the annual flyfishing trip I had seen the TSA staff triple in size with no corresponding increase in the perception of security. It's so obviously a jobs program first and security somewhere down the line.

barbell

It will be filed. They aren't interested in facts. Nor truth.

I can tell you, though, as a former airline employee, that if your job depends on working within the industry, and therefore dealing with these entry-level clerks on a regular basis, you do not so much as give them a hairy eyeball. D Y W T F T pales in comparison to what they start to yank as soon as they have that little piece of information, because, sadly, they know your livliehood now lies in their precious hands.

The fellow's meekness was likely more of a survival tactic than anything else. And that's sad.

Spiff

Welcome to FlyerTalk!

What was wrong with those 'couple of characters'?

Were they stinky? Noisy? Bad dressers?

essxjay

Glad you decloaked, dryfly. Welcome to Flyertalk. :-:

bluenotesro

I'm surprised some boys, and gals, travelling back from Iraq or Afghanistan haven't been given hell about their Military IDs...

Then the shite will hit the fan!

dryfly

Didn't get close enough to smell them, and didn't detect any loud noises. However, they were very bad dressers and one had a very bad haircut. Actually, the FAA guy had a bad haircut too.

eyecue

I can only believe that BZN does not see a lot of these people (FAA) coming through and for good reason. They dont have the traffic. Depending on how credentialed an FAA person is, dictates some procedures. I have to object to the jobs program remark though counselor.

greentips

Object all you want. We, the people, are finally starting to see your sorry organization for what it is.

Citabria

While I am against our TSA security theater in general, taking the time to properly identify individuals such as certain FAA employees is, in my opinion, a sensible thing for the TSA to do.

goalie

i agree with your objection ^ but as to bze....

last time i looked, bze in the united states and thus governed by dhs which governs tsa so afaic, there is no excuse just cuz the airport in question is in east ........ as opposed to jfk. each and every airport needs to be trained the same way and with the same standards-no exceptions (and if it's a "slow" location, guess what, that's what training time is for and guess what, it's "free" as you can use the slow times vs having to send an employee to a training seminar and thus reduce your workforce for that time period

n4zhg

If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck...

Boggie Dog

So TSA procedures are different at BZN than at say DFW?


Edit to add:

Why don't we just call it what it is then, TSA is just state sponsored welfare for the unemployable.

Global_Hi_Flyer

Exactly what does such ID accomplish? Unless said FAA employee is bypassing screening or engaging in duties/privileges that an ordinary traveler won't engage in, there is no added benefit to identifying the FAA employee.

BearX220

I actually thought that was very fair comment and I'd be curious to know why you think otherwise. At every airport I frequent, the blue-shirt headcount has risen steadily in recent years. There are clearly many more TSOs in evidence. Yet the lines move no faster, the the paralyzing snafus continue, the "rules" (whatever they are today) are no more consistently or competently enforced. The quality of security never gets any better. In fact, with the WBIs, it's getting steadily worse. So how is TSA not a jobs program?

Combat Medic

And how many confirmed terrorists has your origination stopped? That was your purpose, wasn't it?