Sounds like a move in the right direction.

I agree with the concept of RBS, but my concern is implementation on the scale required by TSA.

As to the confusion on shoes on/off there is a simple solution, maybe our resident TSA folks can agree and pass it on. The TDC, already making the 18 or older call, could simply tell parents at the podium the children that are exempt from shoe removal. This would be long before they would even have to think about getting them off.

I have only alarmed WTMD twice in my life. Resolved the first time by removing things, second time with a wand.

Since last fall, I've been randomly selected for NoS 90+% of the time. Meaning I've been groped 90+% of the times I pass through the checkpoint.

What's changed? I can't assume and hold the position in the NoS.

I realize there's no data, but I do not recall as many people taking road trips in the past - road trips specifically to avoid airport hassle.

No bickering here, but I do have a question. The announcement at tsa.gov does not seem to state that children will not be screened by WBI.

Here's what it says regarding WBI:

I guess I don't see where children will not have to go through WBI. It sounds like the same opt-out option we are supposed to have.

Is this just an incomplete announcement? Am I reading something incorrectly? Is it simply not being announced directly due to security concerns? I guess I was expecting the government to be all over the "We won't irradiate your kids unless you ask!" aspect, if it's true.

According to the TSA website (http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/screening_under12.shtm):

Q. Will children still go through Advanced Imaging Technology?
A. Advanced Imaging Technology remains optional for all passengers. As part of this screening change, TSA will permit multiple attempts by passengers 12 and under to capture a clear image during advanced imaging technology screening to further reduce the need for pat-downs to resolve any alarms.


This sure doesn't sound as if AIT for children is going away any time soon. Maybe SATTSO should read his own website.

There are some really horrendous lines of communication over there at TSA.

You and Bart need to hook up...

FYI, Congressman Benny Thompson has recently requested that Pistole to other jobs.

http://chsdemocrats.house.gov/SiteDo...1527-35715.pdf

Oooh, lookie! Another letter from a United States Congressman to ignore!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u70EYe4vy8U

I have read the web-site.

Pehaps you can assist me with my reading comprehension then. You indicated that AIT would only be used for children under 12 at the request of parents. If that is the case, why would this not be included on the TSA website? Instead, there is a answer that AIT can be repeated instead of perhaps initiating a pat-down at first point of "failure" whatever that is.

What you are saying and the what the website is saying, while not explicitly contradictory, does not seem to be consistent.

I do not write the TSA web-site, so I can not answer you. I can tell you that there are many parts to RBS, and not all of them are being test at all airports. If you note on the link it also list DEN as a place where children can leave their shoes on, yet I know nothing nor heard nothing about that airport regarding children and AIT.

In another thread (which I think is closed or move) someone accused Pistole of lying, noting video of a child being patted down. The implication was that Pistole said children would not be patted down. Well, that is not true. Pistole has said that more efforts will be made to clear children before a pat down is conducted. This policy on the web-site confirms that, and that is all.

There are other components of RBS that are not list on this site, but that does not mean they are, lets say, in the works. To claim that if such policy is not list on the web-site, therefor, it does not exist, is faulty logic.

ADD: I will also point out, as noticed by many FT members, the TSA web-site has sometimes not been the most accurate, as when ice was allowed through the checkpoint, but not noted on the site, for just one example.

This makes it sound like multiple passes through the AIT will be allowed for kids.

I thought multiple passes weren't allowed. So now they might be, but only for kids, as a last resort?

I will reserve my full judgement but

Q. How will TSA know which passengers are under 12?
A. TSA Officers will make a judgment based how old the child appears.

but given the judgement of some TSOs the above will be an issue. Further, the age limit should be at least 16 if not 18.

Well...there's no current requirement, of course, but if a child 12 or under thinks there's the slightest chance he/she might be mistaken for older, all he/she has to do is....get a valid government picture ID to prove his/her age.