New security scanner at MIA
 

I flew out of MIA on Thursday June 23 and encountered a new scanner at the Terminal E checkpoint. It was labled GE Entryscan

You must step into a small chamber where you are blasted with airjets. Then you have to wait until a door opens to let you out. Sort of an automatic pat down.

It takes quite awhile, approx 1 minute per person. The line, on a very slow morning soon was backed up like a busy day. What should have been less than a couple minutes wait took me almost 20 min.

There wa quite a bit of public bra and panty viewing as the airjets lifted skirts and blouses.

The TSA goon got rather offended when I mentioned that this new technology sure seemed to slow down the process. He said it was experimental

I sure hope that this contraption goes away. If it doesn't, then I guess we will have to add another 60 minutes or so on a busy day.

It's an explosive residue detector. The "blasts" (GE calls them "puffs of air" :) )are intended to free up any telltale particles and route them to the explosive scanner. There's more information on the device here.

Is it really necessary to refer to TSA employees as "goons?" Try to keep in mind that these are folks that are trying to earn a living and are doing what they are told to do. I know several, and they are decided ungoonlike.

While many of the TSA screeners are decent hard working people, the majority are in fact goons and the poster referred to them appropriately. They are complete idiots with a shirt patch badge who feel taking away liberties without having a clue what they are doing makes us safer. If they had an idea what to do, the might actually be successfully.

I am still interested to hear what happens when someone sets off one of the EntryScan machines ... do the doors lock and trap the pax inside while sirens blare and lights flash? :)

I'm overwhelmed by your insight. Just out of curiosity, how many TSA employees do you know, and what is your basis for condemning the majority of them as goons? My dictionary says that a goon is "a professional gangster whose work is beating up or terrorizing people" or "somebody who is regarded as clumsy or uncouth." I don't know of anyone who has been beaten or terrorized by a TSA employee, and my casual observations of them indicate to me that they appear that have at least average physical grace and personal hygiene. Further, they are almost always courteous. I wonder what observations they might make about you?

There are no doors. If the scanner detects explosive residue, it does sound an alarm.

Perhaps you were expecting that automated Tasers would actuate and stun the passenger into submission?

Does a "sense of being raped" count?

How about $27,224,980 in 12,283 claims against the TSA? Using those numbers, that means 27%, or one in four of the TSA's staffers have the sticky fingers syndrome. Yes, those numbers can be tweaked, given the fact that not every one of the TSA employees have the access to rifle through our bags, ergo that percentage could be higher. And that's just the ones who have bothered to have filed a claim, and if you know anything about law enforcement, not all crimes are reported. Plus, the TSA has been, shall we say, a little less than truthful about things.

I would dispute the "physical grace" notion as the TSA is the lead government agency in on-the-job injury claims. I have seen many TSA staff in DEN alone who wear the burgundy polo shirts, whom I believe are the ones who are arond the CTX machines, who are either out of physical shape or appear to be of the age where their physical condition deteriorates (spoken plainly, too old to be lifting bags day in and day out).

I find it interesting that most of the quotes in that story were from other TSA employees that felt that the conduct was wrong. Someone in the TSA screwed up. It stands to reason that they, like every other organization, will have problem employees.

Actually, I know quite a bit about law enforcement - I teach college courses in it, have published more than 300 articles on the subject, and was a law enforcement officer for fifteen years. You're a long way from making your case that the majority of TSA employees are "goons." You assume that each of the thieving staffers committed their quota of a single theft, then went on to allow someone else to try. That pushes the bounds of credibility. When I was an active duty cop, the typical burglar would have done 50+ burglaries before we caught him (and we almost never caught one in the act). I doubt that people who would steal from suitcases are much different or less skilled in avoiding detection. The number of thieves in the TSA is almost certainly lower than you claim.

As long as they are no less representative of the population at large (and keep in mind that obesity is currently our number one health problem), my analogy still holds. As I just wrote in another forum message, your characterization that "the majority [of TSA employees] are in fact goons" is offensive, untrue, and uncalled for.

While I would hardly be considered a defender of the TSA, I believe referring to screeners as ”goons” is a bit of a stretch. In my opinion, the problems are systemic and not completed unexpected from a new bureaucracy. In general, the screeners are low wage workers with minimal education and training who have been placed into a position where they are encouraged to believe that their mission is critical and therefore many tend to behave with more zeal than is probably necessary or even desirable. Standard policies and practices have not yet become pervasive within the organization and a customer centric culture has not yet been instilled at many centers. To blame the screeners themselves for these bigger failures is no more fair than to blame the individual customer service agents in India for the fact that offshore airline call centers do not provide the same level of service that their US counterparts once did.

Yes....he is a goon
 

In general I get along just fine with the TSA. I can usually engage them in a friendly conversation. I carry a lot of technical equipment and almost always get a secondary because of it. I would say that 99% of the ones I deal with are very professional and quite nice.

I refered to this one as a goon....and rightfully so. I commented in a friendly way that this technology seemed to slow the process. His demeanor when he responded was such that I felt I had better shut up and not speak or I would experience his wrath.

I have had to deal with this type of TSA personality before. When one threatened everyone in line that if they did not do EXACTLY as he said he would see to it that everyone would miss their planes. I challenged him and did end up missing my plane....but he ended up being fired so I guess it was worth it. However, I missed more business by missing the plane than his yearly salary, so since then I have decided to be a sheep and just say Baaaaa when prodded to move on. I don't have time to mess with them.

I feel that if the TSA chooses to experiment with new devices that can cause serious delays, they should at least have someone manning it that has a little diplomacy, tact and dare I say....a touch of friendliness. This guy was not helping the TSA look good at all. A little positive PR effort would not hurt.

By the way...this scanner had doors on both sides. You could not enter or leave the unit until the doors opened.

I don't know. I think the dictionary is pretty accurate on this one. I rate them right along with telemarketers. Polite people would say that they both are "just earning a living" but there are far less abusive ways of earning a living, and screeners have to be pretty insensitive if they don't recognize that.

I hold them responsible for what they do for a living. It's a choice, and they made it.

How many of those are legitmate claims and not fraud?

[QUOTE=copwriter]I'm overwhelmed by your insight. Just out of curiosity, how many TSA employees do you know, and what is your basis for condemning the majority of them as goons? My dictionary says that a goon is "a professional gangster whose work is beating up or terrorizing people" or "somebody who is regarded as clumsy or uncouth." I don't know of anyone who has been beaten or terrorized by a TSA employee, and my casual observations of them indicate to me that they appear that have at least average physical grace and personal hygiene. Further, they are almost always courteous. I wonder what observations they might make about you?[/QUOTE

Silly to get defensive, there's no question, some of them are 'goons'. The majority are quite professional and do their job respectfully. I travel enough to see both. You might as well defend Postal Employee's from the "going postal" terminology; It's based on some degree of reality. :(

Allright listen up, don't eat any Mexican food before flying through Phoenix or Miami. :D