TSA Agent speaks out to reveal incompentence, corruption and fake security at airports
The New York Post on Sunday published an op-ed a former TSA agent at Newark’s Liberty Airport, the same airport where agents failed to detect a fake bomb sent through during secret test last month.
This agent is speaking out against the screeners, the incompetence and corruption.
Image from the backscatter advanced imaging technology (AIT) machine used by the TSA to screen passengers. This is what the remote TSA agent would see on their screen. 2010 photo supplied by US Transportation Security Administration part of U.S. Department of Homeland Security
“I’ve had to screen small children and explain to their parents I had no choice but to “check” them. I would only place my hands on their arms and bottom half of their legs, and the entire “pat-down” lasted 10 seconds. This goes completely against TSA procedure….Because the cameras are recording our every move, we have to do something. If someone isn’t checked or even screened properly, the entire terminal would shut down, as this constitutes a security breach.”
Dog and pony accusations may be more founded than Janet Napolitano and Homeland Security would ever admit.
“When there are internal tests, conducted by the Newark training department, it’s easy to cheat because they use our co-workers. You could be working with someone all morning, and then they’re gone. Word gets around the checkpoint. Someone will come over to you and say, “Hey, it’s Joe. He’s got a blue duffel bag.”
Meanwhile the TSA agents delay and upset children in wheelchairs , embarrass a cancer patient or even spill an urn of human reamins.
“Every time you read about a TSA horror story, it’s usually about a screener doing what he or she is instructed to do,” the agent says.
“Supervisors play absolutely no role in day-to-day functions except to tell you not to chew gum. Gum chewing is a huge issue with management. I once saw a supervisor make an officer open his mouth to prove he had a mint and not a piece of gum.”
Professionalism is hardly a priority though.
“Goofing off and half-hour-long bathroom breaks are the only way to break up the monotony. There is also a lot of ogling of female passengers by the male screeners. So, ladies, cover up when you get to the airport. These guys are checking you out constantly.”
Check out the complete article here
[…] which was a common problem for the agency over the last several years. One agent came forward to reveal fake searches and incompetence, but hardly felt a backlash from the public which was the case a year […]