Take the time and read this

[Dennis Reinhart]

I heard this on FOX News

As the Chalk Leader for my flight home from Afghanistan , I witnessed the
following:


When we were on our way back from Afghanistan, we flew out of Baghram
Air Field. We went through customs at BAF, full body scanners (no
groping), had all of our bags searched, the whole nine yards.
Our first stop was Shannon , Ireland to refuel. After that, we had to
stop at Indianapolis , Indiana to drop off about 100 folks from the
Indiana National Guard. That's where the Stupidstarted:


First, everyone was forced to get off the plane-even though the plane
wasn't refueling again. All 330 people got off that plane, rather than
let the 100 people from the ING get off. We were filed from the plane to
a holding area. No vending machines, no means of escape. Only a
male/female latrine.

It's probably important to mention that we were ALL carrying weapons.
Everyone was carrying an M4 Carbine (rifle) and some, like me, were also
carrying an M9 pistol. Oh, and our gunners had M-240B machine guns. Of
course, the weapons weren't loaded. And we had been cleared of all ammo
well before we even got to customs at Baghram, then AGAIN at customs.

The TSA personnel at the airport seriously considered making us unload
all of the baggage from the SECURE cargo hold to have it reinspected.
Keep in mind, this cargo had been unpacked, inspected piece by piece by
U.S. Customs officials, resealed and had bomb-sniffing dogs give it a
one-hour run through. After two hours of sitting in this holding area,
the TSA decided not to reinspect our Cargo-just to inspect us again:
Soldiers on the way home from war, who had already been inspected,
reinspected and kept in a SECURE holding area for 2 hours. Ok, whatever.
So we lined up to go through security AGAIN.

This is probably another good time to remind you all that all of us were
carrying actual assault rifles, and some of us were also carrying
pistols.

So we're in line, going through one at a time. One of our Soldiers had
his Gerber multi-tool. TSA confiscated it. Kind of ridiculous, but it
gets better. A few minutes later, a guy empties his pockets and has a
pair of nail clippers. Nail clippers. TSA informs the Soldier that
they're going to confiscate his nail clippers. The conversation went
something like this:

TSA Guy: You can't take those on the plane.

Soldier: What? I've had them since we left country.

TSA Guy: You're not suppose to have them.

Soldier: Why?

TSA Guy: They can be used as a weapon.

Soldier: [touches butt stock of the rifle] But this actually is a
weapon. And I'm allowed to take it on.

TSA Guy: Yeah but you can't use it to take over the plane. You don't
have bullets.

Soldier: And I can take over the plane with nail clippers?

TSA Guy: [awkward silence]

Me: Dude, just give him your damn nail clippers so we can get the ******
out of here. I'll buy you a new set.

Soldier: [hands nail clippers to TSA guy, makes it through security]
To top it off, the TSA demanded we all be swabbed for "explosive
residue" detection. Everyone failed, [go figure, we just came home from
a war zone], because we tested positive for "Gun Powder Residue". Who
the ****** is hiring these people?

This might be a good time to remind everyone that approximately 233
people re-boarded that plane with assault rifles, pistols, and machine
guns-but nothing that could have been used as a weapon.
Can someone please tell me What the ****** happened to OUR country while
we were gone?

Sgt. Mad Dog Tracy

[jstevens]

And I read an article that TSA has very intensive training and will not just hire anybody.

Just like I thought, a bunch of retards inspecting us.

[burt ragio]

That is why they get paid what they do. That a break down of gov & tsa. It should have been military intervention all the way not tsa. Little do they know of your capabilities. They don't understand you wouldn't need a gun or nail clipper. I thank you & all the men & women who have served our country. I thank all the men & women who have made a sacrifices for our country. Welcome home.

[Spectragod]

Several years back, 2 years post 911, one of my USMS buddies had to go to the airport to pick up a prisoner that was being flown in.

He has to go past security, they go through the whole empty your pockets BS, mind you, he has already identified himself as a U.S. Marshall, shown the paperwork to the security guard(at that time, now federal TSA) for the prisoner he was picking up, they still made him go through the search.

Well, he had no nail clippers, he had worse than that, a kubaton on his key ring, they took it, told him it was a weapon, but allowed him to keep his firearm. He let them take it, and he took the guards name..... and then he took his job from him. I thought he was going to file charges against this guy for interference, but was satisfied that he got fired.

You have to ask yourself, what kind of dope are these people smoking?

[Dennis Reinhart]

You have to ask yourself, what kind of dope are these people smoking?


They do not smoke POT, they severly suffer from CRANIAL RECTOMITTIS AND THERE IS NO CURE.

[TAKEDOWN]

Common sense goes a long way and some people refuse to use it!

[SpartaPerformance]

So let me get this straight a Battalion carrying M4 Assault rifles, M9 pistol, S.A.W. LMG's were allowed to board due to the fact there were no bullets they could not be used as weapons? I guess the TSA doesn't understand that anybody with military training and especially combat experience could use ice cream sticks as weapons.

Anyway to answer Sgt. "Mad Dog" what happened to this country? Liberals and progressives happened, and for some reason to keep them quiet we're allowing ourselves to become sissified morons.

[MOTOWN]

Common sense goes a long way and some people refuse to use it!

i guess its like the saying goes if it was common sense every one would have it!
then again if "if" was a fith we would all be drunk!:beer:
some tsa members are just destined to be stupid

[FordNut]

Makes me feel safe & secure...

[DarthMarauder]

The entire military has to go through this crap when we fly back. I had to throw away my shaving cream and toothpaste that I was planning on shaving and brushing my teeth before we landed since it was an 18 hour flight back so I was a little clean for seeing my wife and because it was over the whatever oz of fluid I had to throw it away. But walked right by with my M4. They also make us ship our issued K-bars home seperate since they arent allowed on the plane either. So they have to be gathered and inventoried then shipped with our gear since we cant get on a plane with them either. Trust me the last thing anyone on that plane is gonna do is try to do something to delay it in taking longer to see our families.

[Shaijack]

Now you know why I drive every where.

[MercNasty]

Those TSA guys are under a lot of pressure, i do not blame them for being extra suspicious. Im sure they only do what they are told to by management.

[fastblackmerc]

Common sense goes a long way and some people refuse to use it!


i guess its like the saying goes if it was common sense every one would have it!
then again if "if" was a fith we would all be drunk!:beer:
some tsa members are just destined to be stupid

But you can't teach common sense.... either you got it or you don't!

[robertmee]

I get everyone's frustration....I fly 20 to 30 times a year for my company and have had my share of delays and frustrations with TSA agents. But understand, these men/women are the last line of defense to some crazy getting on a plane with a potentially explosive device. Would you want that responsibility and carry the burden that if you don't do your job, people could die?

As for the military searches, again, understand the situation. The TSA has a strict guideline defined by Homeland Security that they must follow. No exceptions. If you start using 'common sense' as some here suggest, that's not a common standard. One TSA agent's mistake with common sense could be catastrophic. While I have all the respect and admiration for our members of the military, there are terrorists amongst their ranks. There have already been instances of them shooting up bases. So, they should not be immune to the same rules. Imagine again one TSA agent's failure to adhere to the policies and that resulting in something horrific. Is that possibility worth 30 minutes of inconvenience? Not to me.

[FordNut]

Yeah, no common sense... Pilots were going through the same screening, even though they can be licensed to carry a loaded gun on a plane. Even though they can fly the plane into a building anytime they want to, and they're behind a locked cockpit door so nobody can stop them. Stupidity abounds.

[Spectragod]

Ok, I wasn't going to post these, but.................

http://www.deadseriousnews.com/?p=573

http://www.deadseriousnews.com/?p=603

[DarthMarauder]

I get everyone's frustration....I fly 20 to 30 times a year for my company and have had my share of delays and frustrations with TSA agents. But understand, these men/women are the last line of defense to some crazy getting on a plane with a potentially explosive device. Would you want that responsibility and carry the burden that if you don't do your job, people could die?

As for the military searches, again, understand the situation. The TSA has a strict guideline defined by Homeland Security that they must follow. No exceptions. If you start using 'common sense' as some here suggest, that's not a common standard. One TSA agent's mistake with common sense could be catastrophic. While I have all the respect and admiration for our members of the military, there are terrorists amongst their ranks. There have already been instances of them shooting up bases. So, they should not be immune to the same rules. Imagine again one TSA agent's failure to adhere to the policies and that resulting in something horrific. Is that possibility worth 30 minutes of inconvenience? Not to me.

Understand what you are saying, but the problem is this happens to us when we are returning also. I can understand when we leave the states to go over there. When we are returning we already have to go through enough inconvenience to go home with searches and customs then you add this it gets pretty ridiculous. I highly doubt a terrorist would go through the ranks of the military and then go and do a deployment and kill his own people just to wait for the return trip to do something. He would probably wait till before they left such as the Ft Hood case. When you are flying its only your unit that you fly with so these are guys you just served with in combat, so taking over a plane isnt anything going through your mind. When you have a whole unit of 200-300 guys waiting to go home each carrying a weapon that has to go back with them trust me we go through alot more then just 30 minutes of inconvenience.

[robertmee]

Understand what you are saying, but the problem is this happens to us when we are returning also. I can understand when we leave the states to go over there. When we are returning we already have to go through enough inconvenience to go home with searches and customs then you add this it gets pretty ridiculous. I highly doubt a terrorist would go through the ranks of the military and then go and do a deployment and kill his own people just to wait for the return trip to do something. He would probably wait till before they left such as the Ft Hood case. When you are flying its only your unit that you fly with so these are guys you just served with in combat, so taking over a plane isnt anything going through your mind. When you have a whole unit of 200-300 guys waiting to go home each carrying a weapon that has to go back with them trust me we go through alot more then just 30 minutes of inconvenience.

I certainly see your points. All I can say is when you start making exceptions based on perceived common sense, then cracks develop. Before 911 who would have thought anyone would commandere a plane and fly it into a skyscraper or the pentagon...noone. The passengers on the pennsylvania plane only started agression once they learned via cell phones what was going on. Before then, like they'd been conditioned all their life, they did nothing to provoke the hijackers as they thought they'll probably land the plane in Cuba. Times change and the enemy changes. You probably know that first hand more than any of us internet armchair quarterbacks and I value your first hand opinion and experience. In the end, I am deeply appreciative of your service and if I had my way, you'd be on a charter plane back home with full first class ammenities :D

[GAMike]

Common sense is not a TSA Kpi (Key performance indicator) that employee's are measured by (Just a guess here)

The process guru's have dumbed down jobs like this to a point where consistent, succesful fulfillment of the job, is following a very narrow set of procedures in that boarding process. It is specifically designed to remove any "poetic license", add libb, initiative (what ever you want to call it) from that job function.....

If you work in an eviornment like that for too long, the repetitive nature of that job makes you a drone............

Want to blame someone, don't blame the "drones". They run a "greater" risk of getting fired for not following that narrow path, then they do for staying on it regardless of what happened to that unlucky drone that was working the checkpoint the U.S. Marshall had to go through.

Its not as easy as one might think for an employee to run counter to a culture that does not think individual initiative is a valuable job requirement. A parellel to this is,.... This type of position attracts people who for the most part want their job to be clearly defined by does and don'ts...... Creativity and initiative are probably not strong characteristics of their persona........ Just let me do my time on the job, not rocking the boat so much that my superiors target me as a "problem", do my 20 yrs(or whatever) and go home.

Try to look at it from this perspective the next time you fly. Personally I have some empathy for these folks working in this enviornment, but they made the choice for reasons only known to them, so can't really cut them too much slack.

[robertmee]

Common sense is not a TSA Kpi (Key performance indicator) that employee's are measured by (Just a guess here)

The process guru's have dumbed down jobs like this to a point where consistent, succesful fulfillment of the job, is following a very narrow set of procedures in that boarding process. It is specifically designed to remove any "poetic license", add libb, initiative (what ever you want to call it) from that job function.....

If you work in an eviornment like that for too long, the repetitive nature of that job makes you a drone............

Want to blame someone, don't blame the "drones". They run a "greater" risk of getting fired for not following that narrow path, then they do for staying on it regardless of what happened to that unlucky drone that was working the checkpoint the U.S. Marshall had to go through.

Its not as easy as one might think for an employee to run counter to a culture that does not think individual initiative is a valuable job requirement. A parellel to this is this type of position attracts people who for the most part want their job to be clearly defined by does and don'ts...... Creativity and initiative are probably not strong characteristics of their persona........ Just let me do my time on the job, not rocking the boat so much that my superiors target me as a "problem", do my 20 yrs(or whatever) and go home.

Try to look at it from this perspective the next time you fly. Personally I have some empathy for these folks working in this enviornment, but they made the choice for reasons only known to them, so can't really cut them too much slack.

More eloquently conveyed but somewhat the point I was trying to get across.

[Glenn]

Thanks Dennis for the post. Why are we surprised on this behavior by the TSA, the Justice Dept., or many other government agencies under the Dems - it is openly a true reflection of our mindless government.

Many uninformed people on this website openly supported Obama for election and now complain about the "Change" our country was been forced to endure. Our country is on the brink of bankruptcy and forced socialism and people still support Obama. Educate yourselves on politics and let's not make such a stupid decision again.


Glenn
Sons: Lt. Matt Navy - on deployment in the Persian Gulf
Chris - attending Army Basic training and then Army Officer Candidate School.

[Mr. Man]

So we're in line, going through one at a time. One of our Soldiers had
his Gerber multi-tool. TSA confiscated it. Kind of ridiculous, but it
gets better. A few minutes later, a guy empties his pockets and has a
pair of nail clippers. Nail clippers. TSA informs the Soldier that
they're going to confiscate his nail clippers. The conversation went
something like this:

TSA Guy: You can't take those on the plane.

Soldier: What? I've had them since we left country.

TSA Guy: You're not suppose to have them.

Soldier: Why?

TSA Guy: They can be used as a weapon.

Soldier: [touches butt stock of the rifle] But this actually is a
weapon. And I'm allowed to take it on.

TSA Guy: Yeah but you can't use it to take over the plane. You don't
have bullets.

Soldier: And I can take over the plane with nail clippers?

TSA Guy: [awkward silence]

I had to laugh at this as it reminded me of a story from college. In one of my criminal justice classes I regularly sat next to a guy who was ex-CIA. He had spent a couple of tours in Vietnam as an "Advisor". We got to talking one night and the conversation got to him telling stories about what he did in Vietnam. At some point we got on the subject of hand to hand tactics and I asked him what he would do if he was unarmed and he was going to be captured. He laughed for second and replied aside from the dozen or so ways he was taught to kill a person with his body he could kill with just about anything he could put his hands on.

A few weeks later I was talking to a local police officer from the class who had also spent time in Vietnam. He had been listening in on our conversation and said the CIA guy didn't tell me the half of it. He said most CIA advisers were a little "off" and while in country most regular troops gave the CIA guys plenty of space. I remember the policeman's words clear as day today "That guy could kill you at least a dozen ways with a ballpoint pen"

As for the nail clippers I understand the frustration but if that TSA guy had been seen allowing you get on a plane with them, he'd probably would have lost his job.

My mother-in-law just went home from a visit here for Thanksgiving and it took her 45 minutes to get through TSA. She has a pacemaker and can't go through the metal detector thing so she needs to be wanded. So they put her coat and shoes on the conveyor thing for x-ray an take her aside to be wanded. So every time the wand goes over the pace maker it goes off. After two or three times of the wand going off she tells the guy it's the pacemaker. So the TSA guy calls over the supervisor and he wands her....same result. So then after spending 5 minutes to find a female inspector. The female TSA woman wands her then says she needs to do a complete body pat down. My mother-in- law offers to show the TSA people, (which has grown to 5 or 6 inspectors) her scar where the doctors had inserted the pace maker. No dice on the offer to see the scar. So after groping her 85 year old body she is cleared to go. So a TSA person hands her her coat and shoes and after putting her stuff back on sits back down in her wheel chair and contines on her way.:shake:

[SGT_MERC]

Just wait till they unionize the TSA security. You haven't SEEN stupid yet.

[Ken]

Ok, I wasn't going to post these, but.................

http://www.deadseriousnews.com/?p=573

http://www.deadseriousnews.com/?p=603 Off Topic: http://www.deadseriousnews.com/?p=676

but I wanna hear about her mosh pit injury, when she was 85! :banana:

Carry On,

Ken

[Dennis Reinhart]

The point is the TSA agents have not been trained properly and do not utilize any common sense, there was one that was a convicted child molester. Again I agree with the person who stated that if they let him go through with the nail clippers, he could have lost his job, just as years ago if you knew the local Police and you got pulled over and had been drinking they took you home, those are days gone by, the world is politically correct in far to many aspects, the points made were of course they tested positive for gun residue, and or explosive material, I was in the Navy for twenty years and yes when we returned home from deployment we as well as the air craft we were flying in were searched and I accepted that. I am sorry I guess I should not have posted this. So lets let it go.