Recent Observations...

I am sure most of you heard of the incident, where airline passengers refused to fly with two Asian young men who were heard speaking Arabic and acting in a strange manner. Some complained to the flight crew and others got off the plane. Some may think this was unacceptable behavior that unfairly targeted these two men based on race, ethnicity, and language. That may be true, but here is the bigger story. The passengers took the action they felt necessary to ensure their safety. They did not sit back and await whatever their fate like the sheep aboard planes on 9/11. ( A somewhat harsh, but true statement). That is a good thing!

Airline security has been a huge issue lately and more so with the London plot. When we look at our airline security and evaluate TSA, more often than not, they come out looking bad. This is reflected in recent evaluations at the Orlando airport where almost 60% of all screeners failed an imagery threat test. That is they could not recognize dangerous objects utilizing the x-ray machines. The problem with TSA is the training, they need some serious training in a bad way. The only problem is that in order to be a TSA training Officer, you have to be in TSA. From what I have seen of their announcements, they only hire from within for these positions. I am sure that as many other agencies, they are relying on contractors(not good as a general rule) for training. What I don't understand is why they would not want to hire training specialists with deep and diverse experience from other agencies. It would only make sense... oh, maybe that is why...

BT