TSA from a soldiers view point

[Big Brunsy]

I got this in an email and thought I'd share it with everyone....how sad it has become...


THEY PROBABLY FORGOT ABOUT THOSE DANGEROUS BALL POINT PENS ..



Subject: Idiots in action

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
stupid started.

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 f**k
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 F**K 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 F**K
happened to OUR country while
we were gone?

Sgt. Mad Dog Tracy

[xx_ED_xx]

Good F*cking question, I was treated better by the korean people flying back home for leave then TSA in the states. Every F*cking time I showed my military id with my boarding pass. Then after standing in line for 20 minutes they tell me I cant bring the soda I am drinkng with me.

They also were kind enough to take the knife my grand father gave me. ( I forgot to put in my luggage ) My grandfather passed away a few years ago.

[kbui]

That's the way of the TSA...there is no such thing as common sense with the government....It's sad that as the F**ing ***damn federal gov gets bigger, they bring in more and more morons to run this monster. I am not going to fly unless absolutely required...I am taking a long driving trip to CA in a few weeks.

[tjbusa]

Its been cooking for awhile, 9/11 just brought it to a boil. I am sorry our honorable military is not even exempt of some of the TSA scrutiny the rest of us has to deal with.

[Seneca SS]

unreal--but us common folks appreciate your sacrafices

[OrangeSS]

Same thing happened to me coming back from Afghanistan.. it's retarded really.. common sense is a thing of the past..

[Zabo]

This crap is why I turned my back to the airlines. Hell if the job came along for someone like United or Delta.. I'd turn it down to wrench for 12/hr at an engine overhaul shack somewhere.

I can buy/maintain/operate my own airplane, I don't need someone grabbing my b***s to make sure I'm not packing a Fat Man.

[garcmol]

Does Shannon, Ireland still give soldiers going home a beer? Had my first beer after my Iraq deployment in '04 right there in that little airport pub. Ahhh, memories.

Why the hell would TSA even be concerned about a chartered military flight that's inbound? This confuses me.

[Camaro_Corvette]

Why is it always the idiots in my state that stand out. In my defense, I do not work for the TSA.

[CamaroSkooter]

While this royally sucks, I couldn't stop laughing at the absurdity of it all.

Wow.

Where are we going, and why am I in a hand-basket?!

[CINDER02]

Originally Posted by garcmol

Does Shannon, Ireland still give soldiers going home a beer? Had my first beer after my Iraq deployment in '04 right there in that little airport pub. Ahhh, memories.

Why the hell would TSA even be concerned about a chartered military flight that's inbound? This confuses me.

We can't have beer till we get back to the states.... some of the Army units get it in Shannon I think...

[13 ZL1]

TSA is a bunch of morons. I'm glad you guys made it home safe. Thanks for your service.

[garcmol]

Originally Posted by Orange2SSRS

TSA is a bunch of morons. I'm glad you guys made it home safe. Thanks for your service.

That is THE most important thing! Well done.

[CINDER02]

Not home yet, still got a couple more months to go. But the day I step on American soil will be amazing.