Routinely Dismissed

As reported earlier, I filed a formal complaint against TSA for my treatment at IAH.

Well, I have received a reply and not surprising, my complaint has been routinely dismissed.

The text of the letter is below:

Dear Mr. Olsen,

Thank you for your letter of January 17, 2012, to Secretary Janet Napolitano concerning your passenger screening experience at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) on January 17, 2012. Your letter was forwarded to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for response.

We regret that you found your screening experience to be unsatisfactory. TSA seeks to provide professional and efficient customer service to every passenger while maintaining a high level of security. Our policies and procedures focus on ensuring that each individual is treated with respect and courtesy We go to great lengths to train our Transportation Security Officers (TSO) in the proper way to inspect individuals and their personal items.

TSA management at IAH conducted an inquiry into this matter and it was determined that standard operation procedures (SOP) were followed by the TSO, Transportation Screening manager (TSM), and Supervisory Transportation Security Officer (STSO) who assisted you during your screening.

You arrived at the screening checkpoint and provided your boarding pass ad an identification (ID) card from the Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of Criminal Justice Services. The TSO informed you that the ID was not on TSA's list of acceptable IDs and the Houston Police Department (HPD) became involved.

Because your ID had been accepted in the past, you indicated that it should have been recognized that day, and you did not see the need to produce any other documentation. Instead you requested that the officers clear you to proceed throught the screening checkpoint and secondary screening. you informed the security officers that you possessed acceptable documentation but did not believe you should be required to produce it to gain access to the airport sterile area.

TSA is not able to confirm whether the ID card from the Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of Criminal Justice Services was accepted at other airports. However, the TSA officers at IAH acted appropriately when they requested a second form of ID accepted by the Department of Homeland Security. Eventually, you produced an acceptable form of ID and were cleared for travel.

We appreciated that you took the time to share your concerns with us and hope this information was helpful.

Sincerely yours,

Chad Bash
Assistant General Manager for Communications
Office of Security Operations

cc: Federal Security Director, IAH

There are blatant errors and omissions within the above letter. I did not find the experience "unsatisfactory." As an American, I found it offensive. HPD did not become involved. They were called by TSA and despite being told there was a raving, threatening maniac at the checkpoint, determined this wasn't the case and departed, in essence telling TSA "You're a bunch of ignorant, anserine morons."

TSA being "unable to confirm whether the ID card from DCJS was accepted at other airports" is simply because TSA is too arrogant to do any research and follow up. Not surprising.

Of course, anyone with half a brain knows that TSA goes out of its way to mistreat Americans with discourtesy and disrespect. One need only read the hundreds of newspaper articles or follow TSARants on Twitter to read about the abuses and absurdity that is TSA Security Theater.

The lesson learned here is to, in the future, blatantly lie to TSA regarding identification. I have no problem doing so with an organization for which I hold in contempt and disdain and have zero respect or confidence. TSA is the laughing stock of the federal government. 50,000 sad, pathetic, insignificant individuals, on power trips, sucking off the federal teat, all the while, routinely violating the Constitutional Rights of every American who travels the skies.