TSA Weekly, May 11 - May 15, 2009
News
Starting May 15, passengers traveling on commercial aircraft are required to enter their name – exactly as it appears on the government issued identification they will be traveling with – when making their airline reservations. Read more. Graphic by Brigitte Dittberner
- TSA’s Secure Flight Helps Improve Passenger Air Travel
- A Message from TSA’s Senior Leadership Team: Secure Flight Soars from Annapolis Junction
- SSI’s Certified Ranks Grow During Conference
- Recruiting Program Draws Crowd at Reagan National
- This Week’s Featured Local Newsletter
Graphic by Ann Oh
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News
TSA’s Secure Flight Helps Improve Passenger Air Travel
By Cynthia T. Islin, Secure Flight Manager, Transportation Threat Assessment & Credentialing
TSA hit another major milestone in its Secure Flight passenger vetting program. On May 15, TSA began asking passengers to enter their name – exactly as it appears on the government-issued identification they will be traveling with – when making airline reservations.
Increasingly, TSA will take over watch list matching responsibilities from the airlines. This not only enhances security, but also makes travel easier for millions of Americans by performing watch list matching more effectively which minimizes misidentifications.
Starting in August 2009, airlines will collect a passenger's date of birth and gender in addition to the name when making an airline reservation. By providing that additional information, TSA can more effectively help prevent misidentification of passengers who have names similar to individuals on the watch list and to better identify individuals who may pose a known or suspected threat to aviation.
Here are the facts about Secure Flight:
- By providing the same name, passengers will help prevent potential misidentification that could cause delays when checking in.
- In the near future, small differences between the passenger's ID and the passenger's reservation information, such as the use of a middle initial instead of a full middle name, will not be an issue.
- Over time, passengers should strive to obtain consistency between the name on their ID and the travel information they use for booking flights.
- On August 15, 2009, when the next publicly noticeable phase of Secure Flight begins, passengers will be required to enter their date of birth and gender when booking airline flights.
For more information, visit the Secure Flight page online.
A Message from TSA’s Senior Leadership Team: Secure Flight Soars from Annapolis Junction
We – the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) – have seen the development and implementation of many outstanding programs, but even we weren’t prepared for what we experienced recently when we visited TSA’s new Secure Flight facilities in Annapolis Junction, Md. In a word, it was awesome.
As you might know, TSA is taking over the current airlines-operated system of checking names in passenger manifests against terrorist watch lists. The initiative is called "Secure Flight," and it will improve the security process for both officers and passengers.
By bringing the watch list matching process into TSA, we can be assured that the most timely and accurate information is being used to clear passengers and to prevent dangerous individuals from getting on planes. Under Secure Flight, the number of mistaken matches will be dramatically reduced, thereby decreasing the number of passengers who are unnecessarily inconvenienced and ultimately improving the public’s confidence. The days of “my eight-year-old is on the No Fly list” will be over because passengers will provide their date of birth and gender when they book their ticket.
So there we were visiting Annapolis Junction for the first time as a group, seeing how the Secure Flight team managed to harness the best of technology, process and people to create a state-of-the-art security program. The facility is impressive and the technology, operational processes, integration of information and talented team of subject matter experts are second to none.
It required tremendous effort to overhaul this heavily criticized program and rebuild it from the ground up. Going back to the drawing board required a tremendous amount of dedication and sacrifice by everyone involved. It also required an unshakeable belief that this program would critically enhance aviation security and make the traveling public safer through consistent watch list matching; adjudication and resolution; and real time Intel enabling earlier law enforcement notification.
Secure Flight is one more step in the TSA-wide Security Evolution that is driving this agency to be one of the best, most forward-looking organizations in the U.S. Government. The entire Senior Leadership Team sends our heartfelt congratulations to the team at Annapolis Junction and all of you throughout TSA who are contributing to this effort. This is a groundbreaking accomplishment by more of TSA’s unsung heroes.
SSI’s Certified Ranks Grow During Conference
By Sarah Innes, Contract Junior Analyst, Sensitive Security Information Office
Supervisory TSO Mychal Dorsey, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, reports on his team’s scenario solution at the SSI conference. Photo by Rigina Pietrowski
By the end of the three-day 2009 Sensitive Security Information Certification and Training conference, 76 additional employees joined the ranks of the 140 total who are SSI-certified across TSA.
SSI-certified employees, who either volunteered for the collateral duty or were selected by their FSD, provide training to employees and stakeholders on SSI policies and ensure SSI is properly recognized, handled and shared.
The May 4-8 conference, held at headquarters in Arlington, Va., offered TSA and visiting DHS employees a mix of training, collaboration and networking. The training focused on SSI policies and procedures. Participants collaborated in group exercises that included discussions about identification and application guides that cover common SSI topics like CCTV, law enforcement reports and media interaction. Candidates also took an SSI certification exam.
"We are very proud to have certified 76 people this week, and we have confidence in all of our certified SSI personnel and their abilities to properly handle the SSI issues that so frequently present themselves in the field," said Andrew Colsky, Director of the SSI Office.
An SSI Certified Forum and Working Group gave TSA SSI Office staff insight to the field’s best practices. For example, an SSI Coordinator shared the benefits of instituting more frequent and less formal SSI workplace inspections. She pointed out that doing so helps maintain employee familiarity with SSI handling requirements. Another Coordinator said he visits work areas after business hours and looks for any SSI material that might be left unsecured. When necessary, he leaves a note reminding an employee to lock up SSI material.
Brian Marchese, a Transportation Security Inspector from Burlington (Vt.) International Airport who received his SSI certification at the conference, called the training “one of the best” and said “it focused on quality in covering the material, rather than just filling time."
"By knowing more about SSI, I’m better prepared to perform my job duties," said Bomb Appraisal Officer Art Thompson, Wichita (Kan.) Mid-Continent Airport, who was also newly certified in SSI.
Recruiting Program Draws Crowd at Reagan National
By Elizabeth McGovern Assink, Director, Educational Programs and Partnerships, Office of Human Capital
A candidate is interviewed by a TSA panel at Reagan National. From left, David Tumblin, Director, Workforce Analysis, Research, and Metrics, Office of Human Capital; Joyce DeMoss, Ombudsman, Office of Special Counselor; Adam Sicking, Economics Team Leader, Regulatory Development & Economic Analysis, Transportation Sector Network Management; Hao-y Tran Froemling, Deputy Director, Maritime and Surface Credentialing, Transportation Threat Assessment & Credentialing; and Daryl Shall, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Acquisition. Photo by Steve Wahoski
At Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport’s Terminal A, with a dramatic window view of planes flying in and out, TSA managers interviewed 70 finalists for the Charter Cohort of the New Horizons Career Resident Program. Within only two days, more than 200 candidates had been interviewed.
The Career Resident Program, a product of the TSA New Horizons initiative, is a two-year developmental training program that offers entry level positions at headquarters in Arlington, Va.
While most candidates are seeking an entry-level position and would be first-time government employees, a number of them have prior professional work experience. Interviewees included TSOs and former TSA interns.
TSA managers called the applicants, from about 18 states, Puerto Rico and several Native American Tribes, “high quality candidates."
Earlier this year, TSA held recruiting events in partnership with Salish Kootenai College, Tougaloo College, University of Puerto Rico and Gallaudet University.
If you have questions about the program, e-mail NewHorizons.crp@tsa.dhs.gov.
This Week’s Featured Local Newsletter
Photo by Steve Wahoski
The Sentinel, redesigned and published by TSA Northern Nevada (Elko Municipal, Reno-Tahoe International and White Pines County airports), offers a balanced collection of stories and photos focused on employees. The May issue cover page features an introduction to the new FSD, followed on the inside by a photo contest and stories on conflict coaching, local awards recipients, an officer in the “Get to Know a TSO” series and the work performed by Bomb Appraisal Officers.
An archive of featured newsletters is available on iShare in the Communications Central section, which is linked from the home page. In the same section, the DHS branding guideline document is available in PDF for download.
Workforce on the Web
Check out the new workforce stories from California, Florida and New Jersey:
- BDO Team Helps Child Find Way Home
- Orlando Employee Helps Distraught Teen
- Newark TSO Finds Replica IEDs and Blasting Caps
Kudos & Clips
Puppies With Explosive Future Need BCS Homes
From KBTX.com, May 11, 2009
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration is looking for active, energetic Bryan-College Station households to volunteer as foster homes for a new litter of puppies bred for the National Explosives Detection Canine Team Program. The puppies will be delivered to foster homes by June 1, said Laura Spencer, deputy director of the Integrative Center for Homeland Security (ICHS) at Texas A&M University. Read more.
Those Airport Security Guys Have a Good Blog
By Christopher Beam, Slate, St. Petersburg Times (Fla.), May 10, 2009
The Transportation Security Administration might be America's least favorite federal agency. For every discarded 4-ounce bottle, dropped laptop or missed flight, a furious traveler stands ready to heap abuse on the next TSA employee he sees. And it is the job of Bob Burns, official TSA blogger, to take it. Read more.
I somehow became separated from my beloved laptop computer. I was unable to reach the lost and found over the weekend … but when I was able to reach a representative, I found Coordination Center Supervisor Maravel Davila, TSA Lost and Found, Austin-Bergstrom (Texas) International Airport. Supervisor Davila talked me through the entire process of contacting FedEx and told me what to troubleshoot for. She even called to let me know that it was on its way. I just wanted to let you know what an outstanding representative she is for your organization.
Samantha Hawkins, Clarksville, Tenn., to Ignacio R. Reyes Jr., Stakeholder Relations and Customer Support Manager, Austin-Bergstrom International, Easterwood, Killeen-Fort Hood Regional, and Waco Regional airports. April 7, 2009.
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