Employee Stories
COBRA exercise strengthens TSA’s law enforcement partnerships
July 20, 2020
TSA employees recently came together with 14 law enforcement partners from federal, state and local agencies to hone their skills during a Collaborative Operation By Response Agency (COBRA) deployment exercise. This collaborative and…
TSA Oregon Holds Virtual Professional Workshops
July 17, 2020
Even with so much going on in the present, TSA Oregon hasn’t forgotten to prepare for the future. When Oregon Federal Security Director (FSD) Stephen Taber asked Assistant FSD-Mission Support Kathleen McDonald to create an all-inclusive…
Getting to Know the People in the Know: Chief Medical Officer Dr. Fabrice Czarnecki
July 13, 2020
Editor’s Note: As TSA’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Fabrice Czarnecki helps ensure the TSA workforce is mission ready. He manages health policy, maintains medical records and serves as TSA’s physician authority for medical determinations. In…
Off-duty canine Officers ‘dressed to the nines’ for partners’ wedding
July 6, 2020
To watch an explosive detection canine officer and handler working in tandem is to see trust at work. The faith they have in one another radiates through the leash as they unite in one mission and purpose — to sniff out danger. They become life…
California employees’ group plays key role in improving workplace
July 1, 2020
TSA employee morale at Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California, and its spoke airports is on the rise, thanks in large part to an employees’ group called the Employee Advisory Council (EAC). Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, TSA’s National…
Getting to know the people in the know: Executive Assistant Administrator Kimberly Walton
June 30, 2020
Editor’s Note: As Executive Assistant Administrator for Enterprise Support for TSA, Kimberly Walton’s responsibilities include overseeing human resources, acquisitions and procurement, training, logistics and other critical enterprise support…
TSA looks toward future with new Administrator’s Intent
June 26, 2020
TSA has its eyes on the future! Administrator David Pekoske this week released the second phase of his Administrator’s Intent (AI). AI 2.0 is designed to build on the successes achieved to date and takes into account lessons learned from…
Acts of kindness in Mississippi
June 25, 2020
“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” You’ve probably heard that phrase, which is super relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s been a rough time for thousands of TSA employees, but many are facing the adversity with a smile…
It’s a Dog’s Life
June 15, 2020
A longtime and well-loved TSA canine is calling it a career. TTirado is retiring.
TSA partners to return essential air service to remote Cold Bay, Alaska
June 15, 2020
“If you’ve seen one airport, you’ve seen one airport.” How many TSA officers have used this reply when passengers ask why each airport seems to have its own special way of providing security? This adage has a very special meaning in Alaska.…
TSA social media experts listen, learn and inform
June 12, 2020
One and a half million questions asked by the traveling public and answered by AskTSA is a notable milestone. It’s even more impressive when you consider a forward leaning TSA was the first U.S. government agency to embrace social care back in…
New York TSA officer helps feed homeless during pandemic
June 12, 2020
Nobody wants to see others suffer from hunger, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, Vince Reardon decided to help feed the homeless in New York’s Tompkins Square Park. He volunteers with Chilis on Wheels, a non-profit organization that shares meals…
TSA tourniquet saves life
June 8, 2020
When TSA Security Specialist Todd Andrews received a tourniquet during a training course in Glynco, Georgia, it came with a solemn warning – one day, you might need it. Months later, Todd was clearing brush on a property in Oklahoma with…
TSA – Ford Partnership keeping people safe
June 4, 2020
As part of the Defense Production Act invoked by President Trump after declaring a national emergency, General Motors production plants switched to manufacturing ventilators. Ford Motor Company also paused car production and pivoted to…
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial honors fallen Federal Air Marshal
June 4, 2020
For the first time in its 58-year history, a Federal Air Marshal’s (FAM) name is forever etched on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C. Michele Paul was honored at a wreath laying ceremony as part of National…
Mom inspires TSA employee to help community
June 3, 2020
Abraham Lincoln once said, “All that I am or hope to be I owe to my angel mother.” Lincoln drew inspiration from his mom, and so does Alexis Walters. A transportation security specialist, Walters is with TSA’s Policy, Plans, and…
TSA supply chain strong amidst COVID-19
May 29, 2020
You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. That is especially true for the supplies TSA’s workforce needs to carry out the mission every day. From the gloves, cleaning supplies and other consumables that our officers use at the…
A stitch in time
May 27, 2020
Sandie Chandler was sewing her own handmade outfits at the young age of 12, a skill she learned from her mother. “I was four when my mom gave me a toy sewing kit to occupy my hands while she sewed clothes,” said Chandler. In the years…
Home is where Fido belongs
May 26, 2020
Finding lost dogs is Sheilah Graham’s passion, and her motto is Never Give Up. For the past eight years, Graham, a TSA officer at Warwick, Rhode Island’s T.F. Green Airport (PVD), has volunteered her time and experience to assist families…
One good turn deserves another
May 19, 2020
TSA officers and staff in Austin decided the time was right for some quid pro quo and to show a little love to those who so unselfishly supported them with food just 14 months earlier. Once she got permission, Supervisory TSA Officer Frankie…