TSA Treats an Iraq War Veteran like a Suspect

The walk down the terminal went smooth.

Four cordoned paths lead to a lone TSA agent sitting behind a podium. A couple of girls walked ahead of me and reached the agent first. I stopped and waited. He cleared them and they went to the security check area. I walked up to the agent and handed him my ID and boarding pass.

He scanned my ID card, signed my boarding pass, then said, "Thank you for your service Sergeant!" I said, "thanks," then moved into the security and scanning area. I pulled a couple of bins from the stack. I also grabbed a jewelry bowl for my watch, dog tags, wallet, and other personal items.

I threw my shoes into one of the bins, my laptop into the second bin. All smaller items went into the jewelry bowl. After I got all my items in line, I checked all my pockets a second time. "I had to miss something!" I thought. Then I stopped. I had my shirt stays on. I pulled them off quickly, and placed them in the jewelry bowl, on top of my watch, wallet, dog tags, belt, pens, car keys and other belongings.

Some TSA agents didn't look like they wanted to be there.

I pushed the items toward the scanner. The African American TSA agent looked at me, then my stuff. The look on her face suggested that she didn't feel like working that day. I could understand the feeling. It was Memorial Day, a time that most people go to the beach and enjoy a barbecue.

Memorial Day 2011 did start off with the perfect beach weather conditions.

After a little pause, she started the conveyer. I pushed one of my items after another in. First, the jewelry bowl, then my army assault pack.

My assault pack's story started in Iraq. Soldiers from the unit that we relieved didn't want it. "Sure!" I said, "I'll take it!" Can't hurt to have two assault packs!

After the assault pack went through the scanner, I sent my laptop case, my laptop and my shoes through.

After the last of my items went through the carry-on baggage scanner, I turned toward the personal scanner. Two to three TSA agents, all Caucasian, stood waiting for me on the other end. There was another scanner line, also manned by mostly Caucasian agents. Traffic started to pick up. I stepped through the scanner and overheard one of them say, "You're good!"

The TSA agent provided an ineffective body search

Three seconds after clearing the scanner, it happened. The scanner made a "beep" sound. I heard another TSA agent say, "Oops, we've got to check you!" A TSA agent directed me towards a search box, with foot prints placed where they wanted people to stand. The TSA agent said, "Turn to your stuff and raise your arms!" I asked him if I could get something from my bag.

Naturally, he was afraid that someone, with an Army assault pack and Army dog tags, might pull an M249 out and go Rambo on him. So he said, "No!" All I wanted to do was to grab my military medals, and to hold them up in the air as I was being searched.

Then he commenced the search. I gave him an "A" for professionalism. He didn't show anger or malice; he told me precisely what he was going to do next. However; I gave him, and Norfolk Airport's TSA team, an "F" for search quality.

I had this issue happen to me in January 2008, at this airport.

I set the scanners off; which caused a TSA agent, an African American, to grab a manual scanner. He swept it over me and found the problem... I had forgotten to remove my shirt stays. "Where was this hand scanner now?" I thought. That hand scanner would've limited the area on me that needed to be searched.

I have a theory as to why I got flagged for a follow on search.

That Friday, while at the Kansas City, MO (MCI/KCI) airport, I set the scanner off. Both, the 27th and 30th of May, I rushed to remove my shirt stays. It could've been the way I removed the shirt stays... pulling them off instead of unsnapping them.

The KCI TSA agents used common sense and reason in my case. They checked my laptop bag instead of me.

I guess they didn't think that I was going to go Rambo on them.

But, a hand scanner would've zeroed in what caused the main scanners to go off in the first place. Those hand scanners were nowhere to be found, at the Norfolk International Airport TSA area.

And get this. I didn't have anything on me that would set the scanners off. The TSA hand search didn't find the problem.

A second reason I gave him an "F" for search is that the way he searched me wouldn't have turned any items up. In some parts of the search, he formed his hands with all fingers and thumbs pointing outward. Then he brushed the area my body meets my legs. He did the same in my rear end area.

In the Army, we call that the credit card swipe. Our search methods, and this guy's search methods, were different like night and day.

I could've had a penny taped where my leg met my torso, and he wouldn't have found it. Soldiers doing a detainee search would've found it though. Bottom line, the agent's pat down served no tactical value when it came to preserving security.

A Hispanic and African American in the search box, with most TSA agents and travelers being white.

I looked right next to me, and there was a second passenger receiving a pat down. He was an African American male. I was prior Navy. I could tell, by looking at his haircut, his personal appearance, and by the way he carried himself, that he was either in the Navy, or was a Navy veteran.

The look on his face told me that he saw this as an inconvenience... not as having any tactical value.

After the pat down, I thought, "Really?"

I collected my items, put the laptop bag into the laptop case, put my belt on, reloaded my pockets with the wallet, pens and car keys. I slapped my belt back on, then, once I got all my stuff together, I walked to the waiting bench within the search area.

Iraq War veteran responds to the TSA's treating him like a suspect.

I grabbed the zipper on my laptop cover flap, then reached in. I pulled my medals out, then stood up. I looked around, then did the "throat clearing" speech start. I noticed that the majority of the TSA agents, and travelers, were Caucasians. I noticed this fact even when I turned around during the search.

I raised my medals in the air.

My Iraq Campaign Medal, with a campaign star, was on the first row, all the way to the left. It hung adjacent to my Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal. Under my fingers, but still visible, was the National Defense Service Medal, with bronze star. My Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal led the barely visible follow on row.

I said, "Ladies and Gentleman, Iraq War Veteran here, I just got treated like a suspect in my own country!" I had barely finished that statement when the lady running the carry-on baggage scanner gasped at my audacity.

One of the agents responded, "Sir, we're just doing our job, just like you did yours, we thank you for your service!" I did what I had to do, and didn't want to follow on with the agent's reply.

I could've replied that I'll believe that they're doing their jobs, like we did ours, the moment I see a TSA agent get subject to the same criteria the rest of us get subjected to. Come to think of it, I didn't even see any ground crews go through security.

I could've also said something about how troop deaths would've been higher if we did our jobs like the TSA did. But I didn't, I had a flight to catch. Besides, I didn't want security to follow up on my choice to exercise my freedom of speech... on a day dedicated to those that gave their lives to preserve our rights and freedom.

I intend to put more visual drama to this the next time I fly. I've purchased an "Iraqi Freedom Veteran" T-shirt that I've designated as my "flying" T-shirt. I want people to see me in that shirt the next time I get searched. I also want a future search as "ammo" for those looking for material to use to criticize shady TSA airport searches.