TSO (Screener)

[NYCTNT]

First, I am not your "bro". I was just attempting to make YOU understand that you do not have a true understanding of all of the functions of Customs and Border Protection. That was apparent by the questions you asked. If by other CBP counterpart, you are referring to the TSA and TSO that is again an error. They are in separate agencies all together. That would be like referring to the New York Mental Health Police as an NYPD counterpart which would not be accurate at all. I would have been happy with "I didn't realize all the functions that CBP was involved in".

There would be many that would believe that a traditional law enforcement officer’s job is useless, including yours. It would be an incorrect assumption. Absolutely, every job in the law enforcement system has a place and if anyone of them were not done no matter what the function the rest of the jobs eventually would not be able to function either.

FB

Umm.. I might not be a detective but I am surely not stupid to know TSA and CBP are seperate enteties. I was talking about this guy whose post was deleted early on, who is YOUR COUNTERPART.

Originally Posted by mutosufan
"TSA workers are absolutely useless!! It is a freaking joke that they are even a part of DHS. I have had run in after run in with those clowns and they are a pathetic group. Each and every one of them. Ask DEA, ICE, locals, etc, etc that deal with them and they will tell you to stay away.

i could tell you stories about their "policies" inside the airport, but I will refrain. They will make you shake your head at what a joke and travesty it is that they are "protecting" our air travel.

Rumor has it that they will be joing CBP in uniform and some work come next year.

Stay away from TSA!"

Apparently he thinks he poops roses.

[ht2121]

as far as TSA I say get the job(since there are very few jobs to be had anyway), do the job but make sure you bring more to the table when applying for other departments. Continue education get your masters.

This last hiring round with FAMS though did seem to hire a few more TSO's then normal.

[Firebug]

bro, honestly... i dont really care, just attempting to make your other cbp counterpart understand that your job can be seen as "useless" too.

First, I am not your "bro". I was just attempting to make YOU understand that you do not have a true understanding of all of the functions of Customs and Border Protection. That was apparent by the questions you asked. If by other CBP counterpart, you are referring to the TSA and TSO that is again an error. They are in separate agencies all together. That would be like referring to the New York Mental Health Police as an NYPD counterpart which would not be accurate at all. I would have been happy with "I didn't realize all the functions that CBP was involved in".

There would be many that would believe that a traditional law enforcement officer’s job is useless, including yours. It would be an incorrect assumption. Absolutely, every job in the law enforcement system has a place and if anyone of them were not done no matter what the function the rest of the jobs eventually would not be able to function either.

FB

[NYCTNT]

bro, honestly... i dont really care, just attempting to make your other cbp counterpart understand that your job can be seen as "useless" too.

[Kimble]

Here's my take...get in start earning federal retirement,TSP,sick,annual leave and transfer to a better agency,ASAP. It's an honest living and there are some good people there but quite frankly more negatives exist than positives in TSA. I wish that wasn't the case.

As a federal agent who has never worked for TSA, but has known quite a few former TSA employees (air marshals), this seems pretty dead-on when referring to the screeners. Not knocking them on a personal level (I've met some good ones), but the job is what it is, and the majority (or what seems to be the majority to me from going through airports all over the US) of the people doing the job speaks for itself. I'm not saying one could not use it as a foot in the door for federal employment elsewhere, but the reality is the duties of being a TSA screener will not equip you with any special skills to help you if you seek to go on to become a federal agent or federal LEO with another agency (sort of a "won't hurt, but won't really help" situation).

As said above, it is an honest buck though, and would provide a lot of the same employment benefits of other federal jobs (i.e. TSP, annual/sick leave, FERS retirement, federal Blue Cross insurance, etc.)

[Firebug]

Wow, great job to the TSA for keeping us safe at 30,000 feet!

Umm... A CBP underwear screener is talking down to a TSA screener...

How does that happen again?

Guy, your CBP, not ICE or some special agent somewhere. You dig through luggage and stamp passports AFTER the passengers have been deemed SAFE from their initial departure area.

Lets poke a little at the CBP guy..

Why do you guys have firearms when the PAX are already on the ground and "harmless"?

Why do you need L/E power to stamp a passport?

Why do you feel the need to go OUT OF YOUR way to mess with a LEO and keep them at bay by digging and digging through their luggage only to find skid mark underwears that you have touched while looking for unknown objects AFTER id'ing myself?

I dont look for any special treatment, just trying to save the BOTH us us time and energy as we were assumed to be on the same side.

So all in all, we can poke fun at everyone just the same and say the SAME thing about CBP. Everyone has their fair share of bad interactions are every level of the L/E field.

We could spend days bashing agencies, that through our posts, we show that we have very little understanding of. You own post shows you have little understanding of the agency you have chosen to bash. As for you questions:

Why do you guys have firearms when the PAX are already on the ground and "harmless"?
First, the same reason your desk officers carry firearms, unless they are currently on the rubber gun squad. They are still sworn law enforcement officers regardless of where they are currently assigned. We all know how airtight screening is in our airports, right? Do you think the screening in some of the third world departure points is always effective?

Second, the officers do not always work the booth in an international arrivals terminal. They sometimes work the ramp. They sometimes work the warehouses, which are located all around the city in which ports are located and since the "real" police don't always do such a hot job at keeping crime out of the city it is nice to be armed while working as a sworn law enforcement officer. This doesn't even address the officers working the Land Border or the officer assigned to Multi-Jurisdictional Task Forces.

Third, probably for the same reason you put harmless in quotes because we all know that no one is harmless.

Why do you need L/E power to stamp a passport?
1. If that passport that was presented to be stamped happens to be fraudulent, that is a crime. It is nice to be able to arrest the perpetrator of that crime.

2. If the person who presents that passport happens to be the subject of an arrest warrant that perhaps even YOU issued from your department, it is nice to be able to confirm that warrant and take the subject into custody for you. You may not appreciate it but many other departments do.

3. If the person who presents that passport is smuggling contraband, which could be any number of things, that is a crime. It is nice to be able to arrest them for that.

4. Do I need to mention what agency the officer that made the initial contact and detention of the Times Square bomber worked for?

Why do you feel the need to go OUT OF YOUR way to mess with a LEO and keep them at bay by digging and digging through their luggage only to find skid mark underwear that you have touched while looking for unknown objects AFTER id'ing myself?

I dont look for any special treatment, just trying to save the BOTH us us time and energy as we were assumed to be on the same side.
First, I am guessing you don't have any idea what CBP's policy is on professional courtesy etc. It all depends of how the traveling officer goes about ID'ing himself. I started this job in the North East. I understand professional courtesy very well. I also support it's use. However, please remember that practically every part of that arrival hall is under video cameras. Most certainly the area where inspections and baggage exams are conducted is under video cameras. Depending upon how the id was done, the CBP officer sometimes get put in a very uncomfortable position because of policy and cameras.

FB

[1800Silver]

Here's my take...get in start earning federal retirement,TSP,sick,annual leave and transfer to a better agency,ASAP. It's an honest living and there are some good people there but quite frankly more negatives exist than positives in TSA. I wish that wasn't the case.

Well here's one thing about being a TSO...if you don't have a degree,a year in TSA can qualify you as a 7 in CBP instead of a 5. That may be a long first year though.

[NYCTNT]

Wow, great job to the TSA for keeping us safe at 30,000 feet!

Umm... A CBP underwear screener is talking down to a TSA screener...

How does that happen again?

Guy, your CBP, not ICE or some special agent somewhere. You dig through luggage and stamp passports AFTER the passengers have been deemed SAFE from their initial departure area.

Lets poke a little at the CBP guy..

Why do you guys have firearms when the PAX are already on the ground and "harmless"?

Why do you need L/E power to stamp a passport?

Why do you feel the need to go OUT OF YOUR way to mess with a LEO and keep them at bay by digging and digging through their luggage only to find skid mark underwears that you have touched while looking for unknown objects AFTER id'ing myself?

I dont look for any special treatment, just trying to save the BOTH us us time and energy as we were assumed to be on the same side.

So all in all, we can poke fun at everyone just the same and say the SAME thing about CBP. Everyone has their fair share of bad interactions are every level of the L/E field.

[beachplaya8]

Would anyone know if you are getting hired to be a TSO if you can negogiate your starting pay based on your education level. I hold a bacholers degree and wanted to see if I automatically start at the low end or if I can try to get a few thousand more. I would like someone from TSA possibly a supervisor or hiring manager to respond. Thank you.

[tsapalmsprings]

As a member of TSA, and I'm a a guy on the line as we call it. Are some of the policies dumb, yes. But to called a clown by a CBP officer is insulting. We go to work not know what we will find in the luggage we screen. I personally have found a live gernade in a bag. As for being pathetic, i CHALLENGE ANY LEO TO COME AND WORK A CHECKPOINT SCREENING PASSENGERS AND FOLLOW OUR GUIDELINES AND SEE HOW YOU ARE TREATED. So before forum member insult and degrade and put down 43000 of us just remember, we have a job to do and we all do it to the best of our abilities.

We all officers, some with more responiblities than other, but all try to keep the citzen in this country safe.

[ignignokt373]

TSA workers are absolutely useless!! It is a freaking joke that they are even a part of DHS. I have had run in after run in with those clowns and they are a pathetic group. Each and every one of them. Ask DEA, ICE, locals, etc, etc that deal with them and they will tell you to stay away.

i could tell you stories about their "policies" inside the airport, but I will refrain. They will make you shake your head at what a joke and travesty it is that they are "protecting" our air travel.

Rumor has it that they will be joing CBP in uniform and some work come next year.

Stay away from TSA!

Gee.....nothing like bashing an agency just because.

One would think that you would be more professional as a CBP Officer.

[ithrow95]

TSA workers are absolutely useless!! It is a freaking joke that they are even a part of DHS. I have had run in after run in with those clowns and they are a pathetic group. Each and every one of them. Ask DEA, ICE, locals, etc, etc that deal with them and they will tell you to stay away.

i could tell you stories about their "policies" inside the airport, but I will refrain. They will make you shake your head at what a joke and travesty it is that they are "protecting" our air travel.

Rumor has it that they will be joing CBP in uniform and some work come next year.

Stay away from TSA!

calm down tiger.. i think certain tsa policies are dumb, but as an le officer i unserstand whos making the rules and whos following orders.. and as a traveler, i undertand that i have to follow these rules.. if you cant understand that then i sure hope to god your not in law enforcement.

[ElDiabloJoe]

I've always heard that TSA is an acronym for Thousands Standing Around, but personally I don't believe there's any truth to that

EDJ

[1895bombdog]

They are not officers they are screeners. They work like robots with no ability to apply any common sense. It depends from work location to work location. I have traveled accross the country many times (on duty/armed) and they always seem to go out of their way to make things as difficult as possible for law enforcement. At at the end they have little or no real authority and many seem to resent those who do.

Just my two cents worth. The problems we have with Airport security issues in this country should not be laid at the feet of the TSA Screeners. These folks do a thankless, difficult, and vital job. They seem to be unappreciated by both Homeland Security Management, and the public. The TSA Screener on the ground has no input regarding policies decreed by upper management. Upper management seems to have no interest in learning what our European and Isreali counterparts have known and practiced for decades. This lack of knowledge of the "real world" leads to almost untenable situations for the "TSA Troops on the ground. These folks do care, and given the opportunity, could do much to improve an airport security system that is largely broken, and arguably ineffective.

That is a good point. The TSA, for whatever reasons, made a decision to set up random searches for bad items, rather than the more tried and proven method of intelligence and observation driven interviews, to identify bad people, that places like Israel have used with great success. Basically, they federalized the ineffective private system that the airlines were already using, something the airlines lobbied very hard for when there was talk of putting TSA under the DOJ and making it a law enforcement agency in the early planning stages.

The TSA screeners had absolutely no imput into that decision.