Probably not, but Bob Poole has some suggestions, just in case we want to.
6 thoughts on “Are We Going To Get Serious About Aviation Security?”
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Probably not, but Bob Poole has some suggestions, just in case we want to.
Comments are closed.
It’s said that the exceptions prove (test) the rule. Regarding his suggestion to give those of us with security clearances lessor screening, it sounds reasonable at first. However, as an Army officer, it’s very likely that the Ft. Hood shooter had at least a secret clearance.
As you correctly pointed out in the thread where I misposted my response, Hasan should’ve been drummed out of the military. However, for whatever (politically correct) reason, he wasn’t. He likely still had his security clearance and would’ve been allowed to board a plane.
larry j – do you know for a fact that Maj. Hasan had a security clearance? Clearances are expensive; even the armed forces don’t go throwing them around on everybody. Not saying he didn’t have one, just that it is not a foregone conclusion that he did.
In my military service (13 years), every officer I came across had at least a secret clearance. Those aren’t that expensive, at least not when compared to TS/SCI. From my time in the Air Force, every major had at least a TS clearance. It was deemed that if they couldn’t qualify for the clearance, they didn’t deserve the rank. I don’t know the Army policy but it seems reasonable that medical officers would need a clearance because of needing to know about deployments and military field conditions. I know my son, a Navy ER nurse (O-2) has a clearance.
thanks for the info; learn something new every day…
In the civilian defense contractor world, just about everybody gets a secret clearance (there are just too many programs you can’t work on or places you can’t visit without it), but management still grumbles about the cost. FYI, it currently takes about 9 months on average for a brand-new DoD Secret, and about 18 months for a DoD TS (plus the TS requires a re-investigation every 5 years)…
Yeah, I’m a defense contractor with TS/SCI. That took some work. I just returned from an overseas vacation (Australia and New Zealand). I had to get all sorts of approvals before going and fill out another from when I got back.
I don’t remember it being nearly so tough when I was on active duty, though. Howver, I got out in 1992. A lot has changed since then – I barely recognize the Air Force any more.