Aeronatics

Government vs. Private Companies

Anthony H. Baez

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

ASCI 202

Government vs. Private Companies

After September 11, 2011, the government focused on a better way to secure the airports. With that reason they created the Transportation Security Administration, commonly known as TSA. “The agency is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Was part of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act and signed into law by President George W. Bush on November 19, 2001. It was originally part of the United States Department of Transportation, but it was moved to the Department of Homeland Security on March 9, 2003. The TSA is responsible for screening passengers and baggage at more than 450 U.S. Airports.” (Wikipedia.com, 2015)

After years operating in the airports, many think TSA doesn’t work. Controversial actions while screening travelers have made TSA unpopular among the passengers. The full body x-ray scan is another challenge for TSA, because the system infringes passengers’ privacy. Another big hit for the agency was how they recently performed on the latest exercise. “In June 2015 a report came out stating that TSA failed 67 out of 70 tests, making this a succeeded rate of 95 percent. These evaluations were conducted by the department's Red Teams who are undercover passengers tasked with identifying weaknesses in the screening process. The breaches allowed undercover investigators to smuggle weapons, fake explosives and other contraband through numerous checkpoints.” (Huffingtonpost.com, 2015). In my opinion think the real problem with the agency is the way they train their employees. If you normally travel, you can see how undertrain they are. To be an agency that is meant to protect civilians’ lives, the qualifications are set very low. The only way they can improve their performance is if they are trained and the qualifications are as if you are trying to be a policeman.

These have lead to question the agency....