It's official

So, I am an official TSA officer.  I had an allergic reaction half way through my X-Ray test, and threw up about 10 minutes after my trainer told me I had passed.

I will say this:  I know a lot of people think TSA is a joke and that we are no better than the private security people who did the job before 9/11.  I even had a 'friend' tell me (as I was training) how stupid TSA workers are.  I am here to tell you that I am not stupid and it is a hard, stressful job.  It took a year and a half just to get though the process to be hired, including lots of forms and a background check and a medical check.  I had 60 hours of OJT and had to be passed off by a supervisor before I could work on my own.  I guess you could be stupid, but if you do everything explained in the standard operating procedures, then you need to be using your brain.  We are told what to do, we don't make stuff up as we go.  Of course, every company or organization has people who are incompetent, lazy and lame.   I am at a smaller airport and we have sufficient staff to make sure nothing prohibited is getting through onto an airplane.  I really like who I work with and every so often I get someone doesn't respect what I do, but I guarantee if we offered two planes, and one was screened by TSA and one wasn't, the plane screened by TSA would be pretty full.  Plus, I look pretty good in my uniform.  So next time you fly, thank a TSA officer for helping to keep air travel safe.