In a recent San Antonio Express-News there is an article about airport security by some guy named Geurra. In it he described the security at most airports around the country and how these airports have contracted to private security companies to provide screening of passengers.

He explains how, to cut costs a security company will low-ball pay scales and eliminate training to cut costs. This way they can under-bid each other and get the contract awarded. The company then collects the money and pockets it while the employees get….nothing! They don’t have any idea what thjey’re doing since no one has trained them and since they don’t get paid squat they don’t care.

He goes on to say that the national average for time-on-the-job as an airport screener is 4.5 months. National rate of turnover is 125%! At Logan airport in Boston (where the World Trade Center flights originated) turnover rate is 200%. Further, the pay is (on average) less than is paid to the zit-faced high schooler that serves burgers at the fast food joint at the airport. We won’t even discuss comparing the paycheck of a baggage handler to the guy that is supposed to keep us safe from hijackers! Apparently it’s more important to get our samsonite on the plane than it is to preserve 7000 lives.

No kidding? You mean to tell me that as pay and training go down so does security? You mean that we’ve got people in charge of our safety that shouldn’t be allowed outside of a building without a keeper? You mean that we’ve got guys wearing guns at the local grocery store that are as stupid as a registered Florida democrat? How long have I been saying this?

I can honestly recall sending a security guard home one night because the guy showed up for work wearing a Smith and Wesson .44 magnum at the Albertsons grocery in the 7600 block of Kirby there in Houston. I stopped later to check the guard at the Target store over by the dome, about 3 blocks away. She was wearing an ancient Smith M&P with a 5 inch barrel. The gun was stuck in a 4 inch barrel cloth holster and hung out the bottom. It was rusty and filthy. When I checked the weapon I couldn’t help ask her…

“Have you ever considered loading this thing?”

She dug in her pocket and fished out a few nasty, dirty .38 Spls rounds and explained to me that the gun was so heavy when it was loaded! I loaded the gun for her and went home and had a good cry…

Everyone from me all the way up to Richard Marchinko (Commander-SEAL team 6, Commander-SEAL team 3, Commander-RED CELL) has been warning of this stuff for years and now these morons have just figured it out and they’re mad because no one warned them!!