TSA Making an Impact with FEMA’s Hurricane Recovery Efforts in New York

 TSA Washington/Reagan Supervisor Lisa Caillet in Far Rockaway, NY

Over  the past five weeks, thousands of New Yorkers have come in contact with more than 700 TSA officers, inspectors and administrative personnel from 200 airports across the country, men and women who have volunteered for a FEMA-led New York humanitarian recovery and assistance effort in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.  But odds are that they never knew it because these TSA employees literally traded in their blue security uniforms, black TSA inspector jackets and TSA badges for a FEMA badge to help residents recover from the devastation of Hurricane Sandy.

These TSA employees are wearing winter coats and wool caps as members of the FEMA Community Relations Teams, going door-to-door in neighborhoods affected by Hurricane Sandy, helping residents sign up for both FEMA and state assistance.  In many cases, these workers returned to check on the status of those applications, and returned again to make “wellness checks” along with members of the National Guard to offer water and food. 

TSA employees also are staffing many of FEMA’s Disaster Recover Centers (DRC) that have been set up in community and recreation centers, schools, and other locations.  At DRC’s, survivors are guided through the recovery process to ensure that they are getting needed aid .  They can also learn about available programs to get heat and electricity restored to their homes and shops – so that their homes can again become inhabitable, and their shops readied for a return to business.

TSA Atlantic City BDO James Weisbecker in Breezy Point, NY

Douglas Estridge, a Master Behavior Detection Officer from Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), said he was making a follow-up visit to the home of a middle-aged couple and noticed that the husband was leaning awkwardly on the door frame. Shortly before the storm, the man had undergone double-knee surgery but because his car had been flooded,  he had been unable to get to his physical therapy sessions. Esteridge was able to contact his FEMA group leader, and together they arranged transportation for the man to get to his physical therapy appointments.

Mark Siepak, a TSA Officer from Piedmont Triad International Airport (GSO) in Greensboro, N.C.,  said that early in his FEMA deployment, he was speaking with a woman who was living with her elderly mother – with no heat or electricity.. The mother’s feet would turn blue from the cold and the daughter would rub her mother’s feet several times a day to warm them up. Siepak made what he refers to as “an urgent-need call” and while on the phone it was determined that the women were eligible for funds to cover the cost of housing and that the funds would be transferred the same day. 

TSA Charlotte TSO Dwayne Bishop in Staten Island, NY

“If we get one person registered for assistance, we know we are making a difference. We don’t want anybody to slip through the cracks,” explains Vicki Andrews, a TSA Officer from Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport (GPT) in Mississippi, a Hurricane Katrina survivor who knows personally the value of FEMA’s efforts. She was so appreciative of the assistance she and her family and community received post-Katrina that for this disaster, she made the decision to “pay it forward” and came north to help support FEMA’s efforts in New York.

These TSA employees put their lives on hold, packed a bag and waved goodbye to their families because they saw a need to help make a difference in the lives of complete strangers at a time when the need was greatest. They spent Thanksgiving away from loved ones. In the words of FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate – “duty called.”

TSA Amarillo Supervisor Sharon Buckley in Breezy Point, NY.

Like other agencies that fall within the scope of the Department of Homeland Security, TSA employees can volunteer to be members of what is known as the Surge Capacity Force; these volunteers are willing to be deployed to a disaster location to help FEMA with response and recovery support.

Make no mistake, this work is no vacation. Surge Capacity Force members are putting in a minimum of 12- to 14-hour days living on maritime training vessels docked in the waterways of New York, to enable displaced residents to utilize the available hotel rooms. TSA employees are eating in a galley and sleeping in the hulls of ships in large, shared living quarters that feature triple-bunks. “But we are sleeping well knowing that the important work we are doing is making a difference” in improving the lives of their fellow countrymen, says Sharon Buckley, a Supervisory Transportation Security Officer from Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport (AMA).

Guest Blogger Lisa Farbstein 

TSA Public Affairs Spokesperson, New York/New Jersey

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TSA Pre✓™ Through Global Entry: One Sweet Deal!

As a spokesperson for TSA, I’ve been talking about TSA Pre✓™, TSA’s risk-based, expedited checkpoint screening initiative, for the past several months and decided it was time to put my money where my mouth is. 

I travel regularly for work and pleasure, but I am, shall we say, “thrifty.” Since I purchase the cheapest ticket and am not loyal to only one airline, I knew I would not be invited to opt into TSA Pre✓™ by one of the participating airlines (US Airways, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines or Alaska Airlines).

The only option available for me to receive expedited screening through TSA Pre✓™ would be to sign up for one of the Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Trusted Traveler programs (Global Entry, NEXUS or SENTRI). So I did.  

With my valid passport in hand, I visited www.globalentry.gov, and then clicked on the Global Online Enrollment System link, where I provided some personal data on my application online and typed in my credit card number. It cost me $100, but I figured that if I got accepted, the “membership” would be good for five years, which comes to $20 a year. As I mentioned, I’m “frugal,” so I did the math. Nearly all of my travel is domestic, not international. Most of my travel is through the busiest airports, and on the airlines participating in TSA Pre✓™, so that sounded good. I take about 20 trips a year for business and another eight trips a year on my own. Multiply that by two (one flight departing and one flight returning) and it means that I stand in about 56 checkpoint lines per year. My back-of-the-envelope math told me that for 36 cents per trip in an average year, I could leave my shoes on, keep my jacket on, not have to bother to remove  my laptop from my knapsack, and allow my 3-1-1 liquids bag to remain tucked into my carry-on. PLUS I wouldn’t have to wait in line for others to take off their shoes and fill up the checkpoint bins. I had two words to describe that outcome: Sweet deal!

After I signed up online and paid the fee, a few days later I received an email that told me that my application had been processed and that I should arrange for a visit to an airport where I would have to go through an interview. The letter gave me a temporary Global Entry membership number that I was permitted to start to use immediately for international travel, but not right away for TSA Pre✓™ .  

Fortunately for me,  I live only about 25 miles from an airport where an officer from CBP conducts interviews. I realize that’s not the case for a lot of people. I browsed the appointment times online, and scheduled the interview. On the day of my interview, I brought my passport, driver’s license, and conditional approval letter, which I had received from CBP shortly after I applied. I watched a brief video about the Global Entry program. The video told me that Global Entry was a privilege program that could be revoked if I violated any customs laws or was arrested. I was handed a “Know Before You Go” brochure. I answered a few questions, was photographed and fingerprinted and got a solid handshake as I left. It took all of 15 minutes. My Global Entry ID card will come in the mail within a few weeks. It’s not actually necessary for me to carry around the card and cannot be used at the Global Entry kiosk, but it will include my ID number and photo. My temporary ID number is now my permanent number.

I’ve entered my new “Known Traveler” number in my airline profiles. (Apparently people forget to do that, so please consider this a reminder to do so.) The number is on the back of the card, upper left-hand number next to the words PASS ID, which I suspect stands for “Passenger Identification Number.” If you don’t have a card you can also find the number in your GOES account online.

I’m amazed that it was so darn easy.  If you see me in an airport, be sure to say hi. I’ll be the one with my shoes on. 

Lisa Farbstein

Guest Blogger & TSA Spokesperson

TSA Checkpoints This Halloween: Trick Or Treat?

Boots with gun barrel heel and bullets Photo courtesy of TSA-JFK

Halloween. Dress up in a scary costume, visit some neighbors, shout, “Trick or treat!” and race home to see what’s inside the bag. That’s the normal spiel, but passengers at airports this Halloween put their own spin on the holiday, and believe me when I say that several had some tricks up their sleeves and in their bags.

Let’s see, there was the passenger in Boston who had a steak knife in his carry-on bag; the El Paso passenger with a 6 ½-inch hunting knife in his carry-on bag; the LaGuardia Airport passenger who had eight rounds of 9 mm ammunition in his bag; the JFK Airport passenger who had a 6-inch butterfly knife in his bag; and the New Orleans passenger who had a loaded .380 caliber firearm--with a bullet in the chamber--in his carry-on bag.

Unlike trick or treat, these passengers didn’t get to go home with their goodies. All of those items were confiscated. And due to jurisdictional laws, the passengers in the New York airports were cited for violating the local laws. 

Now that the fall season is arriving, it’s likely that many of you are camping, hunting, hiking, etc. There’s a good chance the last time you wore your fall coat or used your knapsack was on a hunting or fishing trip, and maybe you left a knife or some ammunition tucked away in one of those handy-dandy compartments. Truth is, we’d rather you keep your guns, knives, and ammunition--just keep them at home, that’s all. So be sure to take the time to do a quick check of your personal items to be sure you’re not forgetting about the weapon you tucked away during your last trip.

And it doesn’t hurt to think about what you’re wearing when heading to the airport. Your favorite belt with the brass-knuckles buckle? Leave it at home. The cool western belt with bullets decorating the side, leave it in the drawer. Hand grenade belt buckle? Yep…. We see it all. And the boots pictured below that were worn to JFK Airport—the ones with the shiny bullets and handgun barrel heel--please leave them in the closet instead of wearing them to the airport, even on Halloween. 

Lisa Farbstein - Guest Blogger/TSA Spokesperson New York/New Jersey

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