US Soldier: "What happened to OUR country while we were gone?"

When I was in the Canadian Forces, we came back from an exercise in Fort Lewis, WA, and had to go through much the same security BS - except it wasn't TSA, it was our own MPs who put us through the ringer.

They ripped through all of our gear, and made us wait in a locked hanger with no bathrooms for close to seven hours while they looked for contraband. It was a farce.

And the stuff that they confiscated made no sense. For a lot of us, this was our first time trying American rations, and some of them came with these little mini bottles of Tabasco sauce.

I got chewed out by some overweight MP because I tried to bring one back with me. A lot of us lost our pocket knives and the like - even though we ere allowed to have them on the flight down - even on the plane.

Of course, this was all back in 2003 or so. Just goes to show that BS like this can happen anywhere, anytime, when some trumped up numpty puts on his "i'm-in-charge" boots and tries to play the tough guy.

Anyways, just wanted to let you all know that you're not alone - this sort of stuff happens to servicemen in other countries too.

Originally posted by gandhi
Wow, your kidding me.

I don't think I should take planes. I would challenge every TSA agent to a duel by a slap in the face with my leather glove.

*GLOVE SLAP*

Maybe not a wise move. As the challenged party, they have the choice of weapons. Nail clippers at 20 paces. Do you know how to use nail clippers as a weapon? Apparently, they do. You may suffer permanent cuticle damage.

reply to post by OldCorp


Indeed. The U.S. military trains it's infantrymen in effective hand to hand combat. Further more, the rifle is a serious hand to hand weapon once one is trained and practiced in it's use, with or without the bayonet.


If we continue to accept this treatment the excuses will never end. One could potentially take ones pants off and strangle someone, or tie them up. One could punch, kick, bite. One could throw shoes, use shoe strings to choke or restrain... it's endless.

As I said in a previous post. If we have become so weak and fearful that we can no longer tolerate risk, why not sedate anyone that enters a public area? Why not chain us all up anytime we travel? Why not force us all to wear cameras and record every second of our lives? Why not have everyone be required to call an officer and inform then that you intend to leave your home and that you are going to X place for X number of hours?

Might as well eh? Imagine it. No crime, no risk of being hurt or offended? Screw human rights and freedom and principles.. we are afraid!

reply to post by TheOracle


Just wait till all of you get a culture shock of how much we've changed. I really have seen society, especially the 20s crowd go straight downhill in the last 2-5 years alone. I personally blame the liberals and Jersey Shore.

Glad you're back!

This day and age is like a new cold war, accept its a cold war of terrorism. The sad thing is that you have an average american, saying stuff like I don't care search my bags I have nothing to hide. Search my body I have nothing to hide. It allows the overbearingness, its not the governments fault though its ours. Instead of reacting in these times as okay we're kinda scared but we'll make it work for the best. We turned it into "why aren't you protecting us more??". Also the TSA is under the Homeland security department which constitutionally is controlled by congress.

To me the craziest thing of all, when considering the direction the TSA has taken security, is that they send pilots and flight attendants though all of these silly security measures as well, now think about this... If a pilot just so happened to be working for mr. Osama, and wanted to bring a plane down... What would he need to smuggle on board in order to do it?

Great, But Sad Story

Kind of reminds me about the one where the woman wrote an article to the newspaper complaining about the noise from jets flying over a grocery store she was shopping at.

She did everything she could to degrade the military for disturbing her peaceful shopping experience.

Come to find out, those planes were flying over a funeral of a US soldier who died fighting.

If I can find the story I will post it.

Sad what is happening in this country, and if we don't stop it, it will only get worse.

Originally posted by backinblack
reply to post by TheOracle

 

S&F
That is so funny..
I just wish the soldier had shown the TSA dip# that the butt of a gun can do so much more damage than nail clippers..

I bet the soldiers, after a long tour, just wished they could put the TSA clown down..

Anyone of those guys could have killed quite a few mall cops barehanded.

reply to post by TheOracle


Your story was hilarious. It would have been funny if they let him carry a two-foot machete on the plane but confiscated the nail clippers. I still don't understand how you would use nail clippers as a weapon. When someone was drafting the banned items list, I wonder what they were thinking when they wrote down nail clippers. Personally, I think it would be much easier to kill a guy with a pen then a pair of nail clippers.

Originally posted by TheOracle
picchore.com...

A friend of mine sent me this about his TSA experience. He, unlike most of us, was coming back into the country from Afghanistan on a military charter. ——–
As the Chalk Leader for my flight home from Afghanistan, I witnessed the following: When we were on our way back from Afghanistan, we flew out of Baghram Air Field. We went through customs at BAF, full body scanners (no groping), had all of our bags searched, the whole nine yards. Our first stop was Shannon, Ireland to refuel. After that, we had to stop at Indianapolis, Indiana to drop off about 100 folks from the Indiana National Guard.

That’s where the stupid started. First, everyone was forced to get off the plane–even though the plane wasn’t refueling again. All 330 people got off that plane, rather than let the 100 people from the ING get off. We were filed from the plane to a holding area. No vending machines, no means of escape. Only a male/female latrine. It’s probably important to mention that we were ALL carrying weapons. Everyone was carrying an M4 Carbine (rifle) and some, like me, were also carrying an M9 pistol. Oh, and our gunners had M-240B machine guns. Of course, the weapons weren’t loaded. And we had been cleared of all ammo well before we even got to customs at Baghram, then AGAIN at customs.

The TSA personnel at the airport seriously considered making us unload all of the baggage from the SECURE cargo hold to have it reinspected. Keep in mind, this cargo had been unpacked, inspected piece by piece by U.S. Customs officials, resealed and had bomb-sniffing dogs give it a one-hour run through. After two hours of sitting in this holding area, the TSA decided not to reinspect our Cargo–just to inspect us again: Soldiers on the way home from war, who had already been inspected, reinspected and kept in a SECURE holding area for 2 hours. Ok, whatever. So we lined up to go through security AGAIN. This is probably another good time to remind you all that all of us were carrying actual assault rifles, and some of us were also carrying pistols. So we’re in line, going through one at a time. One of our Soldiers had his Gerber multi-tool. TSA confiscated it. Kind of ridiculous, but it gets better. A few minutes later, a guy empties his pockets and has a pair of nail clippers. Nail clippers. TSA informs the Soldier that they’re going to confiscate his nail clippers. The conversation went something like this:

TSA Guy: You can’t take those on the plane.
Soldier: What? I’ve had them since we left country.
TSA Guy: You’re not suppose to have them.
Soldier: Why?
TSA Guy: They can be used as a weapon.
Soldier: [touches butt stock of the rifle] But this actually is a weapon. And I’m allowed to take it on.
TSA Guy: Yeah but you can’t use it to take over the plane. You don’t have bullets. Soldier: And I can take over the plane with nail clippers?
TSA Guy: [awkward silence]
Me: Dude, just give him your damn nail clippers so we can get the f**k out of here. I’ll buy you a new set.
Soldier: [hands nail clippers to TSA guy, makes it through security] This might be a good time to remind everyone that approximately 233 people re-boarded that plane with assault rifles, pistols, and machine guns–but nothing that could have been used as a weapon.

That's beyond ridiculous, almost funny. I do feel bad for the guys working for TSA. I don't think they are to blame, the politicians are the ones who created this situation. I wish all the soldiers would stop fighting in their name and take their country back!
wishful thinking....


Mod Edit: Profanity/Circumvention Of Censors – Please Review This Link.

edit on 12/4/2010 by semperfortis because: (no reason given)

Your Friend should send this to Comedy Central , Saturday night Live , Mad TV etc...

and Have at the End pf Stints End Actual Events !

Insane as you can you can Pistol Whip a Person to death Crush a Head with a Rifle Butt or use it as a Base Ball Bat

Let alone The Field Gear in what can be done with it .. but Nail Clippers! suppose you can snip a Vein you can at least try LOL and on top of that , In what Degree The Soldiers Training is , Hell a Paper clip can be considered a as weapon www.failfunnies.com... Macgyver Anyone !




This Reminds me a George Carlin's Airport Security Scene
before 911 You are All Diseased 1999

Anyone who posted bad comments about the TSA for their heroic actions, you should be ashamed. Nail clipperscan be used to cut small locks (like a wire cutter). Easy access to the cockpit. Those TSA agents should be given medals of honor for protecting the US citizens from the rouge, and warmongering soldiers returning from Afghanistan.

Originally posted by BiGGz
Anyone who posted bad comments about the TSA for their heroic actions, you should be ashamed. Nail clipperscan be used to cut small locks (like a wire cutter). Easy access to the cockpit. Those TSA agents should be given medals of honor for protecting the US citizens from the rouge, and warmongering soldiers returning from Afghanistan.

Stupid is as stupid does.

ON topic: I think soldiers should only have to be searched once when leaving a foreign country. Anything more is insulting. Even though I could never be a soldier (too afraid) I respect them tremendously.

Maybe Im in the minority here, but I dont think it is right for people to act aggressively towards the TSA agents who are burdened with this job. They are only doing what they are told and likely overworked and underpaid like the rest of us. Attacking these people would do no good at all as they are only regular 9 to 5 schmoes.

I highly doubt most of these folks get any joy out of patting down sweaty, angry travellers all day long, Im sure it was their life's dream to have to grab up the crotch of some 70 year old for $9 an hour.

If you are gonna be pissed at least aim it at the ones who deserve it, the idiot politicians who are enforcing this nonsense.

reply to post by Wolfenz


That vid is so true, so funny and still pre 9/11..
Did that taking of our rights help???
9/11 says no !!!!!!

Just for giggles we should get a group of 10 or so people together, and we should all be carrying nail clippers and wearing a t-shirt that says, "we are manicured terrorists."

What's next, some mitts and hand cuffs to keep us from choking each other? Like someone said, there are a number of things that can be used as a weapon. I could choke someone with my underwear if I was in a pinch and needed to choke someone right away. (laughing to self)

Troy

reply to post by L4ST IN LINE


I really doubt TSA staff are on $9.00 an hour...
Most look like they would spend that much on food alone...

To answer the original question...

What happened?

Most Americans were so worried about their property value that they signed Home Owners' Association contracts because obviously they value money more than freedom and have no fear of heaping more government on top of themselves.

Meanwhile....

(from reading the cables, and I can't for the life of me figure out why media isn't discussing this because it is blaring in most of them I've seen - and I know you govt. folks can't see them, so I will put it in a nutshell...what I've found....

The US State Dept. has become the US ARMS INDUSTRY SALES DEPARTMENT.

and the Federal Reserve and Government Sachs have looted the treasury...

BACK AT THE RANCH....
Those folks that signed those HOAs found out that their property was practically worthless anyway, and are still paying dues and fines.

everyone else has been watching American Idol and Desparate Housewives.

Voldemort's Death Eaters took over the Ministry of Magic.

reply to post by TheOracle

As difficult as this is to say, I think your country lost its compass and moral authority, or the glue of a civil society, in your being sent out, which required, as part of the process a mindless following and thus a dumbing down, since things get more primitive and more barbaric, the higher command goes in this chain of decision making, and the more removed, from the average citizen, an otherwise fundementally decent person, who had his patriotism hijacked and his or her rational faculties, brainwashed.

None of this of course can be laid at the feet of those who followed orders, and who wanted to serve with honour and dignity, that is still in tact.

It's a strange and terrible paradox.

That's what happened, imho.

The otherwise indespensible moral authority of the USA, was dispensed, with "shock and awe" to borrow a term coined by Donald Rumsfeld.

So now you return to a country of dimwits and imbeciles (no offence to ATS'ers when I say that), who all now share a dark family secret locked up on the other side of lies and lies and more lies, swallowed hook, line and sinker, being the good and real patriots most Americans used to be..

It was all emptied out, including the treasury, and now the once great nation of the USA is but a shell of its former self.

For everything there's a price, and here the price (of waging unjust war of aggression) was the very heart and soul and character of the nation.

Bush Jr. had lots of fun though, and Cheney too, and the food was always good at the Whitehouse I'm sure, the snuff films of torture unto death, the highest production quality..

reply to post by NewAgeMan


Fortunately.. the more that suffering carves into one's being, the more joy they can contain, and all happiness for man must arise exclusively only in relation to some unhappiness, already experienced, so there's just GOT to ba a silver lining in this cloud somewhere...

Yeah, it's a real pain from the middl-east to returning home only to get searched again and again. The hero's welcome we got wasn't as good as it was years ago and its only going to get worse from here on out. I guess we can become criminals overnight.