TSA exempt list

I did search and found a lot of posts on this but couldn't find one with a complete list so forgive me if i'm rehashing old news.
I did contact the TSA in regards to this but just got blown off and put on another watch list and not sure what crap i will get from this and also called my Congressman to find out if any thing if at all is being addressed on this issue and his office only stated that they will get back to me.
I travel quite a bit so not sure how this is going to play out when i travel again but hey i'm already on a watch list.
They asked me my name and address so i gave it to them and they said they will get back to me but i told them i'm not exactly the brightest person in the world but also not the dumbest and well aware of why they want my info.
Let you know if anything happens or if i do indeed get a letter on this issue
This is the most current article i could find.

Are you exempt from a TSA screening? The list is growing, and you just might be on it

by Christopher Elliott on November 24, 2010


Maybe you aren’t a senior member of Congress, a visiting dignitary or a working pilot — three of the most high-profile groups of air travelers who are exempt from a full-body scan or “enhanced” pat-down by the Transportation Security Administration.

But the list of exceptions is bigger than you might think, and it’s growing.

Working pilots are the latest group to skip the scanners, following intense pressure from their unions and several lawsuits. “Allowing these uniformed pilots, whose identity has been verified, to go through expedited screening at the checkpoint just makes for smart security and an efficient use of our resources,” TSA Administrator John Pistole said in a prepared statement last Friday.

Flight attendants are not far behind. Already, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines’ flight attendant union have asked TSA for an exemption for their crewmembers. They are widely expected to get their way soon. (Update: It just happened.)

Senior members of Congress traveling with a security detail, including the speaker of the House, the House minority leader, and the Senate majority leader, are allowed to bypass security checkpoints when flying on commercial jets, according to the Washington Post. However, other members of Congress must be screened.

Cabinet secretaries who use commercial aviation and travel with bodyguards may bypass security, according to TSA. Cabinet secretaries traveling without protection and other senior government officials flying commercial must be screened.

Former presidents flying commercial with Secret Service agents and some foreign ambassadors also traveling with guards are exempt from screening, according to the Post.

Members of the military traveling in uniform must pass through security checkpoints but are not required to remove footwear unless it sets off a metal detector, according to the TSA. The agency also allows airlines to issue special-access passes to military family members who are not flying but want to say goodbye or greet a loved one at the gate.

State, local and tribal police officers who must fly with a firearm have to obtain an identifier code from the TSA before flying. The officers have to present the code and law enforcement credentials before passing through security.

Cargo loaders, baggage handlers, fuelers, cabin cleaners and caterers can, as a matter of routine, bypass TSA inspection entirely, according to Salon’s Ask the Pilot.

In some cases, this exemption also extends to airport volunteers who offer directions, information and assistance to air travelers. I interviewed one airport volunteer who routinely used his credentials to bypass security when he flew, arguing that the ability to skip a checkpoint was one of the perks of his job.

It should be noted that the level of exemption are not the same for every group. For example, ground workers can access the terminal by swiping their ID card at an unguarded door, whereas pilots must still have their IDs checked and submit to random screening.

Still, the list appears to be growing by the day as more special interest groups try to opt out of the screenings. It is probably just a matter of time before this list is exploited by the bad guys.

Originally posted by laslidealist
...Still, the list appears to be growing by the day as more special interest groups try to opt out of the screenings. It is probably just a matter of time before this list is exploited by the bad guys.

Well, my thought exactly. "Cargo loaders, baggage handlers, fuelers, cabin cleaners and caterers..."? But yet they grope 6-year-olds and strip people with colostomy bags and prosthetic breasts?

Hmm.... [Sound of brain-gears grinding] I'm beginning to think that this whole stinking mess may not be about security at all....

reply to post by laslidealist

Still, the list appears to be growing by the day as more special interest groups try to opt out of the screenings. It is probably just a matter of time before this list is exploited by the bad guys.

Security holes have been exploited since the day of their inception.

Project Spawn, a two-year RCMP inquiry into hundreds of police investigations at Canada's eight largest airports, has identified nearly 60 active gangs infiltrating airports, concentrating on Toronto's Pearson International Airport, Montreal's Trudeau International Airport and Vancouver International Airport.

The Globe and Mail has obtained a 22-page declassified summary of the Project Spawn conclusions, which show the Mounties reviewed files from 2005 to 2007 and concluded that hundreds of people were suspected of involvement in smuggling during that time – 298 of whom were current or former airline employees.

1

Just more evidence of how much of a charade it all is...

I would love to go to the airport with my current g/friend! She's 5'2 and very curvy with a nice sized chest. If the TSA tried to " grope " her, well, lets just say Id spend ( happily ) the rest of my life in Leavenworth, but not before I took a few of them sum bitches out!

Name one piece of legislation that doesn't come with an exemption list.

reply to post by Ex_CT2

Hmm.... [Sound of brain-gears grinding] I'm beginning to think that this whole stinking mess may not be about security at all....

I can think of two major impacts enhanced screening will have:

1. Decreased black market trade through independents (giving a larger market share to organized black market traders)
2. Reduced numbers of 'average joe' people travelling. Business people will fly no matter how intrusive because the flights are needed for monetary gain. Average people may cut down on their travel because they are more emotional than someone looking at a bottom line.

What's the point of it all.... You decide...

this is where hollywood actually got something right

its always the stewardess that lets the bad guy on and gives them the guns.


no opting out for anyone i say you are only inviting disaster

reply to post by Whereweheaded

I would love to go to the airport with my current g/friend! She's 5'2 and very curvy with a nice sized chest. If the TSA tried to " grope " her, well, lets just say Id spend ( happily ) the rest of my life in Leavenworth, but not before I took a few of them sum bitches out!

Ok, shapely or not, I'm guessing from your post that your girlfiend is quite young and unable to speak for herself? I'm also guessing that you're quite young too, because that type of bravura does not go over well with women nowadays.

Originally posted by aboutface
reply to post by Whereweheaded

 

I would love to go to the airport with my current g/friend! She's 5'2 and very curvy with a nice sized chest. If the TSA tried to " grope " her, well, lets just say Id spend ( happily ) the rest of my life in Leavenworth, but not before I took a few of them sum bitches out!

Ok, shapely or not, I'm guessing from your post that your girlfiend is quite young and unable to speak for herself? I'm also guessing that you're quite young too, because that type of bravura does not go over well with women nowadays.

No actually Im old. Former Navy too. She too has passed her younger days. But when it comes to confrontations, my g/friend tends to shy away. You know the old statement, that when your in a true relationship, one that can be built on, one that, were one weakness may be present, that person tends to lean on the other for support? This holds true. Im not known to shy away from debates, arguments or any other confrontation. And usually, I have an audience that tends to feel the way i do.

Hope that sheds some light on the subject.

Federal officials and corporate types are exempt and usually reserved for those with their own private jets. Foriegn Heads of State usually use military bases or specialized runways at undisclosed locations to fly in from abroad.

If you fly alot and are an executive see who you can ride share with. There are programs out there.FAA is who you call, not TSA.