On Tue, 23 Dec 2003 11:44:42 -0600, "No Spam!"
wrote:

Ed Rasimus wrote:
On Tue, 23 Dec 2003 10:49:35 -0600, "No Spam!"
wrote:
All -

I'm especially interested in comments from any of the "current and
former military pilots with top-secret clearances" (as mentioned below)
that might be out there.
---
First, this reply is not cross-posted but only appended to
rec.aviation.military.

I'm a former military pilot who held TS clearance. That is irrelevant
to the article you posted, since I don't fly for the airlines.

No, it's not... see below...

...snipped...

Now, did you have a specific reason for asking for comments from
former military with TS clearances?
Ed Rasimus

Ed -

Yes, I did - a very specific reason. I am well aware of the difference
between military & civilian aviation and the purposes of clearances,
having held them myself.

As I stated in my original post, Please read the article, which, in
part, states:

"Airline pilots evaluate the totality of the TSA's armed-pilot program
and they have declined to participate in droves. Too many airline pilots
view the TSA armed pilot program as a potentially career threatening
fiasco that will cost each pilot who volunteers at least one week of
flight pay and require him to bare his soul to an out-of-control
government agency that hates the idea of armed pilots. Couple this with
the breathtaking failure of many current and former military pilots with
top-secret clearances to pass the TSA psychological evaluations and
pilots are saying, "No, thanks.""

I am asking for any feedback: confirming, denying, or otherwise, from
"many current and former military pilots with top-secret clearances".
I'd also welcome feedback from anyone else _knowledable_ about the
subject. If the TSA is failing pilots with former or current TS (or
other) clearances, it is, at least to me, a clear sign the program is
not working as planned and is, as the author suggests, merely a ploy by
the TSA to discourage pilots from trying to get certified.

I realize too many idiots post here, but perhaps you could read the
article in question before deciding I had no valid reason to post what I
posted.

I responded, as someone meeting the criteria you established and added
some other qualifications to render my opinion from among the
"knowledgeable".

Let me point out a couple of things again--cross-posting is poor form.
Anonymity in both name and domain are poor form. Attacking someone who
responded to your question as not _knowledgeable_ is poor form. And, I
sincerely hope that I don't fall among the "too many idiots" who post
here.

Let me point out also that security clearance is not related to
qualification for line-of-duty weapons carriage. Security clearance
lapses when leaving the military and unless an airline pilot is also
flying Guard or Reserve, they do not normally have a security
clearance.

The article you posted is by an individual who has an opinion, but it
does not support the contention (although I've got little reason to
doubt the validity) that the TSA is a mis-managed bureaucracy. There
is no mention of pilots failing to pass the psychological evaluations
and no relationship between such passage or failure and a current or
past security clearance.

The program is barely a year old. Many airline pilots do not choose to
assume the responsibility of armed intervention. Many pilots eagerly
volunteer. The program is behind in qualification. The standards
required may not be valid. The assumption of qualification by the
candidates may not be valid.

Airline pilots typically fly less than twelve days a month. A week for
training, if they voluntarily choose such a course, is not a "make or
break" hardship for these guys.

Now, let me ask again. You wrote:
I am asking for any feedback: confirming, denying, or otherwise, from
"many current and former military pilots with top-secret clearances".

I ask "confirming, denying or otherwise..." what??? And, you wrote:

If the TSA is failing pilots with former or current TS (or
other) clearances, it is, at least to me, a clear sign the program is
not working as planned

Can you show some evidence of this?

If you ask questions, one can only assume you seek information or
discussion and not that you are simply advocating.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8