RRAAMJET, you were making an inquiry at the bottom of the chain of command. You should address your questions to the TSA Director or Asst. Director of that airport.
I recently went through DFW as a SLF. When walking between AA terminals my wife and I noticed two TSA officers at security posts: one was reading a romance paperback, and the other was doing a cross-word puzzle. At no time did we observe them looking up to observe what was going on around them. Very unprofessional.
I sent an e-mail to the DFW TSA Security Director. It turned out he was out of town, but the Asst. Director immediately responded to my e-mail asking for more details.
I passed more info on, he responded and thanked me, and asked for my phone number so he could call me to thank me for pointing out this problem.
I responded that a phone call was not necessary, as I felt that he would deal with the problem. He replied that the problem had been addressed already. I have given the exact date/time so the individuals could be identified.
I have also sent a more positive e-mail to TSA at KSTL telling them how professional and courteous their TSA officers were.
Asking a TSA officer at a security checkpoint policy questions is like asking the Valet Parking Attendant at a five star restaurant for a recipe.