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con-pilot
1st Mar 2002, 23:07
U.S. airport screeners at a new low. This story speaks for its self. By the way, Gen. Joe Foss was also Governor Joe Foss, he was the Governor of South Dakota for two terms.

PHOENIX, Arizona (CNN) -- Retired Gen. Joe Foss, 86, one of the most highly decorated U.S. war veterans, recently was detained at a security checkpoint at the Phoenix, Arizona, airport because he was carrying an item with sharp edges. . .The sharp object turned out to be the Congressional Medal of Honor, which he had received in 1943 from President Franklin D. Roosevelt. CNN's Jack Cafferty spoke Tuesday with Foss about his airport experience and career. . .CAFFERTY: General, Franklin Roosevelt, the president of the United States, awarded you the Congressional Medal of Honor, and your picture was on the cover of Life magazine on June 7, 1943. For what did you receive the medal and what can you tell us about the day you were given the medal by the president? . .FOSS: Well, actually, I was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for action over Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. ... See, I was the top ace during that time. . .CAFFERTY: You shot down 26 enemy aircraft, is that right, general? . .FOSS: That is correct. . .CAFFERTY: That is amazing. . .FOSS: We were the decoys over the enemy fleet a number of times flying over them at 12,000 feet and having everyone shoot at you. They try to get you, and then you dive -- take a vertical dive on the warship -- in the middle of the thing -- to draw fire so the torpedo planes could get in. . .CAFFERTY: Unbelievable. . .FOSS: I was on my way -- after a National Rifle Association board of directors meeting -- to go up to West Point and speak to the sophomore class there. . .CAFFERTY: And you were going to take the medal and show the cadets up at West Point. You got to the airport, what happened? . .FOSS: Well, you see, when I got to the airport, I planned on just going through as I normally have in the past. But they had this mass of checkers back there that seemed to hone in on me. . .I had on a Western hat, which I normally wear, and this tie, which is known as a bolo tie, and a belt buckle that says, "Dakota Gun Collectors," on it and Western boots. . .CAFFERTY: They eventually wound up taking the Congressional Medal of Honor away from you, didn't they, at the airport? . .FOSS: Well, the whole deal was the medal and this little thing that was with it, which has a little fingernail file on it, and it has the Congressional Medal Society insignia on this thing -- I've carried it for years -- and that set off the thing when I threw my jacket in there. . .They said, "Take everything out of your jacket," and I thought I had. I'm just not used to carrying a medal in my pocket here. So I threw the whole thing in a basket, and when that set that off, they said, "We thought you emptied the jacket." . .And now it came back. And that started the fracas, and they said, "Off with your boots. Off with your belt. Off with your tie. Off with your hat." . .CAFFERTY: Were they nice to you at this time? I mean, were they polite? . .FOSS: No, they were very nasty. It was a nasty group of individuals that I couldn't seem to make understand. And I was trying to show them this medal, that it had all the inscription on the back there. About me receiving it from the president of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and so forth. . .But no one seemed to know what was going on. And then I said, "What happens to the stuff you take from me?" And they said, "Oh, it's destroyed." And I said, "Well, you aren't taking that medal, that's for sure. Or this other thing." And so then the next number on the program, I had some keys and stuff that I -- and an imitation bullet thing -- it never was a bullet -- but it looked like a bullet that President Charlton Heston of the NRA gave me. And they took that. . .I said, "What happens to all of that?" . ."It's destroyed." . .So then I said, "Can I keep any of it?" . .And they said, "No, unless you go over there, write that desk right there and mail it back to yourself." . ."Well OK." What happens, I step over there, and they say, "Off with your boots. Off with your belt. Off with your hat." . .I said, "You just checked me." . .And, of course, then in the meantime, my jacket gets lost in the back, and we horse around. And all of this operation took about 45 minutes or so. . .Finally, I get out of here, and I get to the gate. And as the passengers pile on, I had a first-class pass to get on -- not pass, we paid for the ticket -- and they take me out of line, and the lady says, "Off with your boots. Off with your belt. Off with your tie." . .CAFFERTY: This is the third time? . .FOSS: That's the third time. And by that time, I was fairly warm. . .CAFFERTY: I bet you were at that, general. . .FOSS: And, of course, the questions that they asked and all -- it was so nonsensical, the whole thing. There's no way you could catch a terrorist. In fact, you'd be -- while you were looking at some clown like me, the terrorist would go by. . .CAFFERTY: Now you talked to the officials at America West, the airline that was involved in this. . .FOSS: They've been very nice. . .CAFFERTY: There's been a visit arranged. Tell us about the visit that's upcoming here. . .FOSS: Well the airline, America West, has been very nice. The vice president called me, and I personally talked to him. And the public relations director talked to me. And I'm going to have them out to the house to meet my wife and the rest of the tribe and let them know that we are not terrorists. We're just ordinary citizens trying to get on an airline to go someplace and back home. . .CAFFERTY: General, let me thank you so much for a very entertaining and interesting, if unfortunate, story. . .Let me also thank you for what you and your buddies did all those many years ago. Because I've got a hunch, without the likes of you back there during World War II, the likes of me wouldn't be sitting here right now talking to the likes of you.

. .

<img src="mad.gif" border="0"> <img src="mad.gif" border="0"> <img src="mad.gif" border="0">

Dan Winterland
1st Mar 2002, 23:32
They don't employ the sharpest tools in the box! For example, why home in on the crew, X-ray and explosive check their shoes (as happened to me recently) when there are a whole bunch of suspicious looking pasengers just walking past?

This was at Logan where this whole crass situation kicked off on Sept 11th. Won't these muppets ever learn? <img src="mad.gif" border="0">

White Knight
1st Mar 2002, 23:35
With such brainless monkeys running "security" the honest law abiding citizens don't have a chance.

I take my hat off to the general for obviously remaining so calm.

LAVDUMP
1st Mar 2002, 23:44
I've seen the security people who work at Phoenix's Sky Harbor Airport. Most look like they have come straight from prison. They look and act like the trailer park trash that they are!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Would it hurt them to say "Please" or "Thank You" every once and awhile and smile? Jacka$$es!!!

Otherwise, Phoenix is a great place with very warm weather and friendly people....

RatherBeFlying
2nd Mar 2002, 03:21
Does one laugh, cry or throw up? <img src="frown.gif" border="0">

BELHold
2nd Mar 2002, 04:05
Maybe...just maybe, one of these jacka..es will be the one that finds the weapon that is destined to cause your flight to take an unexpected turn for the worse!

Poke Guy
2nd Mar 2002, 04:55
Why bother inspecting the shoes with x-ray?? <img src="rolleyes.gif" border="0"> Anyone who understands how the x-ray system works will know that x-ray can't distinguish the difference between plastic explosives and other materials of similar density. <img src="confused.gif" border="0">

baby1-11
2nd Mar 2002, 04:59
cor blimey!!!!. .quite a bizarre one really??

ironbutt57
2nd Mar 2002, 09:51
If he were an airline pilot, he would have been fired without the support of anybody...the same illiterate morons we've had at security for years now have the authority to screw anybody they like...and their word is taken as gospel... <img src="mad.gif" border="0"> <img src="mad.gif" border="0"> <img src="mad.gif" border="0">

inverted flatspin
2nd Mar 2002, 10:50
Lav dump I have to agree, I was at pheonix a few weeks ago and they have a pair of security guards checking all rental car returns. The two that stopped me and made my life a misery looked and acted like they were on work release from prison.

RadarContact
2nd Mar 2002, 12:09
Well, this is an old one, but....

you pay peanuts, you end up with monkeys working for you!

Capt. Horatio Slappy !!
3rd Mar 2002, 07:42
The shoe screening is not for explosives it's for detonators, explosives materials screening is done randomly at a different machine. Folks it might be a pain and it might be bubba himself patting your ankles while showing you half his crack as he bends over, the point of the matter is that increased security screening bad or not , has helped in restoring public confidence in Air travel, a critical element in restoring the economy, the real screening goes on in the shadows by shifty people you don't see, bet on it !. .So the next time you sigh while half your dapper ensemble is re-X-rayed, show a little respect for the extremely large amount of dead people at ground zero, keep your damn mouth shut or help contribute to security.

The_Banking_Scot
3rd Mar 2002, 16:49
Hi. .As a SLF I was passing through SFO for my Virgin flight back to London on Saturday (having been upgraded to upper class <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="biggrin.gif" /> when the beeper sounded.. . I was wanded down and asked to sit down and remove my shoes and undo by belt a couple of notches. The man who did the wanding was professional placing me just behind the end of the security machine and asking me to watch my rucksack which had just come out of the x-ray machine. After asking me where I came from (Scotland) he joked that I should not be sober as it was after 12 noon <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" /> .While waiting for my shoes I sat next to a Virgin Atlantic staff member who was stationed there and we talked briefly about upgrades and Las Vegas where he had come form that morning. As I left he thanked me for flying Virgin which was a nice touch.. .Overall the security was professional and friendly.

GeofJ
4th Mar 2002, 09:28
Ah yes Capt Horatio Slappy - another call for blind acceptance in the name of respect for the dead, patriotism, national security - fill in the blank. Just as the American AG Ashcroft stated that anyone who did not agree with him was not patriotic and did not support America one should sit up and wonder what they are trying to get by you. In the case of airport security it is generally just poor quality screeners with less training than the fryboy at the local fast food outlet using inadequate measures to try to find something they would not recognize - oh and at the same time treating the paying customers poorly. There is no reason to expect less than professionalism and politeness from those we put in charge of security.. .. .Having ranted there I have had several good experiences with security as I am often chosen for additional security screening for reasons I cannot figure out - not all of the screeners are a joke just a lot of them are.

seadog
4th Mar 2002, 13:24
I have just experienced the dubious delights of security at NY-JFK . The numbskulls employed there obviously haven't had a customer care course and perhaps need a reminder about who is paying there wages.. .Unfortunatley I had the impression that any complaint would be swiftly dealt with by the goon in a US army uniform, <img border="0" title="" alt="[Mad]" src="mad.gif" /> waiting nearby.

JRF
4th Mar 2002, 14:27
The only airport I have been to in the US that has educated security screenors is ASE. I was quite impressed. Compare it to JFK or BWI and it is like Cambridge vs. an inner city ghetto school.. .. .Had a chat with the CO National Gaurd stationed at ASE. He told me his friends at other airport have to bite their lips watching these security people. He also told me that most of the foulups are caught by the National Gaurd and not the security screenors (like machines being turned off or screenors sleeping at the post.). .. .I am discraced as an American that my elected official can allow such farce of securoty to take place and still assure it's people that it is safe to fly.