TSA Spotted at Chicago Union Station

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I'm at the outbound destination on a round trip to the east coast. Didn't see a single TSA mouth breather, and only had to show my ID once, when checking bags.

The only civilized way to travel.
This is at CUS?
No, this was HOS-NOL-PHI
You're lucky, in January I encountered a dozen TSAers (complete with those ridiculous thigh holsters on some of them) in Houston, waiting on the westbound Sunset Limited. They didn't interact with passengers, just stood in two circles. Is there some special TSA hokie-pokie?
 
I'm at the outbound destination on a round trip to the east coast. Didn't see a single TSA mouth breather, and only had to show my ID once, when checking bags.

The only civilized way to travel.
This is at CUS?
No, this was HOS-NOL-PHI
You're lucky, in January I encountered a dozen TSAers (complete with those ridiculous thigh holsters on some of them) in Houston, waiting on the westbound Sunset Limited. They didn't interact with passengers, just stood in two circles. Is there some special TSA hokie-pokie?
TSA agents are not armed, you must have seen some law enforcement officer of another agency. Thigh holsters are typically used by SWAT and special enforcement teams like warrant service. They are used because in an emergency they are faster to get out of the holster, but are just as secure as hip holsters.
 
So what I'm gathering from this is:

-D.C. Union Station and anywhere else with ClubAcela: Hide out in CA lounge and fuhgettaboutit. Does this apply to PHL 30th St. too?

-Chicago Union Station: TSA doesn't actually do anything, just stands around breathing my air. Fuhgettaboutit. Maybe hide out in Metro Lounge, use Red Cap to board separately? (Any Red Cap who helps me stay away from TSA is getting a big, fat tip.)

-Providence: May have to deal with APD (doesn't really bother me since even the most corrupt sworn LEOs understand rights better than TSA), but can pretty much ignore them.

If true, this puts me at much greater ease than I've been over the past couple days.
 
They are used because in an emergency they are faster to get out of the holster, but are just as secure as hip holsters.
Sure, they're like the old West quick-draw McGraw holsters. I'm sorry. LEOs manage to gun down people every day with regular waist holsters. How often has an Amtrak train required... Oh, that's right, there was that Dallas case in 2011 where LEOs gunned down some miscreant, as well as shooting one of their fellow officers and a bystander.

You know, maybe quick draw isn't the important parameter here.

I think that it's dress-up, just like LEOs wearing paramilitary outfits instead of proper uniforms. But hey, I'm old school. I'm mystified why soldiers who work in offices wear BDUs.
 
-Chicago Union Station: TSA doesn't actually do anything, just stands around breathing my air. Fuhgettaboutit. Maybe hide out in Metro Lounge, use Red Cap to board separately? (Any Red Cap who helps me stay away from TSA is getting a big, fat tip.)
I've never seen a TSA agent at CUS, and I've went through there a few separate times (and used it as a bit of a home base on Chicago day trips.)

If I remember another thread here correctly, the TSA only has the authority that Amtrak Police grants it at a given time...it has no "standing authority" and Amtrak Police holds any actual authority. Sometimes the TSA will work with Amtrak Police, but even then Amtrak Police has the final say.
 
There was one on the CTA Blue Line a few months back. I think it was going to work at O'Hare since the train was outbound.
I wished I had some preprinted document I could've given to it as I stepped off the train that detailed my exact feelings about TSA and why the agency's clerks should hate themselves every second of their lives, but alas, I was unprepared.
Seems like that kind of thing would be much more effective if communicated to Congress and/or the higher-ups at the Dept. of Homeland Security, yes?

Although I'm no fan of the agency, I do have some sympathy for individual TSA employees -- but I guess you don't, given that you're referring to them as "it."
I agree with Trainman. These are just people who needed a job and are just following employer orders. If you have an issue with the TSA, take it up with the TSA or government officials, not the person minding their own business on their way to work. "It" is pretty insulting.

This is like saying I'm a money-sucking scumbag because I work for an insurance company. I have to follow certain policies, no matter how much I disagree with them, or I'll lose my job. Do I like it? No. Do I need a paycheck? Yes. However, because of people who have an attitude similar to yours, I usually don't tell people what I do because they make an instant judgment and start chewing my ear off at parties or in public, assuming I'm an awful person who loves to screw people over.

A uniform is just a uniform. It does not describe the person wearing it.
 
Dropped my letters in the mail today, will see what Amtrak customer relations and APD/Chief Hanson have to say.

Also mailed a quickie thank-you letter to Scott Garrett for the Freedom of Travel Act. Don't expect to hear back since I'm not in NJ, but who knows, he might surprise me.
 
They are used because in an emergency they are faster to get out of the holster, but are just as secure as hip holsters.
Sure, they're like the old West quick-draw McGraw holsters. I'm sorry. LEOs manage to gun down people every day with regular waist holsters. How often has an Amtrak train required... Oh, that's right, there was that Dallas case in 2011 where LEOs gunned down some miscreant, as well as shooting one of their fellow officers and a bystander.

You know, maybe quick draw isn't the important parameter here.

I think that it's dress-up, just like LEOs wearing paramilitary outfits instead of proper uniforms. But hey, I'm old school. I'm mystified why soldiers who work in offices wear BDUs.
True this! ;) Gunslingers went out in the 1880s but SOME LEO types think they look Cool and "Bad" and they think they're the Marshall in Dodge City or a Gunfighter in a Saloon! The BDUs thing also puzzles me, why are they worn when Service Members are Traveling in the US? When I was in the Service you didnt leave the Base unless you were in a Class A Uniform!! Fatigues, BDUs, Utilities, whatever the Name were for Work, Training and Combat!
 
They are used because in an emergency they are faster to get out of the holster, but are just as secure as hip holsters.
Sure, they're like the old West quick-draw McGraw holsters. I'm sorry. LEOs manage to gun down people every day with regular waist holsters. How often has an Amtrak train required... Oh, that's right, there was that Dallas case in 2011 where LEOs gunned down some miscreant, as well as shooting one of their fellow officers and a bystander.

You know, maybe quick draw isn't the important parameter here.

I think that it's dress-up, just like LEOs wearing paramilitary outfits instead of proper uniforms. But hey, I'm old school. I'm mystified why soldiers who work in offices wear BDUs.

Traditional police uniforms are more ceremonial. They must be dry cleaned and pressed and they are very expensive, most LEOs get an allowance anything over they must pay out of their pocket. The leather duty belt is shiny. The name tag, badges and emblems must be polished.

When part of a special unit, sometimes called; SWAT, ERT, ESU, and warrant service etc., there is a high likelihood of having to crawl through windows, ladders, rooftops, etc., as is expected of officers on SWAT call outs, serving search warrants, etc. BDU style uniforms serve the purpose much better than the old traditional police uniform. Some SWAT teams have two uniforms, traditional black and another color (i.e. OD green, camp, etc.). They're there to protect you and your family. Law enforcement serves an entirely separate purpose than the military. There is an equal need for both. I don't think one is trying to mimic the other.. All of these activities would damage or destroy the traditional uniform. The BDU style uniform can be machined washed and is much cheaper than the traditional uniform. It also has a more relaxed fit for the physical activities described above. As a cost saving, instead a police department designing their own custom colors, patterns and designs, its cheaper to just purchase military surplus.

Just as a note, every large department that I know has several uniforms for specialized units, e.g. weapons training in a close by department uses a bright yellow shirt over OD pants and a black baseball cap. That is so they came be seen and easily identified on the ranges. Also when wearing Class III body armor, you cannot wear a hip holster, so some sort of drop holster is required.

Requisite train subject, Amtrak PD has at least four different uniforms.
 
I was at the station in Tucson this evening waiting for the departure of #1 when I saw a cluster of big law enforcement type guys standing around talking. 4 of them had uniforms identifying them as Department of Homeland Security police, and another one had a uniform identifying him as a TSA Inspector. I didn't ask what they were doing there, since I was already acting suspiciously (wandering around a train station) and I was outfitted with a terrorism enabling instrument (a camera). I don't want to go to Gitmo.
 
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They are used because in an emergency they are faster to get out of the holster, but are just as secure as hip holsters.
Sure, they're like the old West quick-draw McGraw holsters. I'm sorry. LEOs manage to gun down people every day with regular waist holsters. How often has an Amtrak train required... Oh, that's right, there was that Dallas case in 2011 where LEOs gunned down some miscreant, as well as shooting one of their fellow officers and a bystander.

You know, maybe quick draw isn't the important parameter here.

I think that it's dress-up, just like LEOs wearing paramilitary outfits instead of proper uniforms. But hey, I'm old school. I'm mystified why soldiers who work in offices wear BDUs.
True this! ;) Gunslingers went out in the 1880s but SOME LEO types think they look Cool and "Bad" and they think they're the Marshall in Dodge City or a Gunfighter in a Saloon! The BDUs thing also puzzles me, why are they worn when Service Members are Traveling in the US? When I was in the Service you didnt leave the Base unless you were in a Class A Uniform!! Fatigues, BDUs, Utilities, whatever the Name were for Work, Training and Combat!
Lately, the Armed forces people I see on the train, plane, bus -- don't have to and don't wear the BDU thing unless they have to. The NAVY never did sign on to the "wear your uniform in public BDU" thing -- but the NAVY never did sign on to that ill-informed PR thing. They hated their "blueberries" or "aquiflage" thing anyway. "The sharks won't bite me, because they can't see me in my government-issue flammable high-tech uniform"

Right - the rule was - not off base in working uniform -- small exceptions like picking up kids from daycare or filling the gas tank.

All the military people I know don't want the uniform off-base.

All the uniform loving people I've had the misfortune to meet want a uniform to be honcho-gonzzo-important.

The competent military people I've ever met just know what they know and do what they do. They do not want to, and refuse to, do "security theater" . Secure -- whatever-- sure.

Plausible threat -- gotcha -- .

End rant

Oh, and relevant - when I run into a serving warrior at the train station -- likely we both help the TSA any way we can -- because we all feel sorry for those who have pointless jobs much less demanding than an Amtrak SCA
 
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