Posted on 02/21/2009 9:25:23 AM PST by KeyLargo
Hopefully, the issue of TSA employees treatment of military escorts has been resolved since this 2006 news story.
Marines Escorting Fallen Comrade Patted Down
By Wired Blogs EmailMay 08, 2006 | 6:13:38 PM
Last week, we reported that the Transportation Security Administration’s watchlists were snagging government employees, military officers, and contractors with high level security clearances.
Now a reader of journalist Noah Shachtman’s Defense Tech blog brings news that last Wednesday TSA screeners in Philidelphia pulled aside three Marines who were escorting the remains of a soldier, Sergeant Lea Mills, killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq in late April.
According to the report posted on Shachtman’s blog, Corporals Bigalk and Schadeburg along with Sergeant Stock, were pulled into special screening rooms, where they were forced to remove their dress uniform blouses, belts and shoes. These were then x-rayed and screeners patted down the Marines.
The screeners left Sergeant to find his own shoes, which only added to the humiliation the Marines reported.
This happened despite the fact the Marines were carrying official orders, Mill’s personal effects and a flag for the family, according to the report.
An official with the 1st Marine Division confirmed he had seen the report, but a Marine public affairs official was not immediately reachable by phone.
A TSA spokesperson was not immediately available for comment. (see update)
It’s events like this that prompt reporters like the AP’s Leslie Miller to file stories like this.
UPDATE:† The TSA sent in this statement:
TSA has developed special security screening guidelines for military personnel accompanying our fallen heroes from Iraq.
These guidelines reflect the agency’s utmost respect for those who have lost their lives in service to this country, their families, and those who bring them home with honor.
We sincerely regret any inconvenience that Marines from the 1st Division experienced during the screening process at Philadelphia International airport on Wednesday.
We take their concerns very seriously and have communicated directly with Marine Corps leadership.
For escorts who stay with a casket, TSA sends security officers to their location for screening and does not require those escorts to go through the regular passenger checkpoint. If escorts elect to travel through the regular checkpoint, we conduct our usual screening, sensitive to any special needs that may be presented.
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2006/05/marines_escorti.html
I wish we had HBO ... I’d like to see this. Anyone got their VCR handy?
Just got done watching this, very, very well done. Semper fidelis.
Beautiful film. I was deeply touched by the funeral cortege headed by the truck on the way from Billings to Dubois.
My eyes got irritated by something when he was meeting with the family. Most heart tugging movie I've watched in a long time. The pictures and videos at the end were very touching. Oohrah devil dog Phelps, may he be on maneuvers in heaven.
Good on you, HBO!
God Bless America and it's uniformed service men and women.
Taking in ‘Taking Chance’Film about former Craig resident killed in Iraq premiers this month
By Joshua Roberts
February 14, 2009Craig — Gretchen Mack, a former Craig resident, had reason to be apprehensive and nervous Dec. 13, 2008, while sitting with friends and family at a home in Dubois, Wyo.
She was about to relive one of the worst moments of her life — the moment she lost her son.
~snip~
“It’s going to be like … reliving the whole thing we went through, but hopefully it sends the right message to people,” said [Tonee Gingrich, his grandmother and a Craig resident], who will be joined at the movie by her son, Christopher, and sister, Dollie Frentress, among others. “It’s not just about Chance. … It’s about the love and respect (soldiers killed in action) receive as they travel (home) with an escort.
“It’s not a political message. It’s just a message to our military how much we respect and honor them.”
~snip~
HBO contacted Phelps’ family in late 2005 or early 2006 about making a movie based on Strobl’s journal, which also circulated on the Internet.
The family gave filmmakers their blessing, Mack said, with a couple of conditions.
Sticking to Strobl’s narrative was the first, she added.
“And then it was ‘If you can’t stick to the narrative — positive Marine Corps, positive Chance, no political stuff — don’t do it,’” Mack said.
Family members were involved in the film’s process from start to finish, she said.
And that finished product has the approval of Phelps’ family.
“It made perfect sense to me how they did it,” said Mack, adding that the film has received mostly favorable reviews so far from those who have seen it. “There was a few surprises … but I think they got their point across.
Mack said her son would be surprised by the attention he’s receiving today.
“Truthfully, he would just think we’re crazy,” she said. “Then he would be dumbfounded and honored, as well, knowing a senior Marine Corps officer escorted him home, knowing it’s highly unusual.”
Mack said she has grown close to men her son once served with, so much so that “they’re a part of our family now, as is Lt. Col. Strobl.”
Wow. I just finished watching this as I was channel flipping and I have to say that this movie was probably the best film I have seen, ever. Just had to bump this tread.
Thanks!
There were so many ways it could have gone wrong... but it it didnt, not even close.
As liberal as Kevin Bacon and his wife are, he never once, even by expression, inflection or insinuation, let bias show through.
It was as if he honored the Marines with a total dedication to depicting a real Marine , head to toe.
By far the best HBO movie I have ever seen.
BTW I watched it at the firehall with 8 firefighters and it was unanimous....wow! fantastic movie.
I just finished watching but my TV had some real problems as it was very blurry throughout the entire movie.
I have NEVER had that problem with any other movie in my life. Ever.
This is a very good movie and I can finally applaud HBO for a job well done.
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