BAOs: To give you the gist of it, whenever a piece of luggage goes through screening and looks “bad”, BAOs get called. Likewise they test screeners as well as train them.

During this internship I have been shuffled between people and various departments in order to gain a better understanding of what happens at TSA behind the scenes. I think at this point Wes has gradually run out of places for me observe a department or shadow someone. There are so many different components to such a large organization, but understandably not every department or person is suitable for me to shadow. Anyway, since working at the checkpoint I have always been interested in what the BAOs do; no one mentioned if I could shadow them during my internship. Because of this I strolled in to their office on Tuesday and asked if I could shadow them, I should mention that no one EVER goes in their office. The Supervisor said that I could shadow the department but that there were certain things that I would have to skip out on. (makes sense..) Unfortunately my internship hours are a bit complicated to work with, in conjunction with the BAOs, so I was told to come back on Wednesday and they would let me know if anything else came up that I could tag along for in the future.

BAOs are stationed at the main office almost 24/7, I believe there are no flights for a three or four hours period in the early morning. (don’t quote me on that) I spent the first hour learning a bit more about what the BDOs do and afterwards I followed one of them (Steven) to the Airport. Steven went to two different checkpoints to give a class that some new-hires and transfers had missed out on. He ended up giving the same class a total of three times and I would like to think that because of the repetition, the information got ingrained in my head. The class was interesting and it was great to see how enthusiastic the TSOs were; unfortunately supervisors aren’t always supportive of classes and refuse to release TSOs so that they can occasionally attend a class.

On our way back to the main office Steven got a call and before I knew it we were speeding back to the airport, me made it there in record time. It turned out that one of the checkpoints had a bag in its x-ray that looked pretty bad. Since Steven was one of two people on call he was the one to respond. I’m not going to lie, it was pretty neat; our race back to the airport was like something out of a movie. Although Steven is allowed to park the car RIGHT in front of the airport and just run in, we parked across the street and jogged in to the terminal. Correction, he jogged through the exit while I speed walked through security and then stood off to the side.

Even though I’ve gotten this amazing amount of access along with this internship I wasn’t sure if this was one of those things that I wasn’t really privy to, so I just watched Steven from afar and then later got a re-cap of the whole thing. The bag that he had been called in for ended up being alright. It belonged to a roadie who had a few electronics that just did not look right on the x-ray image.

Today was a BIG day because the new FSD (Federal Security Director) arrived in Arizona today. We have an FSD right now (Jim) but he isn’t permanent, he just came to AZ to sort of transition between the last FSD and the incoming one. On Thursdays my schedule has me at the HR Satellite Office located at the Airport. Well, when I arrived at the Satellite office there was a sign that read “at FSD meeting”. After a quick call to Wes it turned out that the majority of FSD staff members were going to be meeting the new FSD at 9am. Wes said I should try and attend the meeting, but I didn’t arrive at Headquarters on time! When I arrived everyone was already seated and I would have had to walk right past the new FSD and most likely interrupt his speech just to enter the room. So I did a somewhat bitter stroll back to the front desk. I had so been looking forward to meeting the new FSD!

Well, before leaving I dropped in to the SOCC to discuss several things and to my surprise the new FSD was standing in the middle of the room! Apparently he had gotten a mini-tour of the SOCC and was in the process of meeting everyone working there today. I couldn’t just stroll up to him and introduce myself, never mind interrupting everyone else, so I just tried blending in to the background. As the FSD was on his way out of the SOCC he apparently spotted me, came back to where I was at, and made it a point of introducing himself. I managed a handshake, uttered my own name, and that was it. Someone else from the SOCC mentioned that I am an intern and the FSD chimed in that he had actually been wondering if TSA had a program that catered to interns. It sounded as if he was quite keen on the idea!

So even though I missed the original introductory meeting I still got to meet the new FSD and everything turned out quite well. After my shift at the FSO (Federal Security Office) I went to the Airport to complete my regular shift at the checkpoint; several times I might have let it slip that I had already met the new FSD earlier in the day. Maybe it’s just me, but meeting the new FSD during his first (official) 4 hours in PHX seems like a big deal to me! :-)

Today I went to a networking lunch with two other girls from the Office (Rochelle & Malisa). Once a month administrative assistants employed by various State and Federal agencies meet to socialize while simultaneously networking. I debated asking Rochelle and Malisa how these networking lunches had started but another admin. assistant actually answering my question while we were having lunch. She told me that by networking on occasion and getting to know people from other departments and agencies, if we should every have to work together, we would already have a point of contact. It sounds silly, but as soon as she explained her theory to me, a little light bulb went on.

All State and Federal agencies undoubtedly have each other’s contact information, but it would make such a big difference to have a point of contact.

TSA needs to work with Law Enforcement
TSA -> calls LE phone number -> speaks to LE person
Bill from TSA -> calls Jane from LE -> discusses situation

So that’s a crude explanation, but I think you get the general idea. I think networking lunches like the one I attended can be incredibly beneficial. I know it may seem odd to “waste” time on a seemingly silly socializing lunch that is on the clock so to speak, but you have to be able to look past the occasional gossiping and dinning to realize that connections are being made that would take much longer in a normal work setting. We all know that it is easier to make a connection outside of a rigid work environment when people are more at ease.

This week I spent my “other” days working with Catherine, one of two financial specialists. Catherine explained to me vaguely what her job entails and right off the bat had me listen in on a conference call regarding travel cards. TSA employees that have to “travel” for work are issued a credit card that, with the proper documentation, will be paid for by the government. (Trips can range from flying someplace to driving to a spoke airports within Arizona) At the beginning of this month TSA changed banks, so now another bank will issue our designated travel credit cards. Because of the change all info regarding cardholders is being reviewed right now.
Catherine had me review the list of AZ Cardholders and pay attention to details like birthdays and their assigned airports, ensuring that no files were labeled incorrectly during the transfer from the old bank to the new one. Believe it or not but it was incredibly time consuming looking up everyone’s birthday and which airport they are assigned to.

The first thing Wes had me work on was a set of org charts. Several charts that were originally created in Microsoft Visio display the chain of command within various departments. Some of the departments that the org charts focused on were the following:
- FSO (PHX’s Federal Security Office)
- Law Enforcement (employed by TSA)
- Screening managers, by terminal

I was essentially working on what looked like a family tree. Lines linking people to their superiors/subordinates with pictures for everyone. The whole thing was incredibly time consuming because this was my first time working with Visio. The org charts will actually be included in an informational packet for the new FSD when he arrives in a few weeks. (we have a temporary FSD right now) Working with the org charts really helped me learn and remember people’s names within the office.

During the last two days I’ve been stationed in the S.O.C.C. at Headquarters. Wes suggested I spend the weekends at the SOCC (instead of other days of the week) because everyone else at Headquarters works weekdays, meaning the place is rather empty on the weekend. The SOCC on the other hand is staffed 24/7!
What is the SOCC? As the name implies (Security Communications Center), it is a one-room “office” that regulates, receives, and transfers almost all forms of communication within the Airports. (in regards to TSA). To give you a general overview of what happens there:
- The SOCC has access to all airport cameras located at checkpoints.
- All incidents get reported to the SOCC
- Information that seems pertinent to running screening functions in AZ get passed on to management. Example: An incident at another airport, the SOCC would send out a briefing to all screening managers. (the info would eventually trickle down the chain of command)

I’m not sure how I can really give you better insight in to what happens in the SOCC. The SOCC has everyone’s contact information and likewise has the means to contact anyone within a matter of seconds. (be it someone located in PHX, somewhere else in AZ, or even HEADQUARTERS in DC)

In the office there are four primary computer stations with dual monitors and there are several large flat screens on one wall. The flat screens are used to monitor flights, display briefings, and monitor news stations. It’s fascinating to sit in the SOCC and just observe people, phone calls, and the monitors..it gives you a feeling of being in on everrrything.

I spent approximately 6 weeks at the airport and am now primarily at TSA’s Phoenix Headquarters. My main go-to-person is an admin assistant named Wes. Wes is an absolutely fantastic mentor, very out-going and incredibly knowledgeable about the whole organization. On my first day at Headquarters we put together a schedule that looks something like this:

Sun – S.O.C.C.
Mon - Other
Tue - Other
Wed - Other
Thu – HR Satellite Office @ the Airport
Fri - Other
Sat – S.O.C.C.

S.O.C.C. -> Stands for The Security Operations Communications Center (located at PHX Headquarters)

Other -> 4 days a week Wes will either have me tag along with him, give me things to do, or I’ll shadow someone else from the office.

HR Satellite Office -> The HR Department has an office at the Airport where someone is stationed Monday through Friday. Everyone is on a rotational schedule, so one day a finance person may be there and the following a benefits person.

So far my schedule is working out really well, minus the fact that I’m still spending 65 hours a week working in Phoenix. It has been great working with Wes because his cubicle is at the very front of the office next to the FSD’s office. (Federal Security Director, the highest TSA post in AZ) What this means for me is that any traffic in the office goes by his area, this translates to hearing about any and everything. Likewise, since Wes works directly for the FSD and the AFSD (Assistant Federal Security Director) I have been able to observe Management (and yes, essentially Tourism Management) in motion. I can’t even begin to describe how fascinating it has been to encounter classroom terminology/concepts in an actual workplace setting .