They'll Help Staff A Center For Severely Injured US Troops
The TSA says it will participate in
efforts by the Department of Defense to establish and staff an
operations center designed to assist injured US troops and their
families.
The Military Severely Injured Joint Support Operations Center,
which will be available to assist service members and their
families 24 hours a day, seven days a week, was officially opened
on February 1, 2005 by Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of Defense.
A team of six TSA liaison staff will represent the agency at the
DOD center, answering questions from service personnel and their
families about how to facilitate travel through the commercial
aviation system. The TSA representatives are on hand to explain
applicable TSA security procedures for severely injured service
members and to otherwise assist our military heroes.
TSA’s participation in the DOD center was precipitated by
two recent instances of what TSA’s top official, Rear Adm.
David M. Stone, USN (Ret.), considered “insensitive treatment
of injured servicemen at US airport security
checkpoints.”
“When we became aware of the incidents where several
screeners fell short of our high standards of customer service, we
immediately began the search for a remedy,” said Admiral
Stone, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for TSA. “We
apologize to the servicemen and their families involved and take
this action to serve as our pledge that the missteps will not be
repeated.”
“TSA is an organization
dedicated to enhancing security while providing top-notch customer
service,” Admiral Stone continued. “We fell short of
our goal in these cases, and are proud to join with the Department
of Defense in operating this new center committed to serving the
nation’s injured troops.”
The operations center, located in Northern Virginia, is staffed
by caseworkers (registered nurses with disability experience),
service representatives, and members from each of the ten working
groups that support the center. Each working group covers a
specific area of need from financial assistance to employment, each
working to organize resources and help connect the families and
severely injured service members with those resources. State and
local governments will also be involved with the center, as will
non-profit organizations and major corporations.
“We are confident that our efforts to establish the
Military Severely Injured Joint Support Operations Center will
enhance our customer service record and assist TSA in understanding
the special needs of injured service personnel,” said Admiral
Stone.