Opinion: The Kind of Leader the TSA Really Needs

(March 8) -- President Barack Obama named retired Army Maj. Gen. Robert Harding as the new head of the Transportation Security Administration, the federal agency whose job it is to make air travel unbearable for hundreds of millions of law-abiding commercial aviation passengers, and moderately tricky for a few potential terrorists.

Since the TSA was created in 2002, its leadership has included:

A former Secret Service director.
A retired Coast Guard admiral.
A retired Navy admiral.
A former executive at a supply-chain software company.
A former ATF director.

And now, pending confirmation, we shall have a retired Army general heading up the agency that routinely fails covert security tests and engages in what's been dubbed "security theater" -- procedures aimed at giving the appearance of security, but which actually do little or nothing to improve it -- all the while harassing, delaying and infuriating the flying public.

Unless the goal here is to maintain the untenable status quo, an Army general is the wrong choice to lead the TSA.

No, what we need in this position is an Army sergeant.

Having served in the First Cavalry Division, I've seen both generals and sergeants in action, up close and personal. While both have their strengths, nobody gets *stuff* done like a noncommissioned officer in the United States Army.

Here's how your air travel experience would change with a TSA led by a senior Army NCO:

Clueless passengers at the security checkpoint who can't get their stuff into the bin in under 20 seconds would be sent to the back of the line. They'll be ready the next time around. Yes sir!
There'd be no more of this ridiculous taking-off-the-shoes business. An Army sergeant understands what terrorists and prisoners already know: There are lots of clever places to hide forbidden items.
Passengers who set off the metal detector would be required to move to the side and do calisthenics until the overlooked item falls out.
Ditto terrorists who tuck a weapon in their nether regions.
First-class passengers would have their own line. It would be a much slower line.
Unburdened by any sense of political correctness, an Army NCO would slap upside the head any TSA agent who sends an 80-year-old grandmother to secondary screening. He'd have that agent knocking out push-ups while leaning over him screaming, "Does she look like a terrorist to you, dummy?? Keep going until I get tired!"

Finally, forget the full-body scanners. They would be a short-lived bad idea of the past. No, going forward, an Army-sergeant-led TSA would have everyone simply walk through a device that sends a barrage of electromagnetic signals designed to detonate any explosive device.

Quick, effective and efficient. That's the Army way.