Letter to Congress About Marines on No-Fly List

April 13, 2006 B. John 233 Views Bill Nelson, Homeland Security, Jim Davis, Mel Martinez, No-fly list, Transportation Security Administration, TSA

After reading of a Marine Reservist placed on TSA’s no-fly list because gun powder was found on his boots, I wrote the following to my congressional delegation. I would invite you to take action as well.

I am reading the morning news and come across to this story on MSNBC. Apparently, a Marine reservist had served a two month tour in Iraq. Then, this past June, while boarding a plane in Minneapolis to go to training (before another tour in Iraq), TSA found traces of gun powder on his boots. (Whoa! I guess they were expecting the fragrance of the flowers we all were promised the Iraqi’s would be throwing at our troops.)

He was detained then, and that resulted in his name being added to the infamous, no-fly list. That resulted in his not being permitted to board a recent flight from Los Angeles to Minneapolis AS HE WAS RETURNING HOME WITH HIS UNIT FROM IRAQ.

So, Marine Staff Sgt. Daniel Brown joins the illustrious list with the likes of known terrorist Sen. Ted Kennedy.

How long is it going to take for you all in Congress to realize the absurdity of this list, and put an end to this? Please tell me that you all are as incompetent as the people at TSA? Do you not, by now, realize that no list maintained by the federal government has ever been of any significant value, and is typically a detriment? Please do not send a form letter with no real answer to my question. I want you to explain to me why I am, through my taxes, paying salaries to clearly incompetent people to maintain a completely ineffective program? And as noted above, I’d like to know when you will take action to end this absurdity?

I look forward to your response.

B. John

Records and Content Management consultant who enjoys good stories and good discussion. I have a great deal of interest in politics, religion, technology, gadgets, food and movies, but I enjoy most any topic. I grew up in Kings Mountain, a small N.C. town, graduated from Appalachian State University and have lived in Atlanta, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Dayton and Tampa since then.