"Attacks Inspired Cincinnati Screener to Help"

Sunday, September 11, 2005

Lines of Defense
Attacks Inspired Screener to Help
By Jason Feldmann
The Covington (KY) Sunday Challenger


HEBRON - Hundreds of people wait in line, some more patiently than others,
as they slowly move through a human maze to the security checkpoints less
than a 100 feet away.

It's the midday rush at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International
Airport (CVG), but Barbara Chipman and her fellow security screeners remain
stoically methodical in their duties inside Terminal 3.
 
Four screeners are assigned to each checkpoint: one checks boarding passes
as passengers walk through metal detectors, one monitors the X-ray machine
looking for suspicious items, one manually searches carry-on items flagged
after they go through the X-ray machine and one performs body searches with
a metal detection wand.

No Rush

Screeners will not rush their jobs, despite the swelling line in front of
them. The safety and security of everyone in the airport is too important,
they agree.

"It's one passenger at a time, one bag at a time," said Chipman, of
Florence. "You just have to thoroughly see each person and each piece of
baggage."

Which is precisely what Paul Wisniewski, federal security director at CVG,
wants to hear from security screeners employed through the Transportation
Security Administration (TSA).

"I always tell them, 'You don't even worry or look at the line'," said
Wisniewski, noting that if screeners put added pressure on themselves during
the rush periods, then that's when mistakes can occur.

Immediately following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks - when the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security was created - approximately 600 security
screeners were working at CVG. 
 
Since then, that number has been reduced by half - the equivalent of 300
full-time employees - due largely to the elimination of additional screeners
once located at airport gates.

Not Monotonous

The reduced number of screeners, coupled with the increase in passenger load
over that time, makes the job of security screeners at CVG that much more
important, said Wisniewski.

"It's not easier," he said. "But we're holding our own so far. We're not
going to compromise security." 

While observant passengers might think the work of security screeners is
monotonous, Chipman strongly disagrees.

A security screener for the last three years, Chipman says that everyday is
different. Her duties have remained the same since Day One - rotating every
half hour among the four different jobs - but everyday is an opportunity to
learn something new, she adds.

"Anytime you're dealing with people, you're dealing with something new.
Every person is new," Chipman said.

In fact, helping people is one of her favorite aspects of the job. Also,
there is the immense job satisfaction that she receives each day.

Profession Plus Patriotism

When asked what prompted her to apply for a security screener position after
she had been out of the workforce for some time, Chipman answers
matter-of-factly: "9/11."

When the terrorist attacks occurred four years ago, Chipman - like so many
Americans - wanted to help any way she could. When TSA was created, she saw
the perfect fit between profession and patriotism.

Initial apprehension also came with the job, she said, particularly
considering the tense emotions that accompanied air travel months after the
attack.

Eventually though, fear of the unknown subsided for Chipman as she and other
security screeners learned their jobs together.

"Everyone was in the same boat. We were all learning at the same time," she
recalled.

Interacting with different people each day is what keeps her at the airport.


"I like my job. I like working with people," she said, singling out the
elderly. "I treat them all like my grandmother. And they go away smiling."

Some passengers, however, are in no mood for smiling by the time they reach
security checkpoints.

But there are more than enough kind comments to offset frustrated looks,
added Chipman.

"I know a lot of people, they seem like they don't appreciate what we're
doing. But in a day, there's so many people who pat you on the arm and say,
'I don't know why people complain, because I really appreciate everything
that you do,'" she said. "And it's for those people that we work so hard,"

Attached Photo:

GOT METAL? Barbara Chipman, a federal security screener at CVG, prepares to
use a hand-held metal detector on a passenger at Terminal 3's security
checkpoint.

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