Bomb Appraisal Program To Get Boost
News & Happenings
May 18, 2007
At the Lambert St. Louis press conference are (from
left) Bob Henrich, deputy BAO program manager;
Central Area Director Gerald Chapman; and FSD Bill
Switzer.
TSA Central Area Director Gerald Chapman joined Lambert St. Louis International (STL) Federal Security Director Bill Switzer at a press conference last month to highlight expansion of the Bomb Appraisal Officer (BAO) Program.
The program was developed by TSA in August 2003 and implemented in St. Louis and a handful of other airports as a collateral duty program using a small number of qualified personnel.
"Here at STL, Bill and his staff worked to refine the program, which led to TSA making a commitment to hire full-time bomb appraisal officers last year," Chapman said. "Over the next 18 months, an estimated 300 BAOs will be deployed to more than 100 airports across the country."
Switzer said, "The bomb appraisal officer program is an effective and affordable additional layer of security to combat the number one threat to aviation security: IEDs [improvised explosive devise] and IED components. All BAOs are former bomb technicians who were trained at one of only two specialized schools in the country, so they are uniquely qualified to help us thwart this threat."
Newly-hired bomb appraisal officers undergo a formal orientation period at their home airport, and then attend a one-week formal training course at a TSA facility. They will then receive on-the-job training supervised by an experienced bomb appraisal officer or Federal Air Marshal Service explosives security specialist. Even after being certified, bomb appraisal officers attend in-service training.
"There are many common items that could conceal an IED or an IED component," said Bob Henrich, deputy manager of the program, holding up an ordinary shampoo bottle and a stuffed teddy bear. "One of the jobs of a BAO is to provide additional training to transportation security officers in techniques to detect these items."
Bomb appraisal officers also assist bomb squads and other first responders to quickly resolve alarms at passenger and checked baggage screening checkpoints.
"TSA is committed to continuing to add additional layers of security to keep passengers safe," Chapman said.
