"...or has security been compromised by PCism?" - MadMax,the Grinning ReaperTSA is responsible for issuing the TWIC IDs
"WAVY.com video report asked TSA to reveal who else is required to hold similar TWIC ID
- *Merchant Mariners
- *Port Facility Employees
- *Longshore Workers
- *Truck Drivers
To get a TWIC card, a worker must provide personal information, including fingerprints, and pass a background check conducted by the civilian Transportation Security Administration. Workers pay approximately $130 for a card and must reapply every five years.
Some of that information, including the fingerprints, is embedded in the card. But since the TWIC program was created, it has faced questions about its cost and usefulness, especially because some installations don't have devices to read the cards. Norfolk Naval Station is among them.
Instead, guards at gates and security checkpoints make sure the people presenting TWIC cards match the photos on the cards.
[snip]
Guards typically would not allow a TWIC card holder onto a pier if they hadn't been told ahead of time, he said. It's unclear whether that was the case Monday.
[snip]
A week ago, the Pentagon released a series of recommendations to improve base security after last year's shooting at the Washington Navy Yard. A civilian contractor, Aaron Alexis, killed 12 people before shooting himself. Gortney helped lead the review. Among the recommendations was a continuous evaluation system to routinely update background checks of people who hold security clearances to access military installations.
The Mahan returned to Norfolk in September after an 8-1/2-month deployment that included time in the Mediterranean Sea because of the civil war in Syria. The ship was commissioned in 1998 and has a crew of about 250 sailors and officers, according to a Navy website."
via comment posted at that link:
I am a retired Navy CPO and work on NOB. My questions is... Why was this "contractor" given access to the base after taps and did anyone validate his bill of lading? Installations onboard do not normally take deliveries after working hours unless arranged in advance.
I stood many a gate guard during my 20 yrs of service and this person's need to be onboard after normal working hours would have raised a red flag for sure. Ship's don't take deliveries after taps and if they do they are well aware of who and what is being delivered. Regardless of time of day an 18 wheeler should never be permitted onboard without a valid lading and POC at end point.
Also note:
To get a TWIC card, a worker must provide personal information, including fingerprints, and pass a background check conducted by the civilian. Some felonies disqualify applicants from receiving the security pass, but manslaughter is not listed among them.
Savage's conviction for distribution of a controlled substance might have disqualified him had it happened within the past seven years. More than 2 million people hold valid TWIC cards nationwide.