The performance of passenger and checked baggage screeners in detecting threat objects at the nation’s airports has been a long-standing concern. In 1978, screeners failed to detect 13 percent of the potentially dangerous objects that Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) agents carried through airport screening checkpoints during tests. In 1987, screeners did not detect 20 percent of the objects in similar tests. In tests conducted during the late 1990s, as the testing objects became more realistic, screeners’ abilities to detect dangerous objects declined further. In April 2004, we, along with the DHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG), testified that the performance of screeners continued to be a concern. More recent tests conducted by TSA’s Office of Internal Affairs and Program Review (OIAPR) also identified weaknesses in the ability of screeners to detect threat objects, and separate DHS OIG tests identified comparable screener performance weaknesses. In its July 2004 report, The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, known widely as the 9/11 Commission, also identified the need to improve screener performance and to better understand the reasons for performance problems. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the President signed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) into law on November 19, 2001, with the primary goal of strengthening the security of the nation’s aviation system. ATSA created TSA as an agency with responsibility for securing all modes of transportation, including aviation. As part of this responsibility, TSA oversees security operations at the nation’s more than 450 commercial airports, including passenger and checked baggage screening operations. Prior to the passage of ATSA, air carriers were responsible for screening passengers and checked baggage, and most used private security firms to perform this function. FAA was responsible for ensuring compliance with screening regulations. Today, TSA security activities at airports are overseen by FSDs. Each FSD is responsible for overseeing security activities, including passenger and checked baggage screening, at one or more commercial airports. TSA classifies the over 450 commercial airports in the United States into one of five security risk categories (X, I, II, III, and IV) based on various factors, such as the total number of takeoffs and landings annually, the extent to which passengers are screened at the airport, and other special security considerations. In general, category X airports have the largest number of passenger boardings and category IV airports have the smallest. TSA periodically reviews airports in each category and, if appropriate, updates airport categorizations to reflect current operations. Figure 1 shows the number of commercial airports by airport security category as of December 2003. In addition to establishing TSA and giving it responsibility for passenger and checked baggage screening operations, ATSA set forth specific enhancements to screening operations for TSA to implement, with deadlines for completing many of them. These requirements included assuming responsibility for screeners and screening operations at more than 450 commercial airports by November 19, 2002; establishing a basic screener training program composed of a minimum of 40 hours of classroom instruction and 60 hours of on-the-job training; conducting an annual proficiency review of all screeners; conducting operational testing of screeners; requiring remedial training for any screener who fails an operational test; and screening all checked baggage for explosives using explosives detection systems by December 31, 2002. Passenger screening is a process by which authorized TSA personnel inspect individuals and property to deter and prevent the carriage of any unauthorized explosive, incendiary, weapon, or other dangerous item aboard an aircraft or into a sterile area. Passenger screeners must inspect individuals for prohibited items at designated screening locations. The four passenger screening functions are: X-ray screening of property, walk-through metal detector screening of individuals, hand-wand or pat-down screening of individuals, and physical search of property and trace detection for explosives. Checked baggage screening is a process by which authorized security screening personnel inspect checked baggage to deter, detect, and prevent the carriage of any unauthorized explosive, incendiary, or weapon onboard an aircraft. Checked baggage screening is accomplished through the use of explosive detection systems (EDS) or explosive trace detection (ETD) systems, and through the use of alternative means, such as manual searches, K-9 teams, and positive passenger bag match, when EDS and ETD systems are unavailable on a temporary basis. Figure 2 provides an illustration of passenger and checked baggage screening operations. There are several positions within TSA for employees that perform and directly supervise passenger and checked baggage screening functions. Figure 3 provides a description of these positions. To prepare screeners to perform screening functions, to keep their skills current, and to address performance deficiencies, TSA provides three categories of required screener training. Table 1 provides a description of the required training. In September 2003, we reported on our preliminary observations of TSA’s efforts to ensure that screeners were effectively trained and supervised and to measure screener performance. We found that TSA had established and deployed a basic screener training program and required remedial training but had not fully developed or deployed a recurrent training program for screeners or supervisors. We also reported that TSA had collected limited data to measure screener performance. Specifically, TSA had conducted limited covert testing, the Threat Image Projection System was not fully operational, and TSA had not implemented the annual screener proficiency testing required by ATSA. In subsequent products, we reported progress TSA had made in these areas and challenges TSA continued to face in making training available to screeners and in measuring and enhancing screener performance. A summary of our specific findings is included in appendix I. TSA has taken a number of actions to enhance the training of screeners and Screening Supervisors but has encountered difficulties in providing access to recurrent training. TSA has enhanced basic training by, among other things, adding a dual-function (passenger and checked baggage) screening course for new employees. Furthermore, in response to the need for frequent and ongoing training, TSA has implemented an Online Learning Center with self-guided training courses available to employees over TSA’s intranet and the Internet and developed and deployed a number of hands-on training tools. Moreover, TSA now requires screeners to participate in 3 hours of recurrent training per week, averaged over each quarter year. TSA has also implemented leadership and technical training programs for Screening Supervisors. However, some FSDs, in response to open-ended survey questions, identified a desire for more training in specific areas, including leadership, communication, and supervision. Further, despite the progress TSA has made in enhancing and expanding screener and supervisory training, TSA has faced challenges in providing access to recurrent training. FSDs reported that insufficient staffing and a lack of high-speed Internet/intranet connectivity at some training facilities have made it difficult to fully utilize these programs and to meet training requirements. TSA has acknowledged that challenges exist in recurrent screener training delivery and is taking steps to address these challenges, including factoring training requirements into workforce planning efforts and distributing training through written materials and CD-ROMs until full Internet/intranet connectivity is achieved. However, TSA does not have a plan for prioritizing and scheduling the deployment of high-speed connectivity to all airport training facilities once funding is available. The absence of such a plan limits TSA’s ability to make prudent decisions about how to move forward with deploying connectivity to all airports to provide screeners access to online training. TSA has enhanced its basic screener training program by updating the training to reflect changes to standard operating procedures, deploying a new dual-function (passenger and checked baggage screening) basic training curriculum, and allowing the option of training delivery by local staff. As required by ATSA, TSA established a basic training program for screeners composed of a minimum of 40 hours of classroom instruction and 60 hours of on-the-job training. TSA also updated the initial basic screener training courses at the end of 2003 to incorporate changes to standard operating procedures and directives, which contain detailed information on how to perform TSA-approved screening methods. However, a recent study by the DHS OIG found that while incorporating the standard operating procedures into the curricula was a positive step, a number of screener job tasks were incompletely addressed in or were absent from the basic training courses. In addition to updates to the training curriculum, in April 2004, TSA developed and implemented a new basic screener training program, dual- function screener training that covers the technical aspects of both passenger and checked baggage screening. Initially, new hire basic training was performed by a contractor and provided a screener with training in either passenger or checked baggage screening functions. A screener could then receive basic training in the other function later, at the discretion of the FSD, but could not be trained in both functions immediately upon hire. The new dual-training program is modular in design. Thus, FSDs can chose whether newly hired screeners will receive instruction in one or both of the screening functions during the initial training. In addition, the individual modules can also be used to provide recurrent training, such as refreshing checked baggage screening skills for a screener who has worked predominately as a passenger screener. TSA officials stated that this new approach provides the optimum training solution based on the specific needs of each airport and reflects the fact that at some airports the FSD does not require all screeners to be fully trained in both passenger and checked baggage screening functions. Some FSDs, particularly those at smaller airports, have made use of the flexibility offered by the modular design of the new course to train screeners immediately upon hire in both passenger and checked baggage screening functions. Such training up front allows FSDs to use screeners for either the passenger or the checked baggage screening function, immediately upon completion of basic training.