TSA Humiliates Marine Corps Casualty Escorts

In today's edition of the Washington Times' Inside the Ring, Bill Gertz and Rowan Scarborough report three Marines were "humiliated" by Transportation Security Administration ("TSA")security guards while escorting the body of a fellow Marine who was killed in Iraq:

According to a Marine Corps memo we obtained, three Marines were "humiliated" by TSA security guards while escorting the body of Marine Sgt. Lea R. Mills, 21, who was killed April 28 along with two others in Al Anbar province, Iraq, by an improvised explosive device.

Sgt. Mills' body was being moved from Dover Air Force Base through Philadelphia International Airport en route to her final resting place in Gulfport, Miss., on May 3. The three Marines who were accompanying the casket, Sgt. John C. Stock, Cpl. Aaron J. Bigalk and Cpl. Jason A. Schadeburg, were forced to remove their dress blue uniforms, belts and shoes, which were then scanned. They were then "patted down" by TSA inspectors.

[. . .]

"All the Marines said they felt humiliated by this treatment," the report said. "The Marines had orders in hand that tasked them to serve as official casualty escorts. Sgt. Stock was carrying Sgt. Mills' personal effects and Cpl. Schadeburg was carrying the flag from Sgt. Mills' casket. These items were in hand in plain view."

I can't believe the Marine escorts were so disrespected on their solemn mission.

Comments

[Escort Girl Paris]

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[The Ex-Car Dealer]

That is a crying shame. Here you have a classic case of someone doing their job (TSA) because they have to and are warned about all of the different ways that the enemy can work against us. It is easy to place blame but you would think that the military would have some sort of process for this as we are at what 2400 US soldiers killed so far. In this situation everyone loses. The TSA, The Marines, and the Family of the lost soldier. It is so sad that is has come to this to have to protect our country.