Account of Flying with Firearms

Deviant Ollam Indeed, you can fly without ID even in a post-9-11 world... you can even do it with firearms, no problem. And that's the way it should most certainly be.
PHL --> ORD 2009-10-14	ORD --> PHL 2009-10-27

Luggage & Gear
This was a trip that involved my travel to HackInTheBox, so i was transporting a number of my heavy duty metal ammo cases and using predominantly flare guns on this trip because of my stay in Chicago before and after Malaysia. God, i can't stand the laws in Illinois and Wisconsin. But that's a whole other rant.

Outbound Travel
When i was checking in at the main departure hall and being helped by Stella i almost immediately noticed that i did not have my wallet in the usual spot. Still, i wasn't asked for ID when checking bags... i simply had to pony up the cash for the one extra case with which i was traveling that day. I was right at counter #18 (directly next to #19 where firearms and other special bags are placed on their own conveyor belt) and that whole affair went as smoothly as ever.

The real interesting part was when i approached the TSA passenger screening area with only a boarding pass. Officer Cannalard stated that while my lack of any ID would delay me somewhat, it was indeed still possible to be processed through. I waited at the front of the passenger queue ropes for Supervisor Spencer to handle my situation. I was given a small form to fill out inquiring about details of my birth location and other such details of my life... then this TSA officer proceeded to call in to some central database office and verify the details on the form and a few other details which he asked me directly while on the phone. Everything checked out and i was allowed to proceed through the metal detectors. As part of this no-ID process, my carry-on was automatically given additional hand-scan and explosive residue swab tests by a female TSA officer while a male TSA officer gave me a physical pat-down that was more forceful and diligent than one typically receives. Also the possessions from my pockets were given more than just a cursory glance. The TSA officer checking my possessions was impressed with my new HTC Magic phone and asked what i thought of it. Naturally, i explained that it kicks ass. Neither my lockpicks nor my handcuffs nor my utilikey nor my mini screwdriver set caused any difficulty during this process, and indeed they shouldn't because none of them are prohibited in sterile areas.

I paid for a few beers at Chickie & Pete's before takeoff and was pleased that i looked old enough to drink without being carded. The flight was fine and my bags arrived in Chicago without any signs of trouble.

Homebound Travel
I wondered whether or not flying out of a place like Chicago with firearms would be a hassle (and even shipped an M9 and one of my 1911 pistols to myself out there simply to test how well this would work) and was pleased at the fact that things went perfectly smoothly. When checking in at the US Air counter in O'Hare it was not a huge surprise that the person assisting me, Laurel, was a bit unfamiliar with gun policies and procedures (how many guns are allowed, how ammo should be packed, etc) because let's face it... they probably don't see to many firearms in the Chicago airports.

The TSA inspection area was maybe fifteen feet away to my left. I declared my firearms to officer Tonos who proceeded to load them on to the x-ray machine's belt while joking with me saying, "I'm not gonna tell [the other TSA officers inspecting the bags on-screen] that there are guns in there." Naturally the other officers could immediately identify the presence of the firearms and requested permission to perform a hand-scan. Officer Williams attempted to open by bags but had difficulty with my non-standard Abloy Protec locks. I was invited back behind the barrier rope by officer Marshall and unlocked the cases, then stepped back a bit. The TSA staff was briefly confused by the presence of my bare M9 pistol (in between folded garments, with no case or pouch containing it) but i explained that since the luggage itself is hard-sided, the pistol needn't be contained within anything else. Officer Marshall inquired about my Secret Service shirt and asked if i knew of any jobs in the US Marshals Service or Customs and Border Patrol. One younger TSA Officer (possibly named Ray) re-packed one of my cases quite badly and another officer (whose name i didn't catch... an older fellow) unwrapped the bottle of Jamesson i had methodically encased in multiple layers of plastic... inspected it, and sort-of wrapped it back up. Meh. Some explosive residue swab tests were performed and i was on my way when they turned out clear.

I arrived in Philadelphia with all my bags and with a great pleasure to be back home. The first thing i did in the arrivals hall was to re-arm with one 1911 in carry posture before meeting my ride out at the curb.

Final Details & Thoughts
I'm sure that at least one person who reads this account will be aghast at the fact that i was able to travel halfway across the country (and arrive at a highly anti-gun destination) without any ID. I really don't know where to begin in my analysis of how this is nothing at all to be afraid of. We'll skip past the fact that i believe (as do many others who understand how real security works) that all passengers should be able to fly anywhere in the United States without showing any ID at all. In truth, what about a person without ID makes them dangerous? Am i somehow more able to break into a cockpit and disrupt a flight because i had no ID? Am i a threat to the other passengers in the cabin because i wasn't carrying ID? Were my bags somehow subject to less screening or susceptible to carrying a bomb because i showed no ID? Indeed, as we have seen, i was subjected to more intrusive security screening. I hope and pray that anyone who may report the details of this travel account to others (either as a casual story told over drinks in a bar or as a published media account in the press) will not blow this all out of proportion or claim that the sky is falling simply because i didn't have my wallet when i got on a plane.

Air Travel Ratings
If you don't have the time or the desire to read the full text of someone's account of air travel, you can simply refer to the rating shown at the conclusion of each portion of that person's journey. The following criteria are used in assigning these ratings...

Four Stars	check-in - no hassle, no delay screening - in full view, lock and unlock yourself luggage - all on time and intact
Three Stars	check-in - some delay or mild hassle screening - somewhat obscured, locking and unlocking yourself or it's done directly in front of you luggage - all on time and intact
Two Stars	check-in - major delay or major hassle screening - in a room or area that you could not enter and could barely observe luggage - luggage opened non-destructively
One Star	check-in - flight missed or passenger delayed from flying, properly packed items denied as luggage screening - luggage unlocked and opened totally in another area fully removed from you luggage - destructive entry into luggage and/or tampering with firearms
Zero Stars	This is a special category for outright theft, loss, or damage of firearms during air travel
half-star results are possible... naturally, they involve partial or mitigated problems that somehow fall in-between the above categories