ADM. BENNIS APPOINTED TO TSA
Rear Adm. Richard Bennis USCG, has been named associate under secretary of transportation for maritime and land security at the Transportation Security Administration.
Bennis, who retired from the U.S. Coast Guard March 15, where he was captain of the Port of New York, will direct TSA's security responsibilities for the nation’s seaports and land transportation assets. He will begin working at the new position Monday.
He served with the Coast Guard for 30 years, including serving as chief of the office of response at Coast Guard headquarters to implement the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. He participated in planning, preparedness and port security, including Olympic security for the 1996 Summer Olympics. He also participated in the Coast Guard’s response to the 'Exxon Valdez' tanker accident in Prince William Sound, Alaska.
As captain of the Port of New York, he led the successful evacuation, by water, of about 500,000 people from lower Manhattan immediately after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.