DOT SWEARS IN FIRST FEDERAL SECURITY DIRECTORS
U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta on Wednesday swore in the first seven senior law enforcement officials to serve as Transportation Security Administration's Federal Security Directors.
The FSDs are charged with overseeing security for cargo and passengers at America’s airports. The TSA has ordered that FSDs, should the need arise, have the authority to shut down any or all of an airport’s operations in a time of crisis.
The FSDs are a new type of federal law enforcement officers borne of legislation after Sept. 11. FSDs will be tasked to coordinate with local and national law enforcement officials to implement crisis management, in addition to assessing airport security risks.
So far, the TSA has received 9,500 applicants for the positions. Most of the applicants have government federal law enforcement, aviation security and military backgrounds, said a spokesperson from Korn/Ferry International, the executive search firm which will help staff the nation’s largest 81 airports with FSDs.
Mineta said the FSDs sworn in, as well as those who will be selected for the remaining open positions, come from backgrounds representing the nation’s best in security and law enforcement. “The men and women you see here today — Marine Corps generals, Navy admirals, Secret Service agents, and police commissioners — exemplify each and every one of these characteristics,” he said.
The new FSDs are:
* Mike Aguilar, a retired U.S. Marine Corps Brigadier General, San Diego International Airport at Lindbergh Field.
* Gail Linkins, a U.S. Secret Service agent for more than 20 years, has also served on the security detail for the Vice President of the United States. Linkins will be FSD at Mobile Regional Airport.
* Isaac Richardson, a retired Navy Rear Admiral and fighter pilot, will be FSD at Chicago's O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. He served as commanding officer of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier 'USS Nimitz.'
* Willie Williams, chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from 1992 to 1997, at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport.
* Anthony Zotto, currently serving with the U.S. Secret Service on Vice President Cheney's security detail, will be at Ronald Reagan-Washington National Airport.
* William Pickle, a 25-year Secret Service veteran, at Denver International Airport.
* Arnold Cole, a veteran of airport security for three decades, at Baltimore-Washington International Airport.
* Marcia Florian, who has served 27 years on the Phoenix Police Department, at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.