TWIC Cards

My card was paid for by my company, as I suspect most peoples are, so that didn't bother me at all. what does bother me is the blatant money grab this is. I have a FAST card, a hazmat endorsement and a TWIC card. 3 redundant safety and background checks. any one of these things should be enough.

 

I hadn't heard about the Galveston cards being rejected. However, they are government issued cards (DHS) is the Department of Homeland Security. So while you may apply at a TSA office, you are applying with the Federal Government.

 

i just enrolled on friday in longbeach.. only took 20 mins. hope it comes in quick!

 

I don't have exact answers, but being in the Coast Guard I know where a lot of this is coming from. The TWIC program was developed because there has been an abundance of unauthorized people getting into port terminals across the country. I don't know much about the program itself, but that is one of the many reasons they started it.

Ron

 

I applied for mine in November 08' and was approved Jan 09' and still have not returned to Long Beach to pick it up. I'm sure I will pick it up sooner or later. Haven't needed it so no rush.

 

just picked up my card in longbeach on friday. you now pick them up in a blue building sitting in front of the queen mary. 1126 queens highway. longbeach, ca 90802. it was painless. in and out of the truck with the card in my hand in 17 mins.

 

This story appears in the April 13 print edition of Transport Topics.
The Transportation Security Administration said it will not delay the April 15 deadline for an estimated 1.2 million workers to obtain their Transportation Worker Identification Credentials, but the U.S. Coast Guard will allow entry at some ports through mid-May to workers who present proof they have passed a security screening but have not yet received their credential cards from TSA.
Lt. j.g. Stephanie Young, a Coast Guard spokeswoman, said TSA decided two weeks ago to allow entry to truckers and port workers without a TWIC because a recent system failure had caused a backlog in issuing the credentials.
To gain entry without a TWIC, a worker must present a photo identification card and proof that his or her TWIC has been printed and is ready for activation, according to an April 2 Coast Guard statement. The fact that a TWIC is ready for activation proves the individual has successfully completed a law-enforcement background check, Young said.
The alternative method of entry will be in effect only until May 13. After this date, only individuals with a valid TWIC will be eligible for unescorted access to facilities regulated by the Maritime Transportation Security Act, the Coast Guard said.
As of last week, TSA said that nearly 1.1 million port and dockworkers, truckers and others at ports across the nation had enrolled for the card, but only 890,000 cards had been issued.
On average, TWICs have been ready for activation three to four weeks after initial enrollment, primarily because of the time re-quired for the background checks, TSA said.
“We encourage all workers that, once we let them know their card is ready to be activated, to come in and do so,” said Greg Soule, a TSA spokesman.
Plagued by a number of technological and other glitches, TSA’s security system contractor, Lockheed Martin Corp., has been playing catch-up in TWIC enrollment for the past year.
Port workers originally were required to have the TWIC by Sept. 25, 2008, but the deadline was extended to April 15 in May last year.
The TWIC was developed in response to legislative provisions of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001, which Congress passed after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The actual national compliance deadline is April 15, but Coast Guard officials at the last five ports to begin requiring the TWIC — Los Angeles/Long Beach, Guam, Houston/Galveston, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Port Arthur, Texas — actually will begin requiring the credential beginning April 14, Soule said.
Besides the estimated 1.2 million workers who will need the biometric security credential to gain unescorted access to secure areas of the nation’s maritime transportation system, all Coast Guard registered mariners will need the identification card.
Soule said TSA is still uncertain how many port workers will apply.
“It’s a transient and seasonal population,” Soule said, “so it’s hard to nail down exactly how many people will need a TWIC.”
The TWIC enrollment process has been the target of congressional criticism and was faulted for delays in a Government Accountability Office report last year (9-29-08, p. 3).
Soule said that TSA expects workers to continue enrolling employees after the mandatory compliance date.

 

You can't tell me a hard core terrorist won't have a problem getting a hold of on of these cards. Especially if it means he can go right it without any issues..

 

Anyone know if they search your truck with a twic card? I haven't been to one yet and rarely would if so but just tryin to figure out how safe I'd be goin thru there with my pistol. I imagine they don't allow firearms

 

Well, this is a disqualifying factor to getting a TWIC card

From here

http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/layers/twic/twic_faqs.shtm#disqualifying_offenses

So, I imagine they wouldn't care too much for you having a firearm on board.

Ron