TWIC - Heads Up

[TeamCaffee]

This past week we have been reminded again why we have our TWIC as it saved our behinds at a base in southern California that has some new policies in place.

If we had not had our TWIC we would not have been able to pickup our load at Defense Distribution. Their new policies will keep many drivers as well as companies from bidding on their freight.

We then picked up a load at Nellis AFB, Las Vegas and with the TWIC we are good to go no questions asked. Reminded me of the old day and CAC.

We have found a few bases that prefer the TWIC.

 

[iceroadtrucker]

Yupper thats true.

 

[RLENT]

TeamCaffee,

While I have no idea what you are hauling, it seems to me that discussions of this nature on an open public forum are not exactly wise.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[TeamCaffee]

There are many reasons to go on a base and the procedure is the same for all commercial vehicles as all of us go through the same gate.

While we were in San Diego we watched the trucking bringing in groceries be turned away and he did not have the right credentials.

We are treated the same as all commercial vehicles and often are carrying the same thing they are nothing special as the bases need freight the same as all other shippers and receivers they just ask for more credentials and inspect the trucks different then most others.

We do not discuss what freight we haul to any of our customers.

 

[purgoose10]

I've had my TWIC card since they first came out. I often wondered what good it does me until I had to pick up at an airport. They would not let me onto the tarmac and we're trying to figure out how to get the small machine to me. I showed my TWIC card to them and asked if that would help. The lady laughed and rode out to the plane with me. Didn't even search my van. If I knew that when I got there it would have saved about an hour.

 

[Monty]

Most times when I present my TWIC card at power plants, etc .. they ask what it is!

When I inform them same folks they represent, (Homeland Security), issued it .... a typical response is, "I never heard of it ..."

Unless the specfic insallation you are visiting has it in play, it's useless!

Try presenting it to the TSA workers at the airport next time you fly! They have NO clue! Even though just outside the building on the tarmac, it is required.

 

[Turtle]

I've been asked for my TWIC card several times. I don't have one.

"Well, you can't go back there unescorted."

"Well, I don't want to go back there unescorted. I'd rather have an escort, anyway. Gets me in and out quicker, and eliminates me taking a wrong turn and being somewhere I'm not supposed to be."

 

[layoutshooter]

I wonder just how long the TWIC card will be with us. If it follows the trend they will get as much money as they think they can, THEN, they will do away with TWIC and come out with a new and MORE expensive card. IF you have HAZMAT and D.O.D. clearance they should GIVE your a TWIC. What a pain. At any rate for what most of those loads tend to pay it is not worth it.

 

[greg334]

I guess the question should be raised does it really stop anything or is it another measure that should be consolidated?

I was thinking as I spent some time in a "secured area" a few weeks past that there is more of a need to just have common sense security by having a presence and not depending on a simple back ground check and a government issued card.

The other question that I have to ask is when does the DoD use other agencies to do their work?

 

[layoutshooter]

"The other question that I have to ask is when does the DoD use other agencies to do their work?"

I don't know what you mean by this. I DO know that DOD has always used "other agencies" when doing background checks for security clearances. Is that what you are asking?

We go into "secure" areas all the time. Security is not nearly what it used to be in areas that I worked in. I have gone into ONE area similar to what I used to do, security was rather lax. They made BIG mistakes on how the load was handled. No card can fix that.

 

[ATeam]

Open Forum members are not alone in blasting the TWIC program. A U.S. Senate committee had harsh words for it too.

The shot story, at least for now, is that TWIC is a failure. It has made the nation less secure at a cost of billions of dollars to private industry and over $100 each to truckers who obtained the card.

Land Line Magazine story about TWIC

As with most other drivers, when we present the cards, we are most often met with blank stares and asked for our drivers licenses instead.

As with the Caffees, there are times where the cards are recognized, but we have yet to be denied access anywhere because we did not have TWIC cards.

Linda's report is encouraging in that it suggests TWIC cards are coming into more use, at least in one instance, but given the big picture, I think Layoutshooter's analysis is on target.

Look for the government to decide that the present array of redundant credentials is not working and one or more new credentials will be needed for which we will have to pay. Also look for the government contractors (campaign contributors) who have the inside track to administer and profit from the present programs to administer and profit from the future programs as well.

Thinking about the TWIC story, I found myself asking, can the government do anything right any more? So many programs are bankrupt, failing to produce their intended results, scandal-plagued or otherwise deficient.

I am happy to note a national security program that is working very well. It is the present policy of hunting terrorists down where they hide and killing them. In recent years, the U.S. has taken up killing terrorists in their homes and cars, and we are safer because of it. I am far more pleased to pay for that program than to pay for yet another plastic card of questionable value.

 

[greg334]

"The other question that I have to ask is when does the DoD use other agencies to do their work?"

I don't know what you mean by this. I DO know that DOD has always used "other agencies" when doing background checks for security clearances. Is that what you are asking?

We go into "secure" areas all the time. Security is not nearly what it used to be in areas that I worked in. I have gone into ONE area similar to what I used to do, security was rather lax. They made BIG mistakes on how the load was handled. No card can fix that.

What I mean is that the DoD already has its own process in place for some things and using another agencies card in place of their own security checks seems to be a bit foolish and unsafe.

 

[cheri1122]

Just knowing the government agencies' tendencies to rush out new programs to address overly broad [and vague] 'hazards' makes me feel much less secure than I used to. I didn't bother getting a TWIC card, having found little use for the FAST card I did get. The duplication and overlap is frustrating, to say the least.

 

[layoutshooter]

What I mean is that the DoD already has its own process in place for some things and using another agencies card in place of their own security checks seems to be a bit foolish and unsafe.

They always have used other agencies cards, at least during my career. IF security was being taken seriously then it would not be a problem. From what I have seen in my past 6 years is security is no longer a priority for our military or government. It is a mere shell of what I was used too.

 

[greg334]

They always have used other agencies cards, at least during my career. IF security was being taken seriously then it would not be a problem. From what I have seen in my past 6 years is security is no longer a priority for our military or government. It is a mere shell of what I was used too.

That's my point. If I go through a background check and "qualify", there is no assurance that I am a safe person.

So I wonder if we will ever see any common sense and learn that they don't do much in preventing anything other than less money in our pockets.

 

[layoutshooter]

That's my point. If I go through a background check and "qualify", there is no assurance that I am a safe person.

So I wonder if we will ever see any common sense and learn that they don't do much in preventing anything other than less money in our pockets.

These cards are funny. Nothing more that another "stealth" tax.

I don't know what you mean by a "safe" person. When I got my clearances the first time is was WAY different than it is now. It was NOT easy. I was denied mine on the first attempt. Why? I had a great uncle living in Poland. NO living relatives in Soviet Block countries were allowed. It was only after they looked into my uncle, found out his "record" that they let me have my clearance. In addition to his fighting with the underground against the Nazis his writing was strongly anti=communist, writing about freedom. He was hated by the Soviets and their "puppets" and likely only was allowed to live due to his fame.

I saw a few people lose access to programs or even their clearances due to miscues in their lives. It meant something back then. It went done hill, and fast, when Slick Willy came into office. Standards were cut to almost nothing then. What I see now is just plain scary.

 

[iceroadtrucker]

Just knowing the government agencies' tendencies to rush out new programs to address overly broad [and vague] 'hazards' makes me feel much less secure than I used to. I didn't bother getting a TWIC card, having found little use for the FAST card I did get. The duplication and overlap is frustrating, to say the least.

IF you go in to ports and out like Los, Hamptonroads va, Laporte texas u got o have a Twic. A must for tractor trailers.

 

[layoutshooter]

IF you go in to ports and out like Los, Hamptonroads va, Laporte texas u got o have a Twic. A must for tractor trailers.

The pay for those loads does not justify the cost. I can count on one hand the loads I would lose over a 20 year span if I did not have a TWIC. It is a joke.

 

[beachbum]

Sounds like he was at the base in Barstow, Ca just off I 15 by jack in the box

 

[iceroadtrucker]

The pay for those loads does not justify the cost. I can count on one hand the loads I would lose over a 20 year span if I did not have a TWIC. It is a joke.

Yupp you can driven a straight truck. But to a tractor trailer driver the twic is a necessity. Especialy when Im looking seriously in getting a local job in and out of ports or a job that 30% has to use it. Said it in another thread tired of being a meal ticket. But in anycase with the job Im doing now I do use it quit a bit and getting outa Texas them tractor loads pay pertty darn good. But you dont Drive a Tractor Trailer so I can see your point where it dont work for you.