One Gallon Plastic Bag

I declared my plastic bag of mini toiletries at the security checkpoint, which contained a couple of small shampoo bottles, a small tube of toothpaste, toothbrush, a bar of soap, and a small stick deodorant. The agent told me that the bag was a one gallon size versus a one quart size. I told him that the items would easily fit in a quart size bag. He replied that the rule is one quart, no matter what. After all, he had to deliver the same line to each passenger. I understood, but I was dumbfounded because it was so obvious that I had very little liquid. He said free quart size bags were available at the little store nearby. I told him that I did not want to go over there, since my purse, luggage, and shoes had already passed through the scanner. I proceeded without the plastic bag. He and the other personnel were astounded. They were asking one another, “What do we do with this stuff?” I advised, “Just throw it away”. As I proceeded to put on my shoes, they returned the bag without the shampoo and toothpaste.

Screening in Military Uniform

My war buddy was at the security checkpoint so she could take her final flight to her home after returning from Afghanistan. She was wearing a desert camouflage uniform and the agents at the checkpoint asked her to step aside for a special screening. She calmly explained that she had orders with her and that she had spent a year fighting terrorism in a combat zone, and that uniformed service members with orders were not supposed to undergo additional screenings from security personnel. The manager came over to apologize and my buddy was able to proceed without further delay.