TWIC FARCE

[patrick and linda]

my uscg license expires january 2009. i have completed the renewal application and all related forms including a copy of my new twic card, front and back. attached the $95.00 renewal fee and off it went.
now notified that the uscg does not recognize twic and the uscg will now need to have each license holder submit to a fingerprint processed by the port that currently holds your records, mine being miami florida, (i'm located in ohio) in addition to proof of citizenship, which means someone authorized by the cg at their port must view the documents. if not completed, license will not be renewed.
i'm now thinking about dropping the license.
so, all the hype over twic was for not.
pat

 

[JamesTXSD]

Hi Pat,

You probably know that the September deadline for TWIC was extended. Big surprise. The premise is still that it will be the background check for the USCG license holders, but it certainly has NOT be integrated yet. I was told it would be rolled in over the next couple years as licenses come due for renewal. Certainly a duplication of efforts, resulting in more cost and time wasted for mariners. I understand your frustration... our government trying once again to give the illusion of security.

Jim B.

 

[starcrafttom]

Your right Jim it is a illusion, but only because they refuse to do it. Its like the pass port for the border. that has been pushed back many times. Peopel are told its coming and they dont get the pass port, then when the dead line comes the bitch enough to their congressman to get it pushed back again. I say pass it and just turn all the slackers back at the border. We have lost the will to do the right thing is this country on so many fronts. No one takes anyone at their word anymore.

 

[hardee]

Pat,

Can the USCG not transfer records. In this day and age of pdf's, FAX, Fed EX, and Air Borne, it seems that it would be reasonable to transfer those records to a more available facility. Heaven knows, the Coasties move around, and their records go with them. Might have to go up the food chain some, but might be worth it, and it looks like time is going to become a factor soon.

Harvey
SleepyC

 

[JamesTXSD]

Hi Harvey,

If anything, it seems that the bureaucracy has become more proprietary. In the "old days" of licensing, you could get fingerprints done anywhere and send them in with your license packet. No so since the Coast Guard became part of Homeland Security. Now you have to appear at the Regional Exam Centers in person to be fingerprinted and submit your documentation. They make "certified" copies (my quotes, they copy your passport, Social Security Card, etc, etc and then hand the originals back to you) of your personal papers then do electronic fingerprints. It's a lot of paperwork and seems to be an incredible waste of everyone's time. But, it also seems to be a task that they don't want to give up.

That was the original premise of the TWIC program: verifiable identification; you would carry your fingerprints and other documentation on your person. The card can be scanned and compared with you and your identification right on the spot. It was supposed to also take the Coast Guard out of the background check business. Near as I can tell, all it has done so far is take money out of the pockets of professional mariners and port workers and give it to Lockheed Martin. It was completely redundant, a time waste, and has not been implimented as originally required. "Problems with scanners, workers not going through the process" are cited as reasons. It seems to me to be another "security illusion" dreamed up by a government contractor, designed to to be "user funded"... and another way to put money in their pockets. The Coast Guard required it, but haven't integrated into their system. So, we go on with duplication of efforts and expenses for mariners. You have to go to the USCG REC in person, you have to go to the TWIC enrollment centers in person. Here, we have a TWIC enrollment center 20 miles away, the REC is over 400 miles.

Going up the chain of command won't solve this situation. There are legislators who have demanded answers to all the delays, with no resolution. I understand Pat's frustration. I jumped through the hoops, met the deadlines, and made the extra trips. There are 6-Pac license holders who do fishing charters - these folks will never enter a port, yet are required to get (and pay for) this credential. But, still, they have to go through both redundant background checks (and expenses, and time wasters). That's why I call it an "illusion" of security.