Terminator

We have a thing here that we call a terminator. A terminator is a plane full of TCNs (Third-Country Nationals) that comes in to the base. They are usually from India, Turkey, etc. They have to be fully searched and scanned and everything before they come onto the base, and we do that. Basically we are like the TSA guys at home, but for the military. Today I helped with my first one, and it's a very interesting experience.

The TCNs are put into a "dirty" tent until they are searched, checked against a manifest, and then put in front of a scanner that is kind of like x-ray glasses, you can see through people's clothes and see any solid objects like a knife or gun that they have on them. We also search through every piece of their luggage, which is what I helped with today.

I must say that people from Turkey pack very differently than most Americans. The strangest thing is probably the food. They bring a ton of food with them in their luggage, including fresh fruit and vegetables, weird seeds and things that look kind of like giant raisins, loose tobacco, fresh cut meat (yes, meat), tons of uncooked beans, various teas and things, dry and liquid just sitting in their bags. They also have a unique smell, which you get a nice whiff of with every bag you open. I heard one guy even brought a bird once. Not in his bag, but he checked a birdcage on as checked luggage. We of course don't care about their food, but it's interesting to open up a suitcase and find some turnips or potatoes inside.

We're just searching for weapons, cell phones, cameras, pornography, laptops, memory cards, USB thumb drives, etc. Basically anything that could be a weapon or could be used to record or transmit intel. Just today someone brought a car radio (he could keep it as it didn't store anything, but it was weird), a satellite receiver, about 50 feet of audio/visual cabling, cell phone, SIM card (goes in cell phones), film, etc.

Anyway it was interesting and kind of fun to open up the next bag, wondering what kind of crazy thing you will find in it next.