More than 3,600 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) or Homeland Security Department airport security uniforms and badges have been lost or stolen over the past five years, The Washington Times reports.

Most of the items are thought to have been lost or misplaced, according to TSA spokesperson Amy Kudwa. The TSA requires employees to report a missing badge or uniform to a supervisor, who is then to notify local law enforcement – but only if the item is believed to have been stolen.

Kudwa tells the paper that missing uniforms and badges cannot be used by terrorists to gain access to airplanes and restricted areas of airports, because TSA screeners work in teams and an imposter would be spotted immediately. (The Stiletto wonders whether a team of terrorists wearing uniforms and badges vouching for each other would be identifiable as infiltrators.)

The TSA just established a pay-for-performance program, PASS (Performance Accountability and Standards System), that it describes as “a key element in the long term professional development of the Transportation Security Officer.”

According to the agency’s Web site, “PASS has three ratings that reward our Security Officers for exceptional work”:

† Achieves Standards – TSO hit a high standard and merits a $1,000 bonus.

† Exceeds Standards – TSO excelled. Merits a $2,000 bonus and a 3% pay raise.

† Role Model of Excellence – Awarded to approximately 3% of the workforce. Merits a bonus of $3,000 and a 5% pay raise.

The Stiletto suggests adding a fourth rating:

† Earns Paycheck – TSO is just alert, conscientious and competent enough to know where his uniform and credentials are at all times so that his employers – the taxpaying public – have confidence that the TSO is alert, conscientious and competent enough to spot terrorists. Merits continued employment.

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