Letter: Similar loss of data in Alaska

Regarding "Data said lost on 3,000 TWIC card applicants"

In Alaska, a similar event occurred where Transportation Worker Identification Credential applicants had gone through the lengthy process of preparing paperwork, fingerprinting and interviews. Then photos were taken for their ID cards. All these events took at a minimum of two scheduled appointments. In southeast Alaska, the contractor for Homeland Security only set up the sites in major cities — Anchorage, Juneau and Ketchikan. Originally, it was limited to Anchorage and Juneau.

Now with the loss of the applicants data, they are being told they must go to Anchorage or Seattle for the fingerprinting, interviews and photos. These events are for two different appointments, ususally a week to two apart. The hitch is that for anyone in southeast Alaska, that requires two flights at a minumum of $400 each and two days off from work, unpaid, in most cases.

Anonymous

What do you think? Paste a comment in the box below (registration required), or send your comment to letters@fcw.com (subject line: Blog comment) and we'll post it.