50 Cleared for Takeoff

CSO, January, 2003 by Sarah D. Scalet

Judging by the number of cardboard boxes in Adm. James Loy's office at the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) last autumn, Loy might have just finished packing or been just about to unpack. The truth is, from July to November, he was in a holding pattern. His office, in Washington, D.C., was temporary—and not just because it was hastily constructed from prefab walls after the post-9/11 flurry of legislation to Fix Things.

Loy was waiting for official word from Congress that would allow him to drop the "acting" from his title of undersecretary of transportation for security. Only when his confirmation came through, right before Thanksgiving, could he unpack the boxes in an empty office across the hall that has real walls. Even then, no one knew how long he'd...

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