The Transportation Security Administration debuted on Tuesday a motto meant to unite the agency’s 57,000 employees nationwide, members of the military, and private citizens.
The existing motto “not on my watch” was replaced with “not on our watch,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske announced to personnel from Department of Homeland Security agencies gathered in Arlington, Va., to honor the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
[Read: White House pays tribute to 9/11 victims]
“Everything we do here at TSA today and every day is to make sure that our commitment remains strong and our resolve does not waiver. This is how we honor those we have lost,” Pekoske said. “Since our inception, TSA has lived by the motto, ‘not on my watch.’ This has served as a powerful call to action for the Transportation Security Administration. But we know that we are stronger together.
“Today, I ask each and every one of you, whether you are a TSA or DHS employee, a veteran, active-duty member of the U.S. military, an industry partner, a law enforcement officer, a first responder, or a private citizen, to join me in adopting and embracing a new creed: Not on our watch,” Pekoske said to the dozens of department officials in the crowd.
TSA was set up in November 2001 prior to the creation of DHS. It was given authority over the security of the traveling public in the country but is most affiliated with airport security.
Pekoske and DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen both pointed out that 17 years after the terrorist attacks, millions of young Americans are learning about it from those who did.
“Like so many of you, I will never forget that day — frantically trying to reach loved ones in NY, the horrific photos, the heartbreaking signs of those looking for their loved ones, the sense that our lives and our world had forever been changed by the brutal acts of enemies over there who were suddenly very much over here,” Nielsen said.
“But now — 17 years later — there is an entire generation who did not live through this tragedy,” she added. “That is one of the reasons why this anniversary is so important: Every year, we must pause to reflect on the events of 9/11, so the next generation and those still to come will never forget the attacks against our country, and the commitment we made to protect it.”
Pekoske said the new motto seeks to unify all Americans, not just government officials and those who work in security capacities.
Officials from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, National Protection and Programs Directorate, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and DHS undersecretaries attended the event.
