LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Transportation Security Administration has officially opened the doors to a new training center in Las Vegas.
The 26,000-square-foot facility is located near Harry Reid International Airport and features six classrooms, two multipurpose rooms, and virtual instruction space. There is also a training checkpoint at the airport where Transportation Security Officers can apply what they've learned in the classroom. That's also near an "Innovation Checkpoint", which features state-of-the-art aviation security technology.
"It's really good for our officers to go through this academy program because they may be coming from an airport that doesn't have some of that new technology in place yet," said TSA Administrator David Pekoske. "It takes awhile. We have 430 airports in the organization but they can see what the future looks like and they can prep themselves for what will likely be at their airport in a good number of years."
TSA officials said more than 40 staff and instructors will be able to train about 180 officers a week in the facility. After a TSO is hired, they work at their home airport for three months. Then, they participate in three weeks of training, which includes one week of virtual training and two weeks of in-residence training at the new facility in Las Vegas or the TSA Academy in Georgia.
TSA officials said Las Vegas was selected for TSA Academy West because it can easily be reached by air from most cities in the central and western United States and there are plenty of places for people to stay while they go to the academy.
Clark County officials said it's a good fit.
"I think this really just shows that we are very serious about security," said Rosemary Vassiliadis, the Clark County Director of Aviation. "We want to be part of it because we want to make sure that the 50 million people that come through our airport are treated with respect, are happy that they're here, and at the end of the day, are extremely safe."
