Blair takes new security position

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Suzanne Struglinski

Friday, Sept. 30, 2005 | 9:53 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Jim Blair's security experience at McCarran International Airport has kept him at the Transportation Security Administration headquarters, even as it reorganizes its staff.

TSA chief Kip Hawley sent a message to employees this week saying Blair agreed to a new position as assistant director for security operations.

Blair was McCarran's transportation security director before moving to be the chief operating officer at TSA in late 2004.

TSA spokesman Nico Melendez said the realignment of the four-year-old agency is still a work in progress and Blair will not officially take the post until the new organizational chart is complete.

Once approved, Blair will lead the federal security directors, compliance programs and other operational aspects of the agency, according to Hawley's e-mail message.