By Michael Schindler

This past summer, I reported on how the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) gave returning troops a difficult time as they arrived in Indiana. Granted, they were following protocol, but it seemed a bit “over-the-top.” It seems our representatives thought the same.

On Tuesday, Nov. 29, the House voted unanimously to allow military travelers on official duty to receive special preference in moving through airport security checks faster.

The bill would give the Homeland Security Department six months to devise a preference system for the Armed Forces. The legislation has now gone to the Senate. If the bill becomes law, the earliest beneficiaries would likely be troops returning from Afghanistan next year and would also apply to their family members.

Although it’s a policy, not law, the TSA already makes some accommodations to servicemembers in uniform with a proper identification card and also expedites screening for wounded troops. (Unless you happen to fly into Indiana.)

To learn more about this bill, go to USA Today.

Michael Schindler, Navy veteran, and president of Edmonds-based Operation Military Family, is a guest writer for several national publications, author of the book “Operation Military Family” and “The Military Wire” blog. He is also a popular keynote and workshop speaker who reaches thousands of service members and their families every year through workshops and seminars that include  “How to Battle-Ready Your Relationship” or “What Your Mother-in-Law Didn’t Tell You.”  He received the 2010 Outstanding Patriotic Service Award from the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs.