It's the "in the line of duty" thing that sticks in my craw
...
If we give TSA guy "in the line of duty" we might as well give "in the line of duty" to the teacher who slips, falls, and snaps their neck while doing cafeteria monitoring duty.
We already do give "LoD" to a teacher who slips and falls, although it's more commonly known as Worker's Compensation. We give "LoD" to a firefighter who falls off a ladder while rescuing a kitty trapped in a tree.
Let's say Adam is on top of a tall ladder cleaning his neighbor's second story windows. Adam slips off the ladder to shatter his collar bone. His company says, "Gee that's tough. Be in on time tomorrow or we'll hire someone new to replace your clumsy butt."
Make one tiny change; his company is a gutter cleaning company and it was his job to be on that ladder and suddenly lots of insurance and workplace safety rules get involved because the broken collar bone happened as a result of his job; his "line of duty."
As it applies to agents/officers of the government, and especially our military:
There is a presumption that all diseases, injuries or deaths occur "in the line of duty - not due to own misconduct." A LOD investigation is generally conducted whenever a soldier/government employee acquires a disease, incurs a significant injury or is injured under unusual circumstances. In a LOD investigation, there are three possible outcomes...
(1) "in the line of duty- not due to own misconduct";
(2) "not in the line of duty- not due to own misconduct"; or,
(3) "not in the line of duty- due to own misconduct."
The first two will get you full hospitalization and benefits, with the third you're generally on your own.
As I witnessed as a soldier; normally even a car accident will earn a soldier a 'line of duty' death and death benefits. Unfortunately, said soldier had told a friend he was going out on the town to score some drugs and he died on the way back to base. His death was ruled to have been caused by driving while intoxicated, with the contributing factor that he was apparently engaged in a criminal enterprise (the drugs), therefor it was determined to be "Not in Line of Duty - Due to Own Misconduct." His survivors were denied government death benefits.
Although the TSA may be "
security theater", it's official purpose is to protect Americans and other travelers from lactating mothers, Medal of Honor winners. As they are entrusted with such authority, the term "Line of Duty" isn't inapplicable as the result of a death incurred while doing exactly what their government duties entail.