by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:30 AM ET, Tue May 24, 2016
Photo courtesy of Thinkstock
On Monday, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) replaced its head of security and created a centralized incident command team at the agency's headquarters.
According to NBCNews.com, Kelly Hoggan has served as the TSA's assistant administrator for security operations since 2013, but he will now be replaced by Darby LaJoye. Before getting the promotion, LaJoye was a deputy assistant TSA administrator and the head of security at both Los Angeles International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.
Hoggan was not fired but instead reassigned to a new job. The news of internal changes at the agency was reported after NBC News obtained a memo sent by TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger.
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The move comes after numerous complaints from travelers and airports about the length of TSA security lines at airports across the United States. In addition to the position changes, Neffenger and the Department of Homeland Security have vowed to add more than 300 TSA employees to Chicago's airports following major problems with screening at O'Hare International Airport in April.
Additional security personnel weren't the only changes outlined in the memo from Neffenger, as the TSA also established a National Incident Command Center just outside Washington, D.C. The center will track daily screening operations and shift officers and resources where they are needed most based on volume.
"These adjustments will enable more focused leadership and screening operations at critical airports in the national transportation system," Neffenger said in a statement obtained by NBCNews.com.
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