I am amazed that an overseas military spouse would be against full-body scans ("Against full-body scans," letter, Jan. 7).

I, too, am an overseas military spouse and would love to have full-body scans done at all airports. To think that this small "invasion" of privacy could save my parents’ lives, my children’s lives or my life is very comforting to me.

I don’t think it is an invasion of anything. We go to the doctor and get full-body exams. This is the doctor’s job and no one seems to feel it is an invasion. So, how is scanning to make sure we are not going to be blown up on our way to visit our loved ones any different? This is the job of Transportation Security Administration officials.

There are two types of enhanced body scanners. One relies on millimeter wave technology, which uses high-frequency radio waves. There is no ionizing radiation — the kind of radiation associated with medical X-rays. The other scanner uses a technology known as "backscatter." Low-level X-rays produce the same kind of "see-through" images that millimeter wave technology produces. The TSA says you will be exposed to as much radiation undergoing a backscatter body scan as you would during two minutes of your flight.

Images cannot be stored, broadcast or retransmitted. If someone is willing to be a suicide bomber, our "taking responsibility" will not change anything. Have we forgotten what happened on United Airlines Flight 93? They did not sit by, they acted, and the outcome was still horrific.

Anything we can do to increase safety should be done. The world we live in is not an innocent one. If we have nothing to hide, then there should be no worry with having the scan.

Michelle SettleKaiserslautern, Germany

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