Port workers, longshoremen, truckers and others at the Port of Tacoma, will soon become the first in the region to enroll in the Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program. The program's goal is to ensure that any individual who has unescorted access to secure areas of port facilities and vessels has received a thorough background check and is not a security threat. Thousands of workers are expected to enroll over the coming months at the Port of Tacoma and Port of Seattle which begins enrollment mid-December. Nationwide, more than 1 million workers with unescorted access to secure areas will apply during the rest of 2007 and 2008.