Secret Service special agents appear in the 1993 Clint Eastwood film “The Front Lines of the Attack“I always answer, 'No, it's like the 1994 Nicolas Cage movie.'Protect Tess.”
During my time as a special agent, there were moments of adrenaline and heightened focus when history and major geopolitical implications were at stake. For example, Sniper When someone was spotted looking through a rifle scope at President Obama, or I caused a car accident In the gardens of President George W. Bush's home.
There were times when it wasn't so glamorous.
I once had to take a shovel away from a pregnant Secret Service subject who was shoveling snow in front of her house. I shoveled the sidewalk while her partner, for some reason, watched from the front window. You don't see that in the movies.
Eastwood's film also doesn't adequately portray the plight of the agents who have to clean up messes made by their subjects during the trip – in fact, I was once on a flight where another agent had to do this.
Despite the best efforts of investigators, there have been two assassination attempts on former President Trump since July, and the public has lost confidence in investigators' ability to protect executive branch employees and their families. Member of Parliament Lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle have strongly criticized the Secret Service.
Most of the Secret Service’s critics have no professional experience in carrying out complex protective operations at the presidential level, and the general public has suddenly become the experts on what it takes to protect America’s elected (or former) leaders.
What is wrong with their criticism?
U.S. Secret Service protection missions don't just happen: Most take weeks of planning and involve multiple parts of the agency.
for example, Washington Hilton It takes roughly 100+ agents to secure the President's residence (known to the Secret Service as the “Hinkley Hilton”) for a 10-15 minute speech from the President. The motorcade route must be determined and the route coordinated with multiple local and federal agencies to ensure traffic is cleared. The list of tasks goes on and on: inspecting the building, conducting protective intelligence checks, designating and staffing hospitals.
Other small logistical details also need to be coordinated: Agents assigned to the motorcade must make sure the presidential limousine has a full tank of gas. Other agents coordinate with the presidential staff to determine who will ride with the president. Some hotel agents determine whether staircases will be pressurized in the event of a fire and how many floors the D.C. Fire Department's ladder trucks can reach.
There are countless other small logistical details that require attention that often go unnoticed or unnoticed by outsiders, most of which focus only on the agents in close proximity to the Secret Service's protected subjects. Complex protection operations require experts. Hard skills like marksmanship, protective driving, and defensive tactics are important for agents. But those skills are meaningless if the small logistical details aren't accomplished first.
During my time as a Special Agent, I worked with multiple foreign and U.S. law enforcement agencies and elite special operations forces. What has always set the Secret Service apart is our ability to also focus on the importance of logistics.
As one example, I had a conversation on the tarmac of an airport in Africa with a U.S. Navy SEAL officer whose unit had been assigned to assist us in our protection mission, but who was on the verge of being unable to join us because he had neglected to obtain the necessary U.S. embassy authorization and visas.
We live in a liberal democracy, and contrary to what some libertarians may think, America is not a surveillance state like China or Russia. Americans travel around the country with little disruption or interference from the government.
In Russia and China, Thomas CrookesThe man who fired an assault rifle at President Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania in July, or Ryan RouthArrested earlier this month in connection with an attempted assassination attempt on President Trump, he would have been jailed indefinitely months or even years ago for simply publicly criticizing the government.
In the United States, no one is jailed unless there is probable cause that they have committed a crime. In the United States, publicly expressing an interest in assassinating a politician or elected leader may or may not be a crime depending on the level of interest and whether the person took any active steps to carry out the plan.
Thanks to our liberal democratic system, someone willing to give their life to assassinate a politician probably has a good chance. Protecting America's elected leaders is hard. The Secret Service must balance the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights during their guard duties.
America is about 337 million inhabitantsThe Secret Service can't keep an eye on everyone.
The Secret Service never fails in its mission. In an ideal world, every business and road within a few miles of the president would be closed and a no-travel corridor would be in place. Every person within 1,000 yards would have their name checked and their DNA tested in an international database for ties to international terrorism. But this is not the world we live in.
If the Secret Service has its way, the president will live in a bullet-proof, blast-proof shelter designed by Elon Musk 365 days a year. One day a year, the Secret Service will take the president out to the shelter to wave to crowds from behind bulletproof glass, then he'll immediately return to the shelter.
But the president and those running for president have to go out and meet the people, this is how democracy works.
The Secret Service has been powerful for the past few years. Drone Program The Secret Service's drones are used for aerial surveillance and event monitoring. But the technology has limitations. Reports say the Secret Service drones Detained The ceremony scheduled for July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, was canceled due to technical issues, and there is no advance guard capable of conducting 100 percent security screening of everyone within 1,000 yards of a president or former president.
Agencies have room for improvement. Agencies should: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)DARPA has produced nearly all of the U.S. military's major modern technologies, including stealth technology and drones, and it could help fill technology gaps, especially in improved crowd screening and better wireless communications. Serious issues During the Butler incident.
Additionally, the Secret Service's budget should be increased so it can hire more special agents, giving agents more time away from guard duties to spend with their families and train in hard skills like driving, shooting and jiu-jitsu.
But even with these improvements, the end result is still not cinematic.
Bill Gage is a former Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service. He served in the Washington Field Office from 2002 to 2007 and in the Counterattack Team from 2007 to 2013. He served in the George W. Bush and Obama administrations from 2002 to 2013.
