Dark sunglasses , unsmiling mugs , a head on a swivel , the surreptitious earpiece , black suit , perchance the suggestion of a bulge under the jacket crown . Everybody know aSecret Service agentwhen they see one , right ?
Ah , but the United States Secret Service is right smart more than no - nonsense automatons packing heat and putting their lives on the billet to protect president and other political bigwigs . When the United States Secret Service — the USSS , for all you government activity acronym - iacs — came into being at the end of the Civil War , protecting people was n’t even in its desoxyribonucleic acid .
Here are some tidbits you might not know about one of the most underground of undercover outfit in the Union government :
1. It’s Not Quite Like What You See on the Big Screen
Only about 3,600 of the 7,000 - plus USSS employee are the stern - looking bodyguards ( known as particular agents ) that protect the president and other select government official .
Some 1,650 Secret Service employees areUniformed Division officerswhose duty is to firmly lock down the venue , wherever they might be , where the president and other officials come along . The Uniformed Division is responsible for for security at the White House , too , theNaval Observatory(the residence of the vice chairman ) , the Treasury Department , and other position like strange embassies in Washington , D.C.
Yet another 2,300 or so providetechnical law enforcementandother behind - the - view support ; thing like figuring out the safest routes for motorcades , the best and most secure way to equip " The Beast " ( a late name for the president ’s principal limo ) , how to avoid chemical attacks … and the more mundane governmental study of file expense reports and answering questions from officer or agent who have trouble sign onto their laptops .
Most USSS personnel are not hanging out with the Chief Executive . It ’s scarce the stuff of " Olympus Has Fallen " or " White House Down . "
2. Safeguarding Money Is a Big Part of the Secret Service’s Duty
When the USSS was formed in 1865 , it was a bureau of the Treasury Department . Its mission was to fight widespreadcounterfeiting ; at the goal of the Civil War , nearly a third of all currency in circulation in the United States was fake . The Secret Service was there to serve stabilize the financial system by free the country of counterfeiter .
Yeah . Not precisely " In the Line of Fire , " either .
Still , it ’s authoritative poppycock , and a key mainstay in the Secret Service ’s dual mission , which is protection of the authorities ’s top frump and investigation of crime regarding the fiscal system at home and abroad . The masses of the federal agency take both missionary station very seriously .
How important can guarding money really be ?
According to a USSS spokesperson — this is straight from an e-mail — " Over the retiring tenner , the Secret Service has made approximately 50,000 stop for forge , cyber and fiscal crimes and seized $ 1.8B in counterfeit currency . The Secret Service has also prevented possible loss of more or less $ 53B. "
The B , as you may have figured , signify " billions . " So … yeah . significant .
So does the Secret Service still cover to Treasury ? No . On March 1 , 2003 , the USSS was transferred to the newly formed Department of Homeland Security , which now seems a unspoilt conniption . But the Secret Service is still all over protecting the fiscal infrastructure of the land .
3. Secret Service Agents Are Still the Stars
As Clint Eastwood , Gerard Butler , Channing Tatum and many other Hollywood types have exhibit , you ca n’t get past the very American coolness that is part of being aSecret Service particular factor . They are the very real multitude willing to take a bullet to save others ' life .
Certainly , it ’s not all that exciting all the time . " The ripe way to sum up being a Secret Service broker , " former federal agent Johnathan Wackrow , who spent 14 year with the Service , more than four of them on protective particular of then - President Barack Obama , toldVanity Fair , " is protract periods of ennui only broken up by present moment of sheer holy terror . "
Secret Service agent saved Ronald Reagan in an character assassination attempt in 1981 . They helped Jackie back into the convertible whenJohn F. Kennedywas shot in 1963 . They wrapped up presidential prospect Donald Trump andrushed him off the stagewhen someone shout " gun " at a rallying in 2016 . They ’re there , on Inauguration Day , providing a human shield as the president almost invariably take a perambulation down Pennsylvania Avenue .
It ’s fairly slow , when it ’s not terrifying . But the pressure , at all times , is outrageous .
" The Secret Service has a zero fail mission , " Lt . Christopher Fagan told a bunch of Secret Service rookie in aBusiness Insider picture . " What that means in layperson ’s term , lady and man , is this : You do n’t get a bad solar day in the Secret Service .
" If you have a bad mean solar day , and you do n’t do your caper , you ’re go to change the world . " And he does n’t mean for the well .
4. Agents Started Protecting the President in the 20th Century
It was n’t until the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901 that the Secret Service was tax with protecting the President of the United States .
( quickly aside , under " It ’s Not Like This any longer " : McKinleywas tear double in the abdomenby nihilist Leon Czolgosz . The president died eight days later . Czolgosz ’s trial started nine days after McKinley ’s destruction and hold up three sidereal day . The liquidator was hang less than two months after the tone-beginning . )
5. Becoming a Special Agent Isn’t Easy
It ’s been report that only one out of 100 applier makes it to special agent training , and a lot of them wash out once they get to theJames J. Rowley Training Centerin Laurel , Maryland .
All military recruit go through a six - calendar month education programme after they ’re thoroughly vetted . They ’re give a polygraph . They go through firearms grooming , machine driver ’s training ( where they ’re taught things like evasive maneuvering ) , manus - to - hand armed combat training , your basic Union constabulary enforcement training . Once they make it that far , they expend three to five long time in a field office , at home or abroad . And only then , maybe , do they move onto the 2nd phase of the career , in a protective division assigning . The secure go on to the Presidential Protective Division ( PPD ) , where most serve a lower limit of six years .
6. They’re Tough and Cool, But Not Enough for Tattoos
That ’s veracious … mostly . " If you have visible dead body markings , you will be required to medically dispatch such visible dead body grading at your own expense prior to participate on obligation with the Secret Service , " theUSSS says on its site .
When asked about the tattoo tabu , a USSS spokesperson netmail , " The U.S. Secret Service , exchangeable to other law enforcement agencies , has a uniform standard of frock to which employee are held . "
And that ’s all there is to that .
7. They Can Have a Drug-pocked Past, Though
Priormarijuana use , or even abuse of prescription drugs or over - the - counter drug , is not an automatic bar to convey into the Secret Service . It depends on how old an applicant is and when s / he last used . It’sa pretty wake positionfor a generally buttoned - down outfit .
" The USSS does not condone any prior outlaw drug action by Applicants , " the USSS enunciate on its situation , " but it recognize that some otherwise qualified Applicants may have used or otherwise interacted with illegal drugs at some point in their past . "
That order , any applicant who presently uses illegal drug will be launch to be " unsuitable . "
And , yes , there is a drug test .
8. It’s Still a Dude’s World
In 1971 , Laurie Anderson , Sue Baker , Kathryn Clark , Holly Hufschmidt and Phyllis Shantz became thefirst five women extra agent . But it was n’t until 2013 that the first female person — Julia A. Pierson — was appointed to lead the agency . She became the 23rd director of the USSS March 27 , 2013 .
But of the more than 7,000 employees today , few than a quartern are women . The Service insists , though , that it ’s trying .
" Approximately 24 pct of Secret Services employees are women , " the USSS spokesperson says . " The Secret Service is continually and actively recruiting to ensure a divers mix of employees . Part of these efforts admit visiting college , hosting data session , and participate in career fairs . "
