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Austin Wynn Instructor: Malcolm Campbell English 1102 February 10, 2014

Fast Draft For my paper I chose to write about the United States Secret Service and how sophisticated it really is. I am pretty sure that most people dont even know about half of the things that go on within the agency. It is a lot like the Presidential Limousine because no one knows what it actually does and how it operates. The agency is the most secret, secure, and sophisticated agency in the world and very few people get to see its inner workings. The US Secret Service was founded as an agency of the Department of the Treasury in 1865 to combat counterfeiting. As its responsibilities grew, and threats on the United States increased, the Secret Service became an agency of the newly created Department of Homeland Security in 2003. The mission of the US Secret Service is to protect the president and vice president, their families, heads of state, and other designated individuals, and to investigate threats against these protected. The most well-known Secret Service agents are those who protect the president. The presidents protective detail includes three hundred of the most qualified agents in the world. The agents provide around the clock protection for the president, serving as drivers, bodyguards, lookouts, and advance teams. An agent must always be near the president. The only times the president is alone are when an agent is asked to leave a

room and in the private residence. Even though the agents must be just outside the doors. When the president is in public, there is always at least one agent close enough to cover, pull, or push the president to safety unless the president asks for space, and the Secret Service can overrule him if they feel that would compromise his safety. The Secret Service places most of its confidence in advance preparations by securing routes and locations, using metal detectors and other screening devices, and checking everyone who comes into the immediate vicinity of the president (even friends must supply name, date of birth and social security number to the Secret Service). The president must sacrifice personal freedoms and friendships to ensure the safety and security of the office. The president leaves the White House several times a week and hundreds of times a year. Advance teams plan and prepare for every one of these trips outside the White House. The assistance of state, county, and local law enforcement organizations, and sometimes the military, is an essential part of the entire security operation. Whether making an hour-long trip to a restaurant or a week-long visit to foreign countries, advance teams are essential. Presidents, presidential spouses, and their children have been frustrated at times by the limitations placed on them by Secret Service operations, and some have dealt with this better than others. National Special Security Events, such as the Olympics, the Super Bowl, United Nations conferences, and the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, became critical responsibilities of the Secret Service following 9/11. The political conventions are important security events where both the current president and the presidential candidates are on display and vulnerable. The Secret Service must do extensive work to be ready for the Democratic and Republican Conventions. The Secret Service secures the venues for

national political conventions in a variety of ways. In 2008, its uniformed officers and personnel from the Transportation Security Administration used metal detectors to screen 35,000 people a day at each convention site. They also screened 80,000 spectators the night then-nominee Barack Obama gave his acceptance speech at Invesco Field in Denver. Becoming a US Secret Service Agent today is more demanding than in the history of the agency. Applicants must show exceptional intelligence, commitment, physical conditioning, and integrity. Because of these high standards, only approximately five percent of the people interviewed to become Special Agents will be hired. There are about 3,200 special agents serving today. In order to become a special agent in one of the most elite law enforcement agencies in the world, an applicant must meet rigorous qualifications. These qualifications include being a U.S. citizen, being between the ages of twenty-one and thirty-seven, possessing a current valid drivers license, and having uncorrected vision no worse than 20/60. It is preferred that the applicant have a bachelors degree, but three years of experience in law enforcement may also be acceptable. A series of in-depth interviews and written tests are given as well. In order to earn the necessary top-secret clearance, a pre-employment polygraph examination, drug screening, and extensive background and credit investigations are all administered. The applicants political party affiliation, if any, should be left at home and is not appropriate on the job. You also have to be in shape and fit to become an agent for the government. Being physically fit is an upside when training to become an agent because conditioning

is a critical part of the training. The agents physical conditioning is important to the agent, the team, and the person being protected. Trainees must undergo many workouts including push-ups, pull-ups, and swimming. The Physical Efficiency Battery is a final exam of sorts in flexibility, speed and agility, upper body strength, aerobic capacity, and body capacity. Becoming an agent is a lot more work than people expect and most people dont know that. It is one of the toughest jobs because you have to risk your life everyday in order to protect important figures.

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