WEBVTT - How Does the U.S. Secret Service Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff. Lauren bogobaum here, dark sunglasses, unsmiling mug's head

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<v Speaker 1>on a swivel, the surreptitious earpiece of black suit. Everybody

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<v Speaker 1>knows a Secret Service agent when they see one, right,

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<v Speaker 1>But the United States Secret Service is way more than

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<v Speaker 1>no nonsense automatons packing heat and putting their lives on

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<v Speaker 1>the line to protect presidents and other political big wigs.

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<v Speaker 1>When the United States Secret Service came into being at

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<v Speaker 1>the end of the Civil War, protecting people wasn't even

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<v Speaker 1>in its DNA, and even today, only about three thousand,

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<v Speaker 1>six hundred of the seven thousand plus U S Secret

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<v Speaker 1>Service employees are the stern looking bodyguards known as special Agents,

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<v Speaker 1>that protect the President and other select government officials. Some

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<v Speaker 1>one thousand, six hundred fifty Secret Service employees are Uniformed

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<v Speaker 1>Division officers. They wear uniforms similar to police uniforms. It's

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<v Speaker 1>their duty to securely lock down the venues wherever they

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<v Speaker 1>may be where the President and other officials appear. The

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<v Speaker 1>Uniformed Division is responsible for security at the White House

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<v Speaker 1>to the Naval Observatory, the residents of the Vice President,

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<v Speaker 1>the Treasury Department and other places like foreign embassies in Washington,

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<v Speaker 1>d C. Another two thousand, three hundred or so provide technical,

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<v Speaker 1>law enforcement and other behind the scenes support, things like

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<v Speaker 1>figuring out the safest routes for motorcades, the best and

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<v Speaker 1>most secure way to outfit the beast, a recent name

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<v Speaker 1>for the president's main limo, how to avoid chemical attacks,

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<v Speaker 1>and the more mundane governmental work of filing expense reports

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<v Speaker 1>and answering questions from officers or agents who have trouble

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<v Speaker 1>signing into their laptops. Most US Secret Service personnel aren't

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<v Speaker 1>hanging out with the president, and it's hardly the stuff

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<v Speaker 1>of Olympuss Fallen or white House down. When the U

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<v Speaker 1>s Secret Service was formed in eight sixty five, it

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<v Speaker 1>was a bureau of the Treasury Department. Its mission was

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<v Speaker 1>to battle widespread counterfeiting. At the end of the Civil War,

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<v Speaker 1>nearly a third of all currency in circulation in the

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<v Speaker 1>United States was fake. The Secret Service was there to

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<v Speaker 1>help stabilize the financial system by ridding the country of counterfeiters.

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<v Speaker 1>So not exactly in the line of fire either. Still,

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<v Speaker 1>it's important stuff and a key pillar in the Secret

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<v Speaker 1>Services dual mission, which is protection of the government's top

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<v Speaker 1>dogs and investigation of crimes regarding the financial system at

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<v Speaker 1>home and abroad. The people of the agency take both

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<v Speaker 1>missions very seriously. For the article this episode is based

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<v Speaker 1>on how Stuff Works. Spoke with a U. S. Secret

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<v Speaker 1>Service spokesperson via email and they said, over the past decade,

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<v Speaker 1>the Secret Service has made approximately fifty thousand arrests for counterfeiting,

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<v Speaker 1>cyber and financial crimes and seized one point eight billion

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<v Speaker 1>dollars in counterfeit currency. Secret Service has also prevented potential

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<v Speaker 1>loss of approximately fifty three billion dollars. So does the

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<v Speaker 1>Secret Service still report to the Treasury? Nope. On March

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<v Speaker 1>one of two thousand three, the U. S. Secret Service

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<v Speaker 1>was transferred to the newly formed Department of Homeland Security,

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<v Speaker 1>which now seems a better fit. But the Secret Service

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<v Speaker 1>is still all over protecting the financial infrastructure of the nation. However,

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<v Speaker 1>as actors like Clint Eastwood, Gerard Butler, Channing Tatum, and

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<v Speaker 1>many other Hollywood types have shown, you can't get past

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<v Speaker 1>the particularly American coolness that is part of being a

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<v Speaker 1>Secret Service special agent. They are the very real people

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<v Speaker 1>willing to take a bullet to save others lives. Certainly

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<v Speaker 1>it's not that exciting all the time. Former agent Jonathan Whackrow,

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<v Speaker 1>who spent fourteen years with the Service, more than four

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<v Speaker 1>of them on protective detail of then President Barack Obama,

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<v Speaker 1>told Vanity Fair the best way to sum up being

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<v Speaker 1>Secret Service agent is prolonged periods of boredom only broken

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<v Speaker 1>up by moments of sheer terror. The Secret Service agents

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<v Speaker 1>saved Ronald Reagan during an assassination attempt in n They

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<v Speaker 1>helped Jackie back into the convertible. When John F. Kennedy

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<v Speaker 1>was shot in nineteen sixty three, they wrapped up presidential

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<v Speaker 1>candidate Donald Trump and rushed him off the stage when

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<v Speaker 1>someone shouted gun at a rally in They're there every

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<v Speaker 1>inauguration day, providing a human shield as the president almost

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<v Speaker 1>invariably takes a stroll down Pennsylvania Avenue. It's pretty slow

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<v Speaker 1>when it's not terrifying, but the pressure at all times

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<v Speaker 1>is outrageous. Lieutenant Christopher Fagin told a bunch of Secret

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<v Speaker 1>Service rookies and a business Insider video the Secret Service

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<v Speaker 1>has a zero fail mission. What that means, in Lehman's terms,

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<v Speaker 1>ladies and gentlemen, is this, you don't get a bad

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<v Speaker 1>day in the Secret Service, if you have a bad

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<v Speaker 1>day and you don't do your job, you're going to

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<v Speaker 1>change the world, and he doesn't mean for the better.

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<v Speaker 1>It wasn't until the assassination of President William McKinley in

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<v Speaker 1>n one that the Secret Service was tasked with protecting

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<v Speaker 1>the President, and becoming a special agent isn't easy. It's

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<v Speaker 1>been reported that only one out of a hundred applicants

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<v Speaker 1>makes it too special agent training, and a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>them wash out once they get to the James J.

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<v Speaker 1>Rowley Training Center in Laurel, Maryland. All recruits go through

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<v Speaker 1>a six month training program. After they've been thoroughly vetted,

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<v Speaker 1>they're given a polygraph. They go through firearms training, driver training,

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<v Speaker 1>where they're taught things like a vase of maneuvering, hand

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<v Speaker 1>to hand combat training, your basic federal law enforcement training.

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<v Speaker 1>Once they make it that far, they spend three to

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<v Speaker 1>five years in a field office at home or abroad,

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<v Speaker 1>and only then maybe do they move on to the

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<v Speaker 1>second phase of the career in a protective division assignment.

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<v Speaker 1>The best go on to the Presidential Protective Division, where

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<v Speaker 1>most serve a minimum of six years. After that, they

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<v Speaker 1>move on to the final phase of their careers, which

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<v Speaker 1>can include further protective assignments for their field office work,

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<v Speaker 1>or a bump into specialty assignments, including things like training

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<v Speaker 1>new agents, getting into work on electronic crimes, or being

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<v Speaker 1>assigned to a congressional staff gig. Entry level special agents

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<v Speaker 1>start at about forty nine thousand dollars a year. In

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<v Speaker 1>phase three of their careers, they can make nearly a

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and forty five thousand a year. In one five

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<v Speaker 1>women became the first female special agents, but it wasn't

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<v Speaker 1>until that a woman, Julia A. Pearson, was the first

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<v Speaker 1>appointed to lead the agency, and of the more than

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<v Speaker 1>seven thousand employees today, just shy of a quarter are women.

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<v Speaker 1>The Service insists, though that it's trying. Their spokesperson said

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<v Speaker 1>the Secret Service is continually and actively recruiting to ensure

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<v Speaker 1>a diverse mix of employees. Part of these efforts include

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<v Speaker 1>visiting colleges, hosting information sessions, and participating in career affairs.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode is based on the article eight Secrets you

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<v Speaker 1>Didn't Know about the Secret Service on how stuff works

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<v Speaker 1>dot com, written by John Donovan. Brain Stuff is production

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<v Speaker 1>of I Heart Radio in partnership with how Stuff Works.

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<v Speaker 1>Dot com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Or more

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