Within Arm's Length: A Secret Service Agent's Definitive Inside Account of Protecting the President (24 page)

A little later the Arab awoke to find that the camel had not only put his nose in the tent but his head and neck also. The camel, who had been turning his head from side to side, said, “I will take but little more room if I place my forelegs within the tent. It is difficult standing out here.”

“Yes, you may put your forelegs within,” said the Arab, moving a little to make room, for the tent was small.

Finally, the camel said, “May I not stand wholly inside? I keep the tent open by standing as I do.”

“Yes, yes,” said the Arab. “Come wholly inside. Perhaps it will be better for both of us.” So the camel crowded in. With difficulty in the crowded quarters, the Arab again went to sleep. When he woke up the next time, he was outside in the cold and the camel had the tent to himself.

This old Arab fable is in my view a very accurate metaphor for how, beginning in the mid-1990s, the media began to move into the once enigmatic and clandestine world of the United States Secret Service.

When I became an agent in 1983, the Service was a total mystery to most, and virtually no substantial amount of information about it existed outside the organization. The culture of the Secret Service during that era dictated that agents never publicly discuss weapons, numbers of agents, training, and tactics—and never under any circumstance did we publicly discuss out-of-school incidents regarding the people we protected. To do so was to violate an unwritten code of silence observed by all agents and to risk being terminated. This old school mentality has been rendered largely obsolete due to the number of TV specials that have been produced over the past several years about the Secret Service.

In those days, there was no contact between the Secret Service and the media unless it was completely necessary. There seemed to be just enough contact to perpetuate one of the most powerful weapons in the Secret Service inventory: mystique. That is why most of the Service was stunned when our training facility at the James J. Rowley Training Center in Beltsville was opened to Joan Lunden in the late 1990s for her
Behind Closed Doors
special. Enter the camel.

Prior to the airing of this TV special, agents would have been expected to hold out under torture to protect the information that was freely offered up to Lunden. Authorized at the highest levels of the organization, the show became the camel’s nose under the tent flap in terms of allowing the media into every space occupied by the Service. Now the entire camel roams almost at will.

When Lunden rode the camel into the Secret Service tent, her mission was to obtain as much information and gain as much access to the inner workings of the Secret Service as possible. She succeeded beyond her producer’s wildest dreams, using all of her people skills to get that information. For those of us trained since being sworn in as agents to reveal almost nothing about our work, we could scarcely believe what we were witnessing.

The Joan Lunden special was filmed during my tour as an instructor at the James J. Rowley Training Center. Subsequent to this filming, it became the norm for journalists from various magazines, film production companies, authors, and almost anyone who wanted to film a TV special about the Secret Service to regularly be on campus.

There were times when so many of these visitors were on site that regular training had to be canceled and special agent class members used as extras in the productions. It was not unusual on some days to be standing for an hour or more at the obstacle course with an agent class waiting for the signal to begin the course while some cameraman filmed away. Even more irritating to me as an instructor was being forced to give up certain students for on-camera interviews, which caused them to miss class and require makeup instruction.

While the office of public affairs turned down the vast majority of such requests, it granted just enough to interfere—significantly, at times—with our normal training schedule. In order to better facilitate these productions, a member of the training staff was given the collateral duty of coordinating these media events.

During this time many agents began to feel that the Service had lost touch with its mission by allowing this type of unnecessary exposure. Many, thought that this “glad to see you, come on in” attitude toward the media was unwise. In the “new” Secret Service, headquarters was attempting to present a picture of agents as approachable and friendly rather than mysterious and menacing. With these productions, the Secret Service had moved from the shadows into the bright light of day while the camel cozied up inside the tent.

Lunden’s production became one of the first of what many of us deemed potentially harmful video presentations about the Secret Service. We believed that their existence was a danger to both agents and protectees alike. All terrorist attacks and assassinations begin with intelligence gathering, and there is no better source for information about the Secret Service and how it protects the president and others than these irresponsibly detailed documentaries, available to anyone with a personal computer.

The CIA refers to this type of gleaning of Intelligence available to anyone “open source.” For potential enemies, it means poring over any type of information available to the public, such as newspapers, magazines, the Internet, and, yes, the Joan Lunden special, to learn as much as possible about the Secret Service.

THE WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS PARTY

Perhaps the one night of the year PPD agents and PPD spouses or significant others look forward to most is the annual White House Christmas party. For an agent, being a POTUS party guest is a perk of being a member of PPD. For one night of the year, an agent is treated as a presidential guest rather than as a presidential protector. Other than high rollers from headquarters, the only Secret Service agents invited to these galas are PPD agents. Including PPD at these gatherings is the president’s way of saying thank you to the men and women who would sacrifice anything necessary to protect him and his family from harm. These parties were great for agent morale and almost made up for all the bad coffee consumed while trying to stay awake during the previous year’s midnight shifts.

Each invited agent is allowed to bring one guest to the party. Few date invitations can equal being invited to accompany a Secret Service agent to the White House for cocktails, dancing, and a photo op with the president and First Lady. Bringing a parent to this special event will usually even the ledger for any misdeeds of youth not yet forgiven. In my own case, the complete absolution of youthful transgressions came when I arranged a meeting between my parents and President George Herbert Walker Bush in 1992 as he passed through my hometown of Gainesville, Georgia. While the White House photographer’s equipment malfunctioned and no record exists of the meeting, it was a moment my parents cherished for the rest of their lives.

In order to accommodate as many of the presidents’ best friends as possible, there is not one White House Christmas party but several—in fact two almost every night during December, leading up to Christmas. In all, there are approximately fifty parties.

The evening begins with entry into the White House via the East entrance, where all guests must show invitations to a representative of the social secretary’s office and pass through security screening prior to being admitted into the mansion. Secret Service agents are of course exempted from this screening because as agents we were all armed to begin with and were expected to have our weapons.

The guests then move through the East Wing of the White House until entering the lower level of the main mansion, where they are met by an impeccably dressed, physically fit commissioned officer of one of the armed forces. The officer directs the guests up a well-worn set of marble stairs that has been trod upon by millions since it was installed in 1953. Guests proceed to the state floor of the mansion, where the festivities take place. I recall at one party that this post was manned by a Navy SEAL lieutenant who was preparing to leave the navy due to numerous disabilities. At the age of twenty-six he had sustained so many broken bones and torn ligaments as a SEAL that he was no longer medically qualified to perform his occupational specialty. Being around such men has always humbled me, and I felt he should have been the president’s guest instead of me.

On the state floor, everyone is treated to the sight of magnificent Christmas decorations and several live Christmas trees towering twelve feet or more. Each tree is heavy with ornaments and bursting with the aroma of fresh pine. Prior to moving about at will on the state floor of the White House—including the East Room, Red Room, Green Room, Blue Room, and the State Dining Room—guests are invited to indulge in the open bar, manned by a white-jacketed bartender. In the State Dining Room, guests will find an enormous table that runs almost the length of the room adorned with a white linen cloth that supports what is without doubt the mother of all hors d’oeuvres settings. The main attraction at this stop is the shrimp, practically the size of small lobsters, resting in silver bowls of ice.

A variety of music is provided in the East Room by a military orchestra made up of musicians whose talents rival that of any orchestra in the world. Here couples may elect to just enjoy the music, or if so trained may waltz, tango, foxtrot, or just sway to and fro. This is where mine and Donnelle’s Arthur Murray training always paid off.

It is generally around this time that the president and First Lady descend the main stairs leading from the second-floor residence to the state floor, where they mingle with their guests. There is never any doubt as to when this occurs, as almost everyone, except the agents, begin to move in that direction at once, hoping to have a few seconds of private time with POTUS. From there POTUS and FLOTUS move to the photo op area, where they graciously stand for an hour or more as each guest is announced by a permanent member of the White House staff prior to having their photo taken with the president and First Lady.

The photo op is generally the grand finale of the event and after the last guest has posed, things start to thin out as the Uniformed Division begins herding people out of the building through the North doors and the portico of the White House. Being lucky enough to attend even one of these events provides a very special lifetime memory, and Donnelle and I were privileged to have attended six such evenings during our careers.

PRESIDENTS AND THEIR SECRET SERVICE AGENTS: A UNIQUE RELATIONSHIP

I have been asked so frequently about the relationship between president and agents that I felt the need to include some information about this topic, as the answer is both multifaceted and, at times, complicated.

Presidents exist in a world in which many of the people who surround them are there strictly for personal gain, and loyalties can be bought with promises of power. Given their constant association with these kinds of individuals, I believe presidents find it refreshing when they realize that their agents have a pure commitment and dedication to something greater than themselves. Perhaps another thing that some presidents have realized and admire about their agents is that, although they themselves may be president, more than a few could not have met the qualifications to become a Secret Service agent.

One of the most misunderstood relationships in the world is that of an American president and the Secret Service agents who surround him. In spite of the mutual respect between agents and a president, the relationship is not one of friendship and can be misinterpreted at times by all but the most professional of agents.

This is a relationship so complex at times that it is a bit enigmatic even to agents who, over the years, have seen more than one president come and go. More than complex, it can also be extremely awkward for both new president and new PPD agent alike. Rookie PPD agents, when spoken to by POTUS for the first time, can be a bit starstruck and tend to talk a bit too much. This trait needs to be recognized by the new agent and avoided. In no case does POTUS’s reaching out to speak to an agent constitute a wish to be friends with that agent. Any agent who mistakenly believes that such a gesture is one of friendship will not last long on the detail.

This unique relationship of protector and protected is based on the premise that the president goes about his business of being president and the Secret Service goes about its business of doing all within its power to keep him from harm while he performs his duties both official and unofficial. This simplistic explanation, however, is just that, and the reality is a great deal more complex.

Secret Service agents occupy a unique position in the dynamics of a presidential administration. Agents are so physically close to the president on a daily basis that they hear and see almost everything the president sees and hears. Yet, unlike the presidential staff that interacts with POTUS and monitors his activities, Secret Service agents stand silently and seldom offer input into situations other than those that are security-related. If asked by POTUS about a situation, especially political, the agent should be brief and friendly yet noncommittal.

Secret Service agents do not initiate conversation with a president other than to perhaps offer an initial greeting, and then only when the situation merits. Should the president wish to engage the agent in conversation, the agent is certainly obligated to respond out of respect for the office of the presidency. The agent must not become too chatty. In many cases, POTUS is merely being cordial and does not wish to engage in long conversations. In order for the agent to appear engaged and approachable, he must exercise care. In most cases any conversation between POTUS and agent should be over within seconds after its beginning. Over time, every agent should get the feel of when to speak and when to remain silent. This is a very delicate balance, and mastering it can be critical to career survival.

On one occasion, a First Lady asked an agent a superfluous question as she escorted a group of women through the rose garden. The agent went well beyond the required response to the point of practically becoming part of the tour group. One week later the agent was promptly reassigned to a post other than PPD. The best policy for a rank-and-file agent on PPD, especially a new one, is to speak as little as possible to POTUS or FLOTUS while appearing approachable.