From weight sensors in the Oval Office to their methods of tracing angry letter origins,
today we look at What The Secret Service Doesn’t Want You To Know.
#15 Never Infiltrated Perhaps rarely mentioned so as to not tempt
anyone to try, the Secret Service has a leg up on most other federal agencies.
They’ve never been infiltrated.
That is to say, even though agencies like the CIA, FBI and NSA have had spies uncovered
within their ranks, the Secret Service’s record remains traitor-free.
The lifelong career path, high qualifications, and low-chance of actually working anywhere
near the president are all possible reasons why no spy has successfully permeated the
agency’s screening process.
#14 Oval Office Pressure Pads When you become President of the United States
of America, the weight of the nation and even the world can feel like it rests on your shoulders.
But what about your weight?
Well, if you’re in the Oval Office, it’s probably resting on a high-tech tracking system
belonging to the Secret Service.
Installed to help monitor the President’s safety while respecting private discussions
and matters of extreme confidentiality, the pressure pads in the office of the Commander-In-Chief
sit underneath the carpet.
These measure the presidents weight and informs the agents of his specific location in the
room at any given time!
#13 Food Surveillance If you think the Secret Service watches over
the President like a hawk, then you should see how they inspect his food.
Whether on the road or safely at home, Secret Service agents are constantly in attendance
during meal preparation.
Small food carts or local restaurants are typically off limits as it can be impossible
to guarantee the safety of the cooking when so much of the usual ingredients are pre-prepared.
Pizza delivery is allowed, but they have it sent to a nearby address to disguise its recipient
and lower any associated risks.
But even a Christmas fruitcake from a loved one is restricted as every bit of the meal’s
construction requires thorough supervision.
When travelling, stewards from the Navy are brought onto the Presidential trip and exclusively
cook all the meals.
#12 Fake Bullet Training Any attackers hoping to catch the Secret Service
off guard ought to think twice as these agents regularly undergo an intense 8-week training
regimen.
From first aid to high-level forensics to aquatic rescue techniques, the agents of the
Secret Service are prepared for any situation...especially if it means taking a bullet.
Trainees will run scenario drills that involve agents attempting to protect their escorted
party from non-lethal marking rounds.
This faux ammunition indicates where the target or they themselves were hit.
While not especially harmful, these bullets do sting.
The experience undoubtedly toughens but also wisens them up to the realities of potentially
being faced with an emergency shootout.
#11 Evaluating Suspects It doesn’t matter if its a rant on social
media or a sign outside the front gates of the White House.
Any threat voiced toward the President of the United States warrants an investigation
by the Secret Service.
It’s their job to differentiate between what is just drunken rambling and what poses
an actual threat.
Engaging in a tactic the agency refers to as protective intelligence, the Secret Service
will go on to interview employees, associates, neighbors and friends to get a better look
at how serious of a threat the person poses.
More often than not, these threats are simply a disgruntled citizen verbally lashing out
and focusing their frustrations at the leader of the nation with no actual threat intended.
#10 Misconceptions Thanks to modern portrayals of the Secret
Service in film and television, many believe the agency to be a small, elite organization
that is constantly in a suit and sunglasses.
In reality, the modern Secret Service is quite a bit different.
While you may only see them in relatively smaller numbers at public events, the number
of Secret Service employees at a time is near 6,500.
These employees divide the course of their work in phases, with an initial period of
years spent working an office position before being promoted to protective field work for
four to seven years.
After that service is up they return to an office position to finish off their career.
In addition, Secret Service field offices are located in every state and even some foreign
countries...not just in the nation’s capital.
Which means that not only are there plenty of them, but they’re everywhere too!
And to make matters even more confusing, they don’t even need to wear the uniform that
Hollywood’s convincing us belongs.
Though still wearing suits at times, they will often dress to match the occasion rather
than stick out from the crowd.
This can mean anything from a golfing outfit to jeans and a t-shirt.
On top of that, they don’t even wear sunglasses!
Not usually, anyway.
The shades have the potential of impeding their sight and thus their response time during
an emergency, so wearing them would only be helpful in particular situations with distractingly
bright light.
#9 Bags of Presidential Blood While the Secret Service has thousands of
agents, the select few chosen to protect the first family are known as the Presidential
Protection Division, or the PPD.
These members are responsible for a lot of specialized tasks, but possibly the strangest
includes the ability to perform an emergency blood transfusion.
To prepare for this, PPD agents travelling with the Presidents will always have spare
bags of the President’s blood on hand.
They also stay within 10 minutes of a trauma center at all times and preemptively post
agents at all nearby hospital operating rooms.
Thanks to forethinking measures such as these by the Secret Service, the Commander-In-Chief
has a higher chance now than ever throughout history of surviving an attack.
#8 The President May Be Packing It’s fairly common knowledge that agents
of the Secret Service carry a firearm at nearly all times, if not some other weapon instead.
But what most civilians probably don’t know is that they’re not always the only one
with a piece.
As was the case for President Ronald Reagan’s time of service.
According to the Secret Service, Reagan carried a 38 caliber revolver in his briefcase that
he would take aboard the presidential private plane Air Force One.
He kept the stashed weapon secret from most, though apparently the Secret Service knew
of its existence.
Even his own Vice President, George H.W. Bush, was unaware of the extra protection the President
had provided.
#7 Floors Below The White House Though massive and often under some sort of
expansion, the presidents pearly home office is much larger than it appears.
Always shown in photographs with a focus on the central building, the White House is more
than its main structure as the complex now extends to large wings on the west and east
sides of the building.
These three components of the White House are connected through large colonnades.
But even if you haven’t seen them often, many still know about these extra buildings
that form the White House Complex.
What most civilians may not be aware of, though, is the existence of at least another two floors
beneath the four story Executive Residence, as the main building is called.
These lower levels house the various machinations that keep the White House running such as
the laundry room, air conditioning and heating rooms, water softening controls, and electrical
switches.
But given its absence from public view, there’s no telling what’s kept down there.
#6 Presidential Privacy Problem The paparazzi can be aggravating enough when
elected to the Oval Office, but the Secret Service takes it to the next level when they
begin serving a president.
Given some historical events and tragedies with former presidents, it's become a regular
occurence to film the president at all public events.
This footage can lead to the immediate apprehension of any transgressors that threaten the president’s
safety thanks to immediate analysis by agents.
And if constantly being on camera is invasive of one's privacy, the steps the Secret Service
takes regarding the restroom might as well shove the head of state’s right to solitude
down the toilet.
And it doesn’t stop there.
The Secret Service sticks with the president.
Whether he’s going to the doctor’s office or a nearby club, agents are always within
arm’s reach.
#5 Ink Tracking A classic tactic of voicing displeasure toward
a business, every year millions of Americans write, though mostly digital now, an angry
letter of complaint.
In the case of celebrities and politicians, though, sometimes the classic method of sending
a physical letter will better accomplish your intended goal.
But if your target audience includes the President of the United States, you may want to rethink
that plan...especially if you have something nasty to say.
One of the many tools in the agency’s arsenal, the Secret Service has a working relationship
with ink manufacturers around the world.
With their assistance and a large database of specialized indicators found in these various
inks, agents are able to not only determine the ink brand from a note, but the location
it’s sold in as well.
Meaning if they have a letter from you, you don’t even need to include a return address...they’ll
figure it out.
#4 Mount Weather Hidden away from the White House, a large
sanctuary remains closed to the public known as Mount Weather.
Initially developed as a presidential safe house, it has since become the hiding place
for a member of the president’s cabinet during the State of the Union Address.
Upon its discovery by the public, it was deemed compromised and removed from its role.
However, after dreadful events in the early twenty first century, the base was rebuilt
in secret to serve as a shelter for the rest of the government during an attack.
Top members of the White House staff even get directions to Mount Weather printed on
the back of their IDs as an added safety precaution!
#3 Assisted In Affairs We’re sure its not the proudest moment for
members of the agency, but one of the strangest duties the Secret Service has fulfilled over
the years is sneaking women in and out of the White House.
Over the last four decades and perhaps prior to that, there have been a number of presidents
that have had the agency help their mistresses either gain entrance into the house or make
a swift exit should the first lady arrive at an unscheduled time.
Many of the affairs over the course of history have taken extremely long to leak into the
public mainstream, mostly because the Secret Service is just so good at their job!
#2 “Renovations” Have you ever heard of a room in the White
House being renovated?
It’s actually quite common, with nearly every president renovating a room during their
term in office.
Unfortunately for passionate homeowners looking for some presidential advice on the subject,
the reason behind these renovations isn’t because of a chance string of home decorators
taking office.
These renovations serve as a cover for the Secret Service, acting as a code word and
distraction for any private investigations that need to be made inside the White House.
They even use that excuse for the First Family, temporarily getting them out of the White
House at no mention of the investigation as much of the job of the Secret Service is to
refrain from causing any alarm or panic.
#1 No Sworn Life Oath Contrary to popular belief, agents of the
Secret Service don’t actually swear an oath to lay down their lives on behalf of the President
of the United States.
It’s certainly stated that it is a possibility, and agents are fully aware an incident may
arise in which there’s no other option when protecting the head of state.
But focuses from the agency remain at all times on preventive measures rather than self-sacrifice.