Man: You OK, man?
Man: You mother f-----.
Recruit: Put the bat down!
Police! Drop the bat!
Christopher Fagan: I want you to take all the notions
that you have about what we do in the Secret Service
that you've seen on the movies
and on TV shows,
and I want you to throw it out the window.
The Secret Service is the premier law-enforcement agency
in the world.
It is by far the best protective agency that's ever been.
The Secret Service has a zero-fail mission.
That is now your responsibility.
That is now the weight on your shoulders.
Now you have to earn it every single day.
Narrator: This
is Secret Service boot camp.
Before they join the Secret Service,
all recruits have to graduate
from the agency's six-month training program.
Training happens here,
at the James J. Rowley Training Center in Laurel, Maryland,
located about 20 miles north of Washington.
Fagan: Welcome to the James J. Rowley
United States Secret Service Training Center.
Narrator: On day one, a new class of recruits
arrives at the academy.
Fagan: Have a seat.
Every one of you sitting here right now,
there was about 100 other applicants that tried to get
the seat that you have earned.
How did you earn that seat?
You earned that seat
by getting through our very, very difficult
and in-depth vetting process.
And you should be congratulated.
And I hope you celebrated,
because the celebration time is over.
Now's the time for business.
Everybody clear on that?
On Saturday, you will depart...
Narrator: Before they begin their Secret Service-specific
training, these recruits will spend three months
at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
in Artesia, New Mexico.
Recruit: Get back in the building, now!
Narrator: Before returning to Maryland
for three more months of focused training...
that includes driving,
marksmanship,
hand-to-hand combat,
and realistic threat scenarios.
Fagan: You're gonna hear a phrase over and over
and over again throughout your training,
in particular this week.
The Secret Service has a zero-fail mission.
What that means in layman's terms,
ladies and gentlemen, is this:
You don't get a bad day in the Secret Service.
There's plenty of other pursuits out there, noble pursuits.
Lawyers, plumbers, firemen, doctors.
If one of those folks has a rough night the night before,
stays out late, they have to deal with their boss,
some kind of disciplinary action.
If you have a bad day
and you don't do your job,
you're going to change the world.
Is there anyone that doesn't want to proceed at this point?
All right.
Then let's get down to business.
Narrator: We spent three days at the training center,
where we observed recruits at various stages of training.
Fagan: It's going to be a long week.
Narrator: For the new class, their first week focuses
on a physical evaluation.
Recruit: Let's go! Let's go! Don't stop! Don't stop!
Narrator: And getting rid of any bad habits
they may have brought into the academy.
Fagan: We left yesterday without chairs being pushed in,
and now we can't pay attention to detail
one minute after the detail's given out.
And we're laughing and joking in here.
It is going to be an extremely long week.
Do not make plans for Friday getting out of here
on time, 'cause that ain't happening.
Narrator: Although we were allowed to film inside
the academy, our access was limited,
and we were only able to film certain aspects of training,
the rest of which remained secret.
Michael Buck: There's certain things that we will not
be able to show yourself
or any other members of the media here,
and that's really for the safety of our protectees.
We don't wanna advertise our playbook, so to speak.
Narrator: For example, we weren't able to film
any training that incorporated this partial replica
of Air Force One, used to create specific scenarios
where the president is threatened.
Buck: We don't want to give people specifics
into our protective methodologies that we have in place
for some of our protection.
Clearly, some of those things we cannot share.
And that's really to make sure that
we're not giving any sort of an advantage
to any of our adversaries out there.
Clip: The United States Secret Service,
America's first line of defense
against the counterfeiter and their crimes.
Narrator: The Secret Service was founded in 1865.
It's primary mission:
to combat the counterfeiting of US currency.
Clip: The famed Secret Service,
whose foremost duty is protecting the president of the
United States and his family.
Narrator: The Secret Service began its protective mission
after the 1901 assassination
of President William McKinley.
Gus Gennerich: I am the president's personal bodyguard.
I go where he goes.
I wanna say that anybody who has no business with him
better look out.
And believe me, I don't mean maybe.
Narrator: Since the Secret Service began
its protective mission,
the president has remained a target.
Since 1901, President Kennedy has been the sole president
to die at the hands of an assassin,
despite numerous attempts by others.
Like in 1994.
Woman: Oh, my God!
[gunshots]
Narrator: When a gunman opened fire on the White House
while President Clinton watched a football game inside.
Man: Put it down! Put it down!
Buck: Due to the weight of our protective mission,
we have to make sure that anyone in those positions
is truly worthy of trust and confidence,
which is our motto here.
We're getting ready to go into another campaign year,
so we have to build up our workforce
in order to help support that.
Narrator: The base salary for new agents and officers
starts as low as $47,000 a year.
Potential recruits apply on the Secret Service website,
but most applicants are eliminated
during an intense vetting process.
Fagan: Generally, it takes quite a long time
in order to get through our screening process.
The very in-depth background checks,
qualification to
obtain a top-secret clearance and maintain one,
to undergo a polygraph examination,
successfully pass that.
They have a lot to be proud of
just for the fact that they're sitting here.
Recruit: Stay right there.
Instructor: One thing to understand, guys:
This is not a video game.
Narrator: In this exercise, recruits interact
with a video screen that plays a scenario
involving a potential threat to a protectee.
Recruit: Sir, drop it! Stop moving! Stop moving!
Narrator: And are judged on how quickly they're
able to assess and respond to the threat.
Instructor: So, there's the gun I knew I was gonna find.
What can I do with this?
Narrator: Recruits also engage with role players,
who create realistic law-enforcement scenarios.
Man: All right, I'll just hang out over here, officer.
Recruit: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Narrator: Working in motor vehicles
plays a big part in training,
in what the academy calls "protective transportation."
Recruits train behind the wheel of high-speed
Dodge Challengers
and Chevy Suburbans.
Thomas Murach: The Secret Service's mission
is to get protectees safely from point A to point B.
The training that we provide enhances that mission,
that foundational driving that they are going to need
to be effective Secret Service agents.
Instructor: All right, is everybody ready? All right.
Narrator: Recruits also experience a rollover simulator
to prepare them for what it's like
inside a vehicle that's flipped over.
Instructor: Next four up.
Narrator: The instructor allowed us in the simulator.
Graham Flanagan: I'm upside down.
Narrator: To experience it from the inside.
Recruits spend hours on the firing range.
They cross paths with active agents
who've come back to the academy for in-service training.
Recruit: Drop the weapon!
Narrator: Recruits engage in water-based scenarios,
including being challenged to escape from this apparatus.
Which simulates being trapped in a helicopter
that's flipped upside down underwater.
Instructor: You guys good? You still wanna be here?
Recruits: Yes, ma'am!
Instructor: You guys ready to do some team tactics?
Recruits: Yes, ma'am!
Narrator: Recruits learn control tactics
used to detain and subdue an assailant.
Recruit: Drop the knife! Drop the knife! Drop the knife!
Narrator: Male and female recruits train together
throughout basic training.
Of the approximately 7,000 people in the Secret Service,
less than 25% are female.
Instructor: I'm gonna come around and check your seals
one more time.
Narrator: One of the most challenging parts of training
occurs when the recruits are exposed to tear gas.
Narrator: We couldn't bring our camera inside
the gas chamber, but we did convince an officer
to shoot inside with an iPhone,
showing us what it's like for recruits
when they're exposed to the gas.
We weren't allowed to interview recruits
during training or to film at graduation.
Once training is complete,
these future agents and officers
begin their zero-fail mission
against the backdrop of an intense election year
in a nation divided by politics.
Fagan: We protect the Office of the President.
We're not political appointees.
It doesn't matter to us who the people elect.
We're gonna protect those individuals
with the same zealousness that we would regardless.
Political opinions don't come into play at all.
What we're focused on is training, preparing them
to do the job that they're gonna need to do,
and that's all that counts for us.