Saluting the Secret Service

Posted by Mark

Book Review: In the President’s Secret Service by Ronald Kessler

I just finished reading the book listed above and thought I would give you some insight into the Secret Service as well as honor them for the job they do.

In the past you may have heard some curious discussion regarding the Secret Service as a branch of the Department of the Treasury. Why would the Department of the Treasury contain a unit that protects the President? It harkens from their beginnings, in 1865, as an agency that was tasked with tracking down and arresting counterfeiters. In the late 1800’s Congress authorized the Secret Service to investigate other crimes. In 1894 upon investigation into a plot to assassinate President Grover Cleveland, the Secret Service detailed two men to protect the President from the suspects. Also in 1894 the Secret Service began to supplement the police that were protecting the White House. In 1902 the Secret Service began the official duty of protecting the President. However, it was not until 1913 that Congress authorized permanent protection of the President. Over the past 100 years, members of the Secret Service have taken on many additional responsibilities as the threats that they are to protect against have evolved. In 2003 the Secret Service was transferred from the Department of the Treasury to the Department of Homeland Security.

One of the responsibilities of the Secret Service is to protect major Presidential candidates. On May 3, 2007 protection was initiated for Barack Obama. This was the earliest start of protection for any candidate in history. As you may imagine, protection for his inauguration was a massive undertaking for the Secret Service. They coordinated 40,000+ law enforcement officers for the event. The long list of other precautions that were taken to secure the inaugural festivities is detailed quite thoroughly in one chapter of the book.

I quite enjoyed the various stories that Mr. Kessler related concerning most of the Presidents over the past 50 years. I think it was most intriguing to read how various Presidents treated the Secret Service agents charged with protecting them. Mr. Kessler includes stories about the following Presidents: Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush 41, Clinton, Bush 43, and Obama. Given that these agents are with them 24/7/365, I think that stories about who the Presidents really are when not in front of the cameras is somewhat revealing.

Mr. Kessler attempts to shed light on what he believes is mismanagement of the Secret Service. He gives numerous examples of the agents not receiving continuing training, working too much overtime, and not being properly armed. His hopes for the agency are revealed in the last statement in the book - “My hope is that the problems revealed in the book will lead to reforms that could avert a calamity.” The book was compiled with the cooperation of the Secret Service, and more than one hundred agents were interviewed. Assuming the book is accurate in its representation of the management issues prevalent in the Secret Service, it would not be surprising if a calamity does occur at some point in the future.

Overall, I would recommend this book if you are interested in learning more about the Secret Service. It was an entertaining, yet sobering, look at the agency that is tasked with one of the most important jobs in our government. The ultimate responsibility of the Secret Service is to maintain the safety of all its protectees. This is quite a job given that every day the Secret Service receives, on average, about 10 threats against any of the people under its guard. To keep our leaders safe, is a daunting task that takes untold man hours and excruciating attention to the smallest of details. I salute the sacrifice that members of the Secret Service make giving of their lives to serve the American people.