Service under the heading "Secret"

April 13 2011 1

In the 20th century, the staff of the United States Secret Service grew a hundred times: a very characteristic indicator in a society where every cent passes Congress approval with great difficulties. This is understandable: security does not happen much.

Today, judging by the available data, the size of this structure is close to 5000 special agents, security guards and support staff. Compare: the number of their Russian colleagues engaged in similar work is less in 5 – 10 (depending on their professional background)!

The Secret Service's budget now stands at about a billion dollars, which allows you to maintain more than 120 offices in the United States and around 15 abroad - in Paris, Lyon, London, Moscow, Bonn, Rome, Milan, Montreal, Hong Kong and other major cities. During the most important events, such as a world tour or a visit to the countries that are problematic from the point of view of security, the Secret Service is obviously not experiencing constraints in financing. For example, during a visit by the US president to Russia, he was accompanied by more than 800 people on a good ten aircraft. Including only about 50 businessmen and about 20 politicians and officials who were supposed to take part directly in the negotiation process. The rest of the escort - security, although in the mode of a standard business trip, their number does not exceed 250 agents. By the way, the leaders of the USA and Russia are one of the few who allow themselves to transport their armored and specially equipped presidential vehicles with regular and air-conditioned personnel and a maintenance team by air.

Strange, but it was worth reinventing the car in order to learn how to work, to put it mildly, on foot ?! This, of course, about security activities. Only at the end of the last century, 40, when the world healed wounds after the Second World War - in many respects, not only wars of the spirit, but also technical capabilities, did the Secret Service begin to practice and effectively use various methods of hiking escorts and related protocol duties. Somewhat paradoxical, but true! Moreover, some experts believe that they were based on sports and tactical techniques used by players in American football. Yes, yes, there are confessions worthy of faith that many agents of the time were members of the football league and played regularly. Their rich sporting experience came in handy when creating escort forms. The same technique. In American football, the player who has the ball, tries to break through to the goal line, and it is guarded by other field players, preventing opponents. Familiar security scheme in "lichke"? So at that time the concept of concentric security circles was worked out - one to one, only instead of a ball there was a guarded VIP-object, instead of a ball player - a personal security officer, or a personal bodyguard or senior agent, and instead of field players - escort bodyguards. And the same goal as in football: full control of the ball and bringing it to the gate, while the external defense phalanx restrains the attackers.

The pioneer of this method was the Secret Service, and over time it has been adopted by most of the UK government security services. However, even the best tactic is not universal. It is not surprising that vulnerabilities were discovered in it, which was confirmed by a series of high-profile murders that followed soon. Nevertheless, this method of teaching is still cultivated in some schools by bodyguards.

It was not necessary to reinvent the bicycle, since the volume and nature of the activities carried out on objects in principle are textbook. Persons who are assigned permanent security, for example, to the president and his spouse, are attached around the clock by one permanent group of special security agents (at least 3 – 5 people). And then a standard, though not excluding some innovations, complex of measures is carried out, depending on the conditions of the situation and routes of movement of the protected person. And each of these routes, be it movement from room to room in the White House or a walk through Broadway, has been previously studied to the smallest nuances. Any unforeseen changes in the situation are played by multivariate. The main thing is a skillful combination of a loud announcement with a surprise appearance of the president. Only an extremely limited circle of people truly knows where and when he will actually appear in public. This unpredictability is half the battle.

Invisible control

What is the approximate algorithm for ensuring the security of the president? On the eve of his next trip, regardless of whether she is personal or professional, the head of the field service team draws up a plan aimed at working closely with the escort unit and the security officer of the local Secret Service office. Avant-garde - the forward detachment from Washington - carefully and imperceptibly, without attracting attention to itself, inspects each place of the next stay, without losing sight of the features of building development and terrain. He also determines the alternate routes of movement, the nearest qualified medical institutions and evacuation routes in case of unforeseen situations - no one ever writes them off. All fire brigades, emergency rooms and rescue services are on constant alert.

In the interests of the general management of all activities, a situation monitoring center is created, equipped with special means of communication, based on all the capabilities of the territorial police forces and military units, federal, district and local executive authorities. And, of course, communication options and radio frequencies are distributed in advance, an order of actions in an extreme situation is outlined. On the eve of the passage of the protected person, checkpoints are set up on the route, restrictions on free movement are imposed. It is not difficult to understand that the police play a major role in these activities.

If a visit is planned to “problem” countries (and Russia is confidently included in their number), then the stay of the front guard group varies from two weeks to two months. In such cases, a full-time counter-sniper unit and a special counter-terrorism group are used without fail, using their power to neutralize any threat and to ensure the evacuation of the president from the shelling and attack zone before reinforcements arrive.

The most effective, well-proven "order of battle" agents in carrying out the mission is a rhombus (or octahedron), inside which the president constantly holds the position of senior manager, ready to push him out of the shelling zone at any second, to bring him down on the floor and cover him with his body . When the presidential limousine moves in the escort convoy, the agents in the head and tail machines, as well as their colleagues at the posts along the route, as well as the counter-sniper groups, conduct continuous monitoring along the entire perimeter. In front of a tunnel or other part of the road, convenient for an ambush, agents in an empty limousine-duplicate, as a rule, rush forward, taking a possible blow to themselves. Quite often practiced and castling machines in a tuple in the direction of travel.

During public events, an impression is sometimes created of some detachment of agents from what is happening, their deliberate indifference. This is just a mask that can be misleading only by a non-professional: in fact, they resemble compressed springs and immediately, with the attack of the attacking snake, stop any attempts by onlookers or journalists to reach for the VIP-person. The armament of the employees is fully consistent with their specialization and role in security: for someone it is better to have on hand a 9-mm Zig Sauers pistol, someone with an MP-5 Heckler Koch machine gun, and someone with a machine gun ...

More than once they had to prove their indispensability to the division of four-legged agents, which is staffed with dogs of Belgian and other breeds. Well-trained dogs, trained on the smell of explosives, sniff at all things the visitors to the White House, as well as the presidential limousine and helicopter before each trip or flight. Already after them, the agents conduct another one - a control check.

In addition, the Secret Service also has a special analytical unit that examines correspondence addressed to the president if it contains threats or important information, with a mandatory subsequent analysis of the information received and the adoption of appropriate preventive measures.
When selecting guards and its leaders, the personal characteristics of the VIP are also taken into account: character, age, health, habits ... Senator and presidential candidate Bob Dole, for example, after being injured during World War II, his right hand was paralyzed, Of course, it made its own adjustments to its security system. And the characteristic features of President Bill Clinton were his restlessness, constant populist readiness to communicate with people, including passers-by on the streets, which was largely explained by the relatively young age of the leader, 42. All this, of course, created additional problems for the guard. It is not surprising that at that time the White House decided: the young and energetic president should have an appropriate Director of the Secret Service. As a result, the choice fell on Eldzhey Bauron, quite experienced, with a rich and flawless police officer past the assistant director of the service, responsible for the current "protective operations" to protect the president and vice-president.

By the way, Bauron at this high post was lucky much less than many of his predecessors, since Clinton's ill-wishers were more than enough due to the aggressive and often contradictory policies that he pursued. Suffice it to recall the bombing of Yugoslavia, the hostilities in Iraq, or the 1993 decision on the FBI assault of a religious community in the United States — using gas, armored vehicles and automatic weapons. As a result of this outright slaughter, more than 80 (!) Civilians, both adults and children, died.

A spoon of tar…

They say that only he who does nothing is not mistaken. And the Secret Service has enough worries; therefore, it sometimes does not do without overlays and flaws. So, in October, 1996, when Bob Dole, accompanied by security, had to walk only a couple of blocks around New York, he was suddenly surrounded by passers-by who knew where from nowhere. It turned out that the agents had missed one lane on the route and had not blocked it. Excesses were avoided, but a notch for memory was made.

A lot of unpleasant moments had to be experienced by the Secret Service, when during the days of President Clinton a light plane unexpectedly landed on the territory of the White House. And this is despite the fact that the airspace above the residence is not only controlled, but also protected by ground-to-air missile launchers. Such countermeasures had to be foreseen after the 1974 incident of the year, when a bankrupt and mentally inadequate businessman tried to hijack an airliner at the Washington airport to ram the White House on it. He shot an airport security officer and two pilots, but, making sure that he could not lift the plane into the air, he committed suicide. In the same year, a US Army soldier hijacked a military helicopter and flew freely over the White House.

In this regard, it is appropriate to recall the series of September 11 terrorist attacks on September 2001. It is believed that one of the fallen liners could be aimed at the White House. After the incident, it took only two minutes to completely evacuate people from the residence.

Many still remember another "incident." In 1997, negotiations were held in Finland between the leaders of the United States and Russia in Finland. Clinton, who had broken his leg shortly before, moved exclusively in a wheelchair. And it had to happen that in the hotel “Kalastaya path”, where the meeting was held, the path led down a slope to one of the halls. It was on this hill that the agent managed to miss his president ... Thanks to the head of the Russian delegation, Anatoly Kuznetsov: he reacted instantly. And not only he stopped the president’s stroller and prevented his inevitable fall, but also, literally taking the situation into his own hands, he himself naturally drove Clinton to his destination.

And relatively recently, the “yellow” press relished the funny episode with pleasure, when in a cafe during a visit to a carnival in Brazil, the daughter and the wife of the US President stole a handbag with money and personal belongings under the nose of the guards. Well, as they say in the “problem”, in the opinion of the Secret Service, the country of Russia: there is also an impression on the old woman ...

Men in Black

Today, the vast majority of US Secret Service personnel are men, whose average age is 35 – 36 years. Behind almost every one of them is service in the federal law-enforcement agencies or the Ministry of Defense, and in personal files there are brilliant recommendations characterizing them as qualified specialists in the fields of security, electronics, communications, weapons and explosives, printing, chemistry, intelligence, psychology, law, computer technology and many others. According to the established practice, they alternately work in various divisions of their organization, thus achieving the universality of their special training. In addition, the obtained diverse experience gives them the opportunity in some capacity to pursue a career as an agent with a change in age limit. And each of them has the right to early retirement - this is a bonus for a dangerous and extremely nervous service.

Although outwardly, Secret Service employees at outreach events usually look like a model of good looks and exceptional pep: sporty, fit appearance, correct manners, complete self-control - and you cannot say that their work requires complete dedication, bringing some to nervous exhaustion. They look the way their audience would like to see: a hidden communication headset, perfectly fitted business suits with icons indicating that they belong to the security service, while at the same time simplifying identification and facilitating contacts with agents from other departments. And, of course, dark glasses, which not only save the sun from glares, but also allow covert counter surveillance without illumination.

Despite all the risks to life and health, becoming a member of the Secret Service is very difficult. Even with the forced losses that the organization bears. For example, in 1999, thirty-one agents died in the line of duty. Nevertheless, there are few vacancies, and admission is carried out exclusively on a competitive basis. Passing starting minimum - age up to 35 years, excellent health, a bachelor's degree in higher education, if the candidate claims to be a special agent, three years of work experience, including two years of service in the criminal police, and impeccable characteristics.

Only such applicants are allowed to take exams and tests. Those who are lucky enough to score the necessary number of points, waiting for a personal interview and a lie detector test. Only after this, the subjects ... no, they are not enrolled in the Secret Service, but are entered into the so-called waiting lists of candidates and patiently wait for a vacancy. By the way, people without higher education can also join the ranks of the Secret Service, but only as guards without the right to investigate themselves - the lowest caste.

And then begins ... learning. Yes, this is not the case when scientists are taught - only to spoil: here all subjects have an applied character. Special agents were trained first at the training center in Glencoe (Georgia), and now at the Secret Service Academy in Beltsville (Maryland) and at a special training center in Washington. The main disciplines are fire and operational training, criminal law, legislation on the police, self-defense (martial arts), emergency medical care, psychology, public relations. Any theoretical knowledge is supported by compulsory practice in various police units. The final assessment largely determines the future career of the employee.

It is not surprising that the experience of the Secret Service readily takes on the basis of training agents in similar structures of countries loyal to the United States. For example, in the Japanese Division of Particular Security at the Police Headquarters of Japan, the first lessons of the modern organization of the VIP security system were taught by the US Secret Service. And the beginning of this cooperation was the visit to Tokyo by US President Gerald Ford in 1974. At that time, the incident involving the stab wound by United States Ambassador Edwin Reischauer in 1964, had not yet been erased from memory. And in the very Country of the Rising Sun, terrorist attacks aimed at their prominent political figures, including those with fatal outcome, were enough.

An example of further successful interaction with the Japanese intelligence service was the visit to Tokyo by Ronald Reagan in November 1983, when, according to George Simpson, the chief of security of the American president, "everything was done, and even a little more." And over time, these contacts only get stronger ...

The Secret Service biography is the 145 year-old road of victories and albeit rare, but, alas, defeats ... However, all over the world security professionals, regardless of their likes or dislikes towards the USA, treat it with respect, recognizing its undoubted merits and achievements in the theory and practice of ensuring the personal safety of the powerful.