Pride in the Ranks

The Secret Service is part of the Department of the Treasury. Forge some U.S. currency and sooner or later, you can expect a visit from these esteemed (? the subject of today’s blog ?) organization. But they are best known for their duties protecting the President of the United States. The plainclothes division of the Service protects the President and his family. They are the folks who place themselves in harm’s way, between a would-be assassin and the most powerful political leader in the world. Their vigilant eyes, their physical endurance and their willingness to die in the pursuit of their duties have inspired books, Hollywood films and have been replayed as attackers have, mostly, failed in their attempts.

But the reputation of these tough protectors has been sullied over the past few years. Two years ago, it was a blackmail attempt that revealed a little side action between a Secret Service agent and a hooker in Cartagena… an event that was covered up by his fellow agents. Resignations are reassignments followed. In April of this year, drinking incidents tarnished the Service’s reputation of five more agents (including one agent found passed out in Amsterdam). More resignations and reassignments.

For those assigned to protect the White House itself, mostly from the Uniformed Division of the Secret Service, two recent incidents – where intruders jumped the White House fence and ran across the lawn to the building itself (one beyond front door and allegedly up the staircase, heading towards the First Family’s living quarters) – added more tarnish to their badges. There are five concentric rings of uniformed Secret Service protection around the White House (between the sidewalk outside the White House and the structure itself), but somehow these intruders (one with 800 rounds of ammunition stashed in his nearby car) managed to breach these protective layers. Okay, we got it. Not all is well in the performance standards with this specialized body of federal agents. But there is a bigger problem afoot within the agency.

With so much sensitive work in their hands, with so much at stake in a world filled with murderous terrorists and criminal cartels, you’d want such agents to have fierce pride, solid dedication and spirits soaring at their consummate professionalism under such solemn responsibility. Well, given the recent rust and tarnish, that is hardly the case. The telltale signs of a dispirited corps are everywhere, and it’s going to take some powerful new and inspirational leadership to reverse this upsetting trend.

“The latest Best Places to Work in the Federal Government report by the Partnership for Public Service, depicts an agency that seems to have lost its way. The agency’s index score dropped 13 points over three years, from 65.8 in 2011 to 52.8 last year. The score is a measure of employee satisfaction and commitment.

“‘These numbers are a blinking warning sign that something has gone off track here,’ said John Palguta, a Partnership vice president… The report indicates the employee attitudes at the agency are ‘worse than most, going in the wrong direction,’ he added… Out of 300 agencies, the Secret Service ranked 226.” Washington Post, September 26^th. Serious problems have thus impacted both the uniformed and plainclothes operations.

To some agents, the failures simply represent a “never again” challenge. They are dedicated civil servants committed to their responsibilities. But for others, bad morale takes a bit of the edge off, a sharpness that makes them a cut above anyone who might cross their path or thwart their mission. And for a few, sustaining the myth of Secret Service invulnerability, never challenging the defects, and standing with the team no matter what is a stressful and dispiriting practice that has led to the debacles discussed above. While a top-down change appears necessary, there are a lot of exceptional men and women in the service who are ready to lay down their lives to protect our leaders. We need to cherish as truly the best and the brightest.

Nevertheless, this is a morale problem we cannot ignore. As Congressional hearings ask the tough questions, their quest for answers need to be tempered with a realization that Congress itself could drop Service morale one giant notch farther down the scale.  We need to fix the problem, not grandstand to make it worse. Leadership failures should not be charged to the Service’s rank and file; they are special, and we need to make sure they know that we know that.

 I’m Peter Dekom, and there is a fine line between solving problems and simply making them worse.