- [Narrator] The clue is in the name. The Secret Service. This squad of elite agents, assigned with the task of protecting the President of the United States, doesn't give much away. Luckily, we've put our
best people on the case, and we've found out
what's really going on. Let's dig deep into a
world of dark glasses, inscrutable expressions and tech that would make James Bond salivate. Here are our top 10 secrets the Secret Service
doesn't want you to know. - [Man] Amazing! - [Narrator] Number 10, secret offices. On H Street in Washington DC, there's a dull-looking, nine story, tan-bricked, unnamed building. It's so indistinctive, you
could walk right past it and not even know it's there. What is this anonymous building? It's the headquarters
of the Secret Service. No one knows much about what's inside, but it's thought there are many armories and a joint operations center. However, most of the Secret
Service's work is done at the White House, probably the most protected
building on earth. For example, there are anti
aircraft missiles under the front lawn, biometric
recognition software controlling access to doors, and a
fully-equipped doomsday bunker for the president to hide in when really bad stuff goes down. The White House is designed like an onion, with layers of defense. Its outer perimeter is
guarded by special agents and highly-trained canine squads. Within that, there's the middle ring, patrolled by the Emergency Response Team. Finally, the inner ring,
guarded by agents whose sole job is to protect the President. It's thought there are 100
agents working at the White House at any one time, although the
official number is classified. Number nine, secret arsenal. As you'd expect, the Secret
Service has the latest in cutting-edge weaponry at their disposal. When you're dealing with
people who want to harm the President, you have to
get the job done first time. A priority for the Secret
Service is limiting collateral damage during a shoot out. The current sub-machine
gun of choice is the P90. It's compact, well-designed, and can easily be hidden inside a suit. It uses custom ammunition, designed to stay in the target's body, rather than exit it, which would potentially injure bystanders. The traditional uniform
of the Secret Service is the dark suit, reflective
sunglasses and an earpiece. But why? A suit gives the agent a
serious, business like look, but still more accessible
and public friendly than combat gear. You can conceal weapons in a suit easily, and the sunglasses protect
them against liquid being thrown at them and also
mean they won't be dazzled by the sun when scanning
the area for threats. The most important part of the uniform, however, is the earpiece. Agents are being directed
by a supervisor in a control center at all times, making sure they're
always in the right place at the right time. Number eight, not just the President. While protecting the President is the Secret Service's priority, they don't just protect him. The First Lady, the Vice President, the rest of the First Family, and all former Presidents all
receive official protection. Presidential candidates get
their own Secret Service squad while they're running for office. This became policy after
Robert Kennedy was assassinated while on the campaign trail in 1968. When the President appears anywhere, you can guarantee there
will be a large crowd, and the Secret Service have
a duty to protect them too. They neutralize all threats
so anyone travelling to see the President can feel safe. That's why they use the custom ammunition we talked about earlier. Finally, the Secret Service
protects Designated Survivors. At big political events
like the State of the Union, if say a bomb went off and everyone died, you still need someone to
carry on running the country. One member of the cabinet is picked, and they don't attend the event. Instead, they're taken
to a secure location by the Secret Service, such
as Mount Weather in Virginia, and protected until
the event has finished. Number seven, they're
stuck to the President. When you're guarding the President, you have to go wherever they go. Literally. Even when the president
goes to the bathroom, there's an armed agent in there with him. Ronald Reagan's agents even sat in on his prostate examinations. The Secret Service monitor
everything the President eats. They watch his food being prepared, making sure he never eats
anything he shouldn't. Even if he's pictured
ordering food in a takeaway, to show that he's down with normal people, it's likely he won't be
able to eat what he ordered. When the President
appears at public events, plain clothed Secret Service
agents will be in the crowd, ready to spring into
action at a second's notice if anything strange happens. There will also be agents at the front and back of the President at all times. Agents call this part of
the job working the rope. It's the most unpredictable
part of the job, as you never know exactly
who is in the crowd, and what might be on their mind. Agents say it's the most
stressful part of their job, where they really earn their money. Number six, brains over brawn. They don't call these guys
Special Agents for nothing. Secret Service agents used
to be primarily recruited from the military, but nowadays they go
for brains over brawn. To become a Special Agent
is a massively competitive process, and you must fulfill
strict selection criteria. You need amazing school grades, a clean criminal record
and near-perfect vision. You'll go through rigorous
psychological assessments, including a lie detector test. If you used illegal drugs
after the age of 23, you're automatically
disqualified from the process. During training, you'll learn
how to neutralize attackers. You'll learn the right
pressure points to hit if you want to take someone down. You'll learn the right
wrist joints to attack, with your special martial arts training. You'll even learn the special move to employ in a crowd situation. Hand on the President's belt, ready to pull him out of harm's way. Even when you've landed the
job, you never stop training, plus, you're not allowed to
drink alcohol within 10 hours prior to your shift. You can't protect the
president with a hangover. Number five, no sworn oath. Contrary to what they tell
you in Hollywood movies, Secret Service agents do not swear an oath to lay down their life for the President. However, they're trained
to protect the president at all times, and if that
involves taking a bullet, so be it. During their training, agents
have fake bullets fired at them, so they know what
it feels like to be hit, and overcome the natural
instinct to flinch. In 1981, President Ronald
Reagan was the victim of an assassination attempt in Washington. While the shots were still being fired, Special Agent Jerry Parr
reacted quickly enough to cover the President, then push
him into his waiting car. Agent Timothy McCarthy also acted quickly to become a human shield,
taking a bullet to the stomach to protect the president. Reagan was also hit by a
bullet, but not fatally. If Parr and McCarthy had
reacted a split second later, or if they had flinched from the gunfire, it could have been a different story. Number four, advanced recon. As we heard earlier, the hardest part of the Secret Service's job
is protecting the President when they're at events with large crowds. As a result, all events are
planned to the smallest detail, and everything they can do
to minimize the possibility of an attack is done. For example, before the
President's inauguration ceremony, every inch that the President will travel is meticulously scoured. Mailboxes are taken away and
manhole covers are welded shut so no one can place a bomb underground. They even remove the doorknobs
from rooms overlooking the route, so no one can
set up a sniper's position. The Secret Service will position
their own snipers on roofs around the route. It's even harder when the
President has to make an unscheduled visit to a
natural disaster site, such as after a hurricane or flood. In this case, they try to
get the President in and out as quickly as possible, usually using the Presidential helicopter, Marine One. More about that later. Number three, transport secrets. We've all seen the Presidential motorcade, the seemingly endless parade
of black stretch limos. But, there's only one President. What is going on there? A motorcade consists of up to 30 vehicles. There's the lead car, travelling 5 minutes
ahead to clear the way. There are several Secret Service cars, armed to the teeth with agents. There's a communications car at the back, also containing a military
aide and a doctor. In the middle, there is Stagecoach, containing the president. However, there are also
identical decoy cars, so no one can know for
sure which one he is in. Since 9/11, there's also a
car called the barrage jammer. It jams cellphone reception in the area, so would be terrorists can't communicate. It also makes detonating
remote bombs a lot harder. For air travel, nothing's
more secure than Marine One, the Presidential helicopter. It has a range of 580 miles
and a top speed of 183 mph. To help it fly through storms
and into disaster zones with zero visibility,
it's said the Marine One has added secretive tech called LADAR. LADAR consists of laser
beams that create a 3D map of the area around the helicopter. LADAR can also detect chemical
and biological poisons in the air, keeping the
president safe at all times. Number two, they know where you are. If you're interested in the President, it's safe to say the Secret
Service is interested in you. For example, agents
maintain a database of inks, working with ink manufacturers
to keep it up to date. If the president receives
a threatening letter, agents can identify the ink, deducing which country or
state the letter was sent from. When the President is
travelling in the motorcade, there's a car filming the crowd. If someone does anything they shouldn't, like throw something at the motorcade, they will easily be identified on video. The Secret Service uses
numerous code names for the people they protect,
making it harder for outsiders to track who they're talking about. President Trump's codename
is Mogul, Melania's is Muse. Barack Obama's is Renegade. Richard Nixon's codename was Searchlight, which is pretty ironic
seeing as he's famous for orchestrating a cover-up. Number one, they're able wing men. It seems when you're the
leader of the free world, you automatically become
extremely attractive to the opposite sex. Helpfully, the Secret
Service often act as wing men for their charges, protecting
them from their wives as well as bullets. After President Lyndon
Johnson was caught by his wife entertaining a young
lady in the Oval Office, the Secret Service installed
an emergency buzzer system. If Mrs. Johnson was nearby, an
agent would press the buzzer and LBJ could quickly
get rid of his guest. Bill Clinton was another
famously extra-marital President. To make sure his wife,
Hillary, never walked in on him while he was up to no good,
his Secret Service team would coordinate with Hillary's agents. Even today, one of Bill's
lady friends has her own Secret Service codename.
She's known as Energizer, presumably because she
keeps Bill full of life, plus she keeps on going,
and going, and going. What secret did you find
the most enlightening? What do you know about the Secret Service that we didn't mention? Let me know in the comments
section down below. Thanks for watching.
