Here's what it's really like to be in the Secret Service

Here's what it's really like to be in the Secret Service
(Image credit: iStock)

Dan Emmett, a former Secret Service agent in the Presidential Protection Division who protected George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, has an illuminating essay published in the Wall Street Journal, which details the excitements and frustrations that come with protecting the president:

In terms of the actual physical experience, imagine something like this: Forgo sleep for 24 hours, skip lunch and dinner, stand outside of a house in the rain at 3 a.m. for several hours, take a cab to the airport and finally board a plane to a large city for a four-hour flight. Repeat this regimen for several days in a row. To make the simulation complete, you also need to fail to attend a child's birthday or graduation and miss the holidays or your wedding anniversary. [...]

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Samantha Rollins

Samantha Rollins is TheWeek.com's news editor. She has previously worked for The New York Times and TIME and is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.