Chapter 112

The trouble started right away, the Secret Service decided they were in control of my security. They went through a whole list of demands and orders like I was a child. They even wanted an agent to accompany me in the bathroom.

When they finished, I started speaking.

‘‘First, this is how it’s going to be. My personal security is going to be my JBG security. We train together and know what to expect from each other and what our limitations are.”

‘‘They trust me and I trust them - they have taken bullets to protect me when I have been attacked and I have protected them. A few have even died doing their job.”

‘‘Anyone that you plan to assign to my security detail will be sent to the JBG advanced personnel protection training program and pass. They will also have to pass the firearms training.”

‘‘I learned one thing about your Secret Service field agents while in Pakistan. Your agents are not leaders, they are followers. They follow the instructions from the earpiece and policy manual very well. But when the earpiece fails in the field, they are lost.”

‘‘They would have waited in the SUV until the terrorists were standing beside the door. Once given orders, they performed exceptionally. They should not have to depend on orders. Instinct has to take over - if nothing else, for self-preservation. Someone has to immediately step up and assume command.”

‘‘They have no concept of instantaneous offensive or defensive planning and applying it to field operations. My teams have that and more. It is part of the training we do,’’ I said.

‘‘How can you train for that? It can’t be done,” the senior agent said.

‘‘Pick a spot in the training roster and see for yourself. The few that cannot grasp the details aren’t assigned as bodyguards for me or anyone else,’’ I said.

‘‘I am not a socialite; there will be few elegant Washington parties I will be attending. I do have hunting and fishing trips planned and I have weeks set aside for rest and relaxation at Deep Water Cay - our resort island. You need to assign people that are the outdoors type to me, male and female.”

‘‘That said, there are to be no photographs of me or my family without prior permission. My meetings and phone calls are not to be recorded nor are they to be documented or transcribed. There will be no media assigned to me except for special events or occasions,’’ I said.

‘‘The laws require some things to be recorded and documented. You have meetings scheduled - starting tomorrow - to explain all that to you. You will also have to pick a staff of about one hundred,’’ he said.

‘‘I’m going to be staying at home on the shore for an indefinite period of time and traveling back and forth to Washington. I will split up the travel in our helicopters, G5 jet or convoy.”

‘‘The government can furnish all official transportation as you have been doing,’’ I said.

‘‘I will have accommodations prepared for the few agents you want to stay with me at home. You can send some of them tonight if you like. Get me a list of the agents on my security detail and I will have them scheduled for the training,’’ I said.

They sent four agents with us to Andrews; the G5 was full with agents and family. More agents were coming by SUV while also bringing equipment.

We had supper at the Morton Field restaurant just to make the agents nervous.

My day shift JBG security went home and the next group started their shift. It was one more thing Andy’s command group had started yesterday. They wanted me to have twenty four by seven JBG security after Pakistan and since Iran decided not to negotiate.

Andy felt for sure more attacks were coming and I felt the same way. VP or not, they would only try harder now. The Secret Service now meant that the JBG numbers could be a lot smaller once Secret Service went through the training and satisfied Andy and Ziva of their abilities.

When all the agents finally arrived, they were given the grand tour including the tunnel to the command center. The command center because that was where the security cameras, sensors and the guard post on the driveway around the house were monitored.

We girls spent the early part of the night shifting more responsibility for the things I did to the girls and assigning the real work to vice presidents. Cindy and her group would have some more people. Jenny and Vicky were interviewing and making job offers tomorrow.

Then it was the hot tub with embarrassed Secret Service agents. We had decided that the changes in what I was doing were not going to change our private life style. Wine coolers and a couple of beers set the mood for the evening. Other than extra eyes, everything was normal.

Tuesday morning I spent a couple hours in my Morton office. It seemed everything needed some kind of guidance to get it in the direction I thought it needed.