Secret Service Changes

From USA Today:
"Secret Service tightens its conduct policy"

In the aftermath of a prostitute scandal that has tarnished the elite agency's reputation, the Secret Service announced on Friday that it has issued a new conduct policy for its agents travelling abroad. Agents are now prohibited from drinking once the president or government protectee arrives in country or bringing foreigners to their hotel rooms, according to a summary of the rules provided by Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary. The announcement of the new policy comes as the agency attempts to improve a badly damaged reputation after agents—members of an advance team scouting out Cartagena, Colombia ahead of President Obama's visit earlier this month-- were found to have brought prostitutes back to their hotel rooms. Nine Secret Service officials were ousted from their jobs after the Colombia incident, and the agency is now also reviewing similar allegations against agents in San Salvador prior to a visit by Obama in 2011. The Defense Department is also investigating a dozen military service members on the advance team that face similar allegations.

The new rules also stipulate:

• The State Department's Regional Security Officer will work with advance teams to provide intensified country-specific briefings upon arrival in a foreign country. The ambassador of the country will establish areas and establishments that agents are prohibited from frequenting.
• Before the president or protectee arrives, alcohol may only be consumed in moderate amounts and drinking is prohibited within 10 hours of reporting for duty.
• Patronization of non-reputable establishments is prohibited.

^ This is just plain sad that these common sense rules would need to be made official. The Secret Service Agents and the Military that were involved in this should get "the book thrown at them." They were in the country on official business - whether Obama was there or not - and didn't act as good representatives of the US Government. I remember living in Germany and watching stupid "commercials" on AFN - the only English channel we had  - saying that we were ambassadors of the US and needed to act to a higher standing every minute (and I was only a teenager.) The Secret Service deserves the ridicule and disgust that this case (and others that are currently surfacing from other places - like El Salvador.) Even though not all agents acted inappropriately it still shows the whole organization in a bad light. You would think that with the public outcry over this scandal and the new rules that things like this would not happen again, but I'm sure they will. ^

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/04/secret-service-tightens-its-conduct-policy/1