Embedded Files
Bryce Lindevig, a graduate from RFHS gives us a deeper look inside the job of a special agent with US secret service.
Article: Bryce Lindevig Interview
Writer: Alexandra Jencova
We all watch movies about special agents. But did you know what it actually looks like to be a real life special agent? Bryce Lindevig, a graduate from RFHS gives us a deeper look inside the job of a special agent with US secret service.
When asked what is the difference between movies and reality, Bryce said that the job is less cool than it’s portrayed in the movies. The job can sometimes get boring. He thinks that his outfit is a little bit cooler than James Bond’s because he wears an “Aloha crisp” uniform which is khakis and a button down shirt which gives a simple more dressed down look. The job itself is a lot of standing around, looking professional like you know what you are doing. James Bond finds himself in dangerous active situations all the time, Bryce on the other hand isn’t exposed to extreme dangers like that. That doesn’t mean that his job isn’t dangerous. When he was part of a swat team they had to deal with a couple of active shooters. Bryce's most dangerous experience was the riot in 2020 when The White House was surrounded with protesters, making it dangerous for Bryce to get in.
In the secret service Bryce is responsible for protecting the president, vice president and foreign dignitaries that come to the US and any cabinet level positions. Sometimes he is in the field office doing some investigations of crimes, but protection of people takes up most of Bryce’s time.
In the job of a secret service agent there is no such a thing as a typical day. If Bryce is in the field office, he starts his day with a workout, then he goes to the office to do some administrative work and maybe work on some investigation cases. But he gets notifications which require him to travel. For example, his last visit was with a secretary from the US to go to China. He got the notifications three weeks before she was going to China and he became a part of an advanced team. Bryce spent about two weeks just prepping for her arrival in China, working with a local government and the Chinese government to make sure that everything was secure and her logistics would go smoothly. After her visit was over, he went directly to Guam to walk through the airport with the former President and brought him to a hotel.
To be an agent was Bryce’s childhood dream. He never really thought about it until he got into college. In his senior year he visited a job fair and since majoring in biology he was searching for something in this field. But he found a secret service and got talking with them and this was the start of fulfilling his childhood dream. To become a secret service agent is a journey itself. Bryce has been to three academies so far. The first academy Bryce went to was Federal Law Enforcement Training Academy in Georgia. This was a very basic school of learning how to be a uniformed police officer, learning laws, how to act, how to shoot, and how to handcuff people. This program lasted about three and a half months. From there he went to the Secret Service Academy, where he learned in depth about what his job would be at The White House. This training lasted for about four months. The hardest one was Emergency Response Team School that was eight weeks long. According to Bryce it was the hardest thing he has ever done. Even though he wanted to give up, in the end it was super rewarding and very much worth it. These hardships made Bryce feel like he earned his way.
The hiring process into the uniform division took Bryce about a year and a half and another year of training just to get to The White House. In 2021 he applied for a job as a special agent and he was put into a special agent training class just in 2023. While being on a list of uniform divisions that wanted to transfer, Bryce was on a SWAT team. The reason behind waiting so long is that they take only about 50 people per year.
Trying to balance family life and a job in the secret service isn’t the easiest. There are times when Bryce isn’t able to talk about what's going on with his job and has to keep it for himself but for the most part there aren't many things he can’t talk about with his loved ones. The time he spent being away from his family belongs to Bryce's least favorite part of his job. He leaves whenever he gets called and potentially he can be away even for an entire month. While being on a SWAT team in DC, Bryce was constantly working seven days a week for 12 hours a day, which made it impossible to catch up with friends.
Bryce's favorite thing about being in the Secret Service is that he gets to do many impressive things, see all the significant places and that he gets to be there for historic moments. He is able to look at a textbook and say “I was there.” Another exceptional part of being in the Secret Service is that Bryce gets to hang out with influential people we all know from the media. He has already met two presidents! Bryce’s favorite joke is that he was at Naiomi Biden’s wedding, but literally he was just off to the side with his SWAT team.
In the movies we see a lot of innovative technology. Bryce got to work with some impressive gadgets. The coolest thing Bryce got to work with was fusion goggles. At that time it was the most updated night vision goggles the US had ever produced. The goggles worked with night vision and thermal imaging at the same time. With fusion goggles Bryce was able to see crystal clear at night and with the thermal imagining he was able to see footprints for a minute after a person would walk away.
Even though the job of secret service agent is challenging, Bryce doesn't regret his choice and has never really wanted to quit. But in the future Bryce is thinking about potentially changing his job from standing behind the president to catching more bad guys. Bryce’s best advice for everybody is to dream big and don’t quit. Things will work out for you if you work hard for them.
Page updated
Report abuse