Spot-on Secret Service whose task is to protect Obama and his family has had its fair share of security breaches and mishaps

America’s Secret Service — the elite agency that protects the President, his family, and other dignitaries — is legendary for its skilled personnel and hi-tech equipment.

It is no wonder then that the security of President Barack Obama during his visit, and in particular the role of the secret service, has been the subject of curiosity.

But despite its reputation for efficiency, discipline and attention to detail, the secret service, has in recent years come under scrutiny for some high-profile blunders — leading to changes at the top and promises for reforms.

Retired veteran secret service agent Joseph Clancy was brought in to clean up the mess, taking over from Julia Pierson — the first woman to head the organisation. She was appointed in March 2013 but resigned in October the following year after criticism over various security breaches.  

Top among them have been incidents of intruders finding their way into the White House. In September last year, for example, Omar Gonzalez, a former army sniper, jumped over the fence and found his way into the president’s residence. He was eventually arrested.

Various reports indicate that in the last five years there have been at least 16 cases of people scaling the White House fence, including a 2011 incident where Oscar Ortega-Hernandez shot at the building at a time when President Obama’s youngest daughter, Sasha, was inside.

The intruder was sentenced to 25 years in prison. But not everybody uses force to access the heavily guarded mansion. In 2009, Michaele and Tareq Salahi , a couple, got access to a state dinner for then Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh without an official invitation.

It was more embarrassing when it was discovered the woman was being filmed for a TV show. 

Then there was the highly publicised incident in March when apparently drunk secret service agents drove into a White House security barrier. The previous year, two “counter-sniper officers” were involved in a suspected drunk driving incident in Florida just before the arrival of the first family.  

And that’s not all. An incident where a senior officer triggered an internal investigation after being found trying to enter a woman’s hotel room in 2013 further opened the secret service to scrutiny. He had reportedly left a bullet in the room after spending time with the woman.

Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said of the incident, “We have always maintained that the Secret Service has a professional and dedicated workforce. Periodically we have isolated incidents of misconduct, just like every organisation does.”

The problems seem to have followed the elite team abroad. In March 2013, just before the President arrived in Amsterdam, three secret service agents were sent back home after being found drunk — with one of them passed out in the hotel hallway.