Ex-Agent Applauds Emergency Response

Feb. 7 -- Today, the White House and its perfectly manicured grounds was transformed from a place of business and a tourist into one bristling with armed guards.

Upon the moment Robert Pickett, a former IRS employee approached the visitor's gate and threatened to kill himself and people around him, heavily armed officers scurried to secure the White House grounds and take up positions on nearby buildings.

But no matter how rigorously the Secret Service is trained, handling emergency situations and making split-second decisions is not easy task.

The Secret Service was not able to comment for this report, nor would it disclose how many of its 4,000 agents guard the White House. However, the White House detail is the largest single division in the area.

Agents have to make sure they keep their skills in top form. According to P. Hamilton Brown, executive secretary of the Association of Former Secret Service Agents, many of the enlisted agents who are on detail go to the shooting range regularly to hone in on their skills. Secret Service agents must be able to hit a target up to 1,000 yards away. (No one is sure exactly where the agent was on the grounds when he shot Pickett.)

Although it has not been confirmed as to whether or not the agent who shot Pickett meant to shoot him in the knee or not, Brown believes that the agent did not intend to kill the subject, and that the move was a smart one worthy of commendation.

"The Secret Service Agents are on the range all the time, practicing their marksmanship. They're super shots," Brown said. "Yes, they are trained to take somebody down, and it was snap judgement on this agent's part to take his knee down. It saves everyone a bunch of headaches."

"What you have to do is look for anything out of the ordinary," he said. "It's ingrained in you."Training for Agents Improved

Brown, who was a Secret Service Agent from 1961 to 1981, admits to the fact that he wasn't as well trained as the agents of today.

Brown said that it wasn't until the late 1960s, early 1970s before he had a more formal training, similar to what agents go through today, thanks to the Warren Commission's Report.