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Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan will proudly tell Congress this afternoon that in FY2010, Secret Service protective details and field agents ensured 100 percent incident-free protection for 5,906 domestic travel stops and 515 international travel stops.

He will say Foreign Dignitary protection reached a record 2,495 travel stops, including the visits by 236 heads of state and government, and 107 spouses from over 147 countries.  He will add that dignitary protection also included security operations for the Nuclear Security Summit in April of 2010 and the 65 th anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2010.  “Additionally, the protective mission was supported through 7,726 site surveys.”

Sullivan says so far in FY2011, the Secret Service has provided protection at 246 domestic travel stops, and 49 international travel stops.  He says the Secret Service is in the midst of extensive security planning and coordination for the Asia Pacific Economic Conference that will be held in Hawaii in November.  “Lastly, we have begun the training of the candidate nominee protective details in preparation for the 2012 Presidential Campaign.”

Sullivan says much has changed in the 43 years since the Secret Service started protecting presidential candidates.  He says it is no longer enough to rely solely on human resources and physical barriers.  “Over the years, the agency’s protective methodologies have become more sophisticated, incorporating such tools as airspace interdiction systems, and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear detection systems.”