The 8 Things a (Former) Secret Service Agent Carries at All Times

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A Secret Service agent has to be prepared for anything at all times. Taking a bullet for a president falls on one stop of the spectrum, but they too must be ready to jump into action should the power suddenly become out, or to tease information from someone in an interrogation room. (You may non know that the Hugger-mugger Service investigates financial crimes in addition to protecting the state's leaders.) Function of beingness prepared means knowing what to have on hand in the result something does happen, according to Evy Poumpouras, a erstwhile Cloak-and-dagger Service Special Agent of 12 years who was in the protective details for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, and now appears on the Bravo testify Spy Games and will release her first volume Becoming Bulletproof in April.

"Any good field agent that is worth their salt will conduct all this stuff," she says of the following eight things, calculation that having them on her at all times today is no less important than information technology was on any mean solar day she was tasked with protecting the life of Obama (whom she appears with higher up). "I comport everything to this day as a civilian. Considering even when I was an agent, I didn't just use them only in agent circumstances. The two worlds interconnect."

MDI CPR Microshield

"My partner at the time, who was also an agent, and I were driving somewhere, and on the sidewalk we found someone completely unconscious. We ran out to try to help that person — he was dying — but we realized that neither of united states of america had any type of kit on us to requite him proper CPR. In that moment, my partner and I created a plastic mouthpiece to put on his mouth to try to requite him CPR. (You want to save a life but yous as well accept to protect your ain.) Since then, I got this CPR mini kit, and to this day — I'm looking at it now — information technology's been on my keys. Information technology'due south a plastic machinery with a little tube yous put in a person'due south rima oris then y'all can requite them air without exchanging fluids. You never know who's going to need help. We're all temporarily on this planet of human beings, and then let's try to take care of one another. I feel that everybody should take one, because when you see someone who needs help, you take the means to help them. On a side notation, this also makes it so easy to detect my keys in my bag."

SureFire E1B Backup With Maxvision High Output Led Flashlight

"I learned to bear this when I became an agent. I never thought to acquit a petty mini flashlight, simply I utilize it when ability goes out, when I go to night places, when I'm looking for something underneath my seat in my auto or on an airplane. What people don't realize is that nosotros are also trained to utilise flashlights for cocky-defense. If we feel a threat, one of the things nosotros're taught to do is shine the low-cal in the person's optics and then it temporarily blinds them. Y'all tin't just use whatever flashlight. It has to accept a certain LED component and a sure level of power and strength for the calorie-free to exist strong enough to do that. Surefire is the brand that I've ever used. It is the best. Constabulary utilize information technology, so if it's good enough for law enforcement and all the tactical teams, then it'southward good enough for you. And they come super super small — they accept so many [sizes], some y'all can fit on your keychain, some you can fit in your pocket. Mine is big, probably larger than a normal person'southward, but considering I bear a pocketbook I can keep it at that place. Shine information technology into somebody's eyes, blind them for a few seconds, and run similar a bedlamite. It'due south likewise made out of metallic, and so you lot tin actually use it to fight confronting someone. If you grab somebody's wrist where there's a force per unit area point, where the bone is, you can slam information technology against the bone. You tin slam it into somebody'due south face."

Gerber Multi-Plier 600 - Bladeless

"You could be in a car accident, or somebody else could have an accident, and you lot tin apply this to cut a person out of their seatbelt in an emergency. Or, yous tin employ it for the mundane: I recently went on the Today show, and there were strings hanging off of my shirt, and then I used it to cut them off. It can assistance you tighten your sunglasses, it can help you lot loosen a screw. It'due south just like a mini tool kit that y'all have at your disposal for anything y'all may need. The cardinal is to become one you can travel with — it depends on the size yous get. It's a little tricky considering I've traveled with it on occasion, and some airports would let me on planes with information technology, while others would not. Keep it in your suitcase if yous're non able to carry it on."

Altoids Smalls Peppermint Breath Mints, Pack of 9

"Nobody wants bad breath. I use them at present for interacting with people, only during my previous job, I would use them when I interrogated people. When you interview or interrogate someone — and I use those words interchangeably because that's how you lot do proper interrogation — you don't browbeat people, you talk to them. So what you run across on TV is wonderful for Tv but does not work in real life. When you talk to people like garbage, y'all become garbage. Considering I would spend so many hours in an interview room talking and interrogating someone, I always had to make certain I had fresh breath. They're not going to want to talk to you if you have bad jiff. They clam upwards, they close upwards. Part of existence a good communicator is people wanting to speak with you, and if your breath sucks no 1 wants to talk to you. And you definitely don't desire to chew gum, because chewing gum is really abrasive to people."

EO Resealable Hand Sanitizer Wipes Lavender, 60 Count

"I don't like mitt sanitizer considering information technology's just for your hands and null else. With wipes, if I go sit down to eat at a restaurant and the tables are filthy, I can bosom one out and wipe it downwards. I use them all the fourth dimension on airplanes. I spent a big part of my life on planes; I used to get sick all the time after I'd been on a one, and I couldn't effigy out why. So a adept friend who's a stewardess told me that they never clean the cabins, e'er. So I wipe those down when I become on the plane, and so likewise whatsoever hotel rooms. The remote command is one of the dirtiest things in those. Nobody cleans them. So mitt wipes are fantastic. These are my favorite because they also smell good."

Moleskine Classic Notebook - Expanded Version - Black

"I take a notebook with me everywhere. I learned to exercise that from a onetime supervisor in the Cloak-and-dagger Service who was very high up the concatenation of command — I noticed that wherever he went, when he spoke to everyone, he would heed and so take thoughtful notes. Then ane 24-hour interval I finally asked him, 'What do you always write in in that location?' He was like, 'I want to make sure that I remember everything I discussed.' And information technology's truthful. I forget so many things, and this is a nifty way to maintain bureau over myself, to brand sure I follow up on the things I say I'thousand going to practice. This i looks professional person and is durable."

Zebra M-301 Mechanical Pencils

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"I always use a mechanical pencil, and this is the 1 that I use. I make mistakes and I like to erase them. I like to take clean notes. When you write with a pen information technology's permanent, and then I think using a pencil is besides psychological — I know that nothing in life is permanent and things change."

Mophie Powerstation 6000 mAh Portable Charger

"I want something durable that I tin bang around. And less is more — I don't want annihilation bulky, or I'thousand less likely to use it. When I take something lilliputian like this, I tin put it in my pocketbook or any bag I take. I've had situations when I've not had information technology with me and my telephone dies, and the worst excuse you tin say is, 'Sorry, my phone died.' Even if it'southward true, it ever makes you look unprofessional. And then part of putting out a professional person image is honestly existence fully charged. "

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The viii Things a (Former) Secret Service Agent Always Carries