Essay: Special agents at the Olympics
In just a few days, elite athletes from all over the world will begin competing in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, the capital city of China. Gymnasts will flip and twirl on the balance beam. Divers will plummet from the platform. Runners will bolt out of their starting blocks. Tourists will flock to the Games from all over the world.
Even the president of the United States is planning to attend the Olympics. And federal law enforcement officers from the US State Department will help keep all these people safe. In fact, some of them have been living in Beijing for quite a while, getting ready for the start of the Olympics.
Sean O鈥橞rien and Wendy Bashnan are special agents with the Diplomatic Security Service, the law enforcement branch of the State Department. When they work in the US, they carry guns and badges just like other federal law-enforcement officers. Sometimes you might see them on the news wearing dark glasses, suits, and curly ear pieces as they protect important visitors to the US.
Both Mr. O鈥橞rien and Ms. Bashnan packed up and moved to Beijing way back in 2006, when the US government asked them to. Their job? Working with Chinese law enforcement to ensure that the Olympics are safe for athletes and tourists.
鈥淲e鈥檙e here to make sure that Americans who come to the Olympics are safe,鈥� says Mr. O鈥橞rien. 鈥淲e鈥檒l help coordinate security for people like the president of the United States, corporate sponsors, and everyday tourists. We expect to see about 75,000 US citizens in Beijing for the Olympics, and we help keep them safe. Ultimately, the burden of providing security falls on the Chinese government, but we act as a bridge between the two countries.鈥�
Even though they are law enforcement officers, Ms. Bashnan notes, 鈥渨e can鈥檛 arrest people here in Beijing.... We are only allowed to enforce US laws on US territory. So, for example, if someone commits fraud or commits a crime on US embassy grounds, we can file criminal charges back in the States. But that鈥檚 about it. We鈥檙e really here to support the Chinese as they prepare for the Olympics.鈥�
Ms. Bashnan doesn鈥檛 expect to see any Olympic events when the Games begin. 鈥淲e are more likely to meet athletes and coaches before the Games, when they come into town for test events or media relations,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 met Michael Phelps, the American swimmer, when he was here.鈥�
Mr. O鈥橞rien, who also worked at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, won鈥檛 be able to watch any events, either. 鈥淚n Atlanta, I was a site security person, which means I was working at the events and I got to see a few,鈥� he says. 鈥淗ere, I鈥檓 overseeing the agents who work at the sites, so I鈥檒l spend the Olympics in an office building somewhere far from the events.鈥�
Still, both agents love sports, and both agree that it is exciting to have the opportunity to work at the Olympics. 鈥淚鈥檓 a baseball fan,鈥� notes Mr. O鈥橞rien, 鈥渁nd this Olympics has baseball. It鈥檚 a trial event, and it won鈥檛 come back for the next Olympics. So that鈥檚 kind of fun.
Ms. Bashnan likes all sports, 鈥渂ut,鈥� she says, 鈥渋f I had to choose, I鈥檇 say football is my favorite.鈥�
Both Ms. Bashnan and Mr. O鈥橞rien are enjoying their time in China. 鈥淗ere in Beijing,鈥� says Mr. O鈥橞rien, 鈥測ou can see historical sites like the Great Wall and the Forbidden City [home to the emperor in ancient China]. At the same time, you see them building all of these modern buildings like the Bird鈥檚 Nest and the Water Cube, which will be Olympic venues, or the CCTV building [which is actually two buildings leaning against each other]. The Chinese have all these architectural achievements going back hundreds of years, and even today, they鈥檙e still building amazing things.鈥�
Ms. Bashnan agrees that it can be interesting to visit Chinese historical sites, but she also likes playing golf and going shopping whenever she has a day off.
Both special agents love their work. 鈥淲hen I was in college, I thought I wanted to be a lawyer,鈥� says Ms. Bashnan. 鈥淭hen I realized that it was law enforcement that really interested me.鈥� Being able to see the world as part of her job is an added perk.
鈥淚f I weren鈥檛 a federal agent, I鈥檇 probably be a history teacher,鈥� says Mr. O鈥橞rien. 鈥淲hat is cool about this job is that you can go around the world and see archaeological sites like the Great Wall of China. It鈥檚 like living history.鈥�
What will they do after the Olympics are over? Ms. Bashnan hopes to be reassigned to 鈥渁 Spanish-speaking country, so I can brush up on my high school Spanish.鈥�
Mr. O鈥橞rien will return to the US for a tour of duty in Diplomatic Security鈥檚 New York field office. He owns a house near a lake in New Jersey, and he鈥檇 鈥渓ike to go out on my rowboat, bass fishing with my kids. This is more of a city life here.鈥�
