John Constantine spent 23 years in the United States Secret Service, including 15 years on the elite Counter Assault Team protecting four U.S. presidents and carrying out high-stakes protective operations in nearly 90 countries. He rose through leadership roles overseeing CAT operations, the Joint Operations Center, and the Dignitary Protective Division before retiring in 2025. Now, as the author of Hallways and Stairwells, John opens up about the side of the Secret Service most people never see — the pressure, ego, mental health struggles, loss of identity, transition back to normal life, and what redemption looks like after more than two decades protecting others.

#secretservice #president #cops #protection

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Connect with John Constantine:
LinkedIn: LinkedIn: john-constantine-754b65380
Book: https://www.amazon.com/Hallways-Stair...
Website: https://constantineunclassified.com/

Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick:
https://ianbick.com/

Timestamps:
00:00 Counter Assault Team Intro
00:35 Growing Up in New Jersey
01:54 Wrestling and Rutgers
04:43 9/11 and Joining the Secret Service
07:28 Choosing the Secret Service
08:40 Secret Service Training
12:50 First Assignment: Newark
16:50 First Big Investigation
21:00 Compassion in Investigations
26:20 Interviewing Suspects
29:50 Corruption and Two-Tier Justice
34:00 Power, Morality, and Authority
38:50 Corruption in Protection
39:50 Joining the Counter Assault Team
43:00 Life on the CAT Team
44:50 Becoming a Real Boy
48:00 White House and Domestic Threats
50:30 Rising Threats in America
52:00 Inhibitions and MK Ultra
55:20 Psychology of Attackers
57:30 Interagency Coordination
01:01:00 Funny Stories from the Team
01:03:00 The Suicide Bomber Incident
01:05:00 Stories That Never Get Reported
01:07:50 Butler and Real-Time Operations
01:09:00 Overseas Threats and Counterintelligence
01:16:20 Per Diem and Hotel Security
01:18:20 Trusting People Overseas
01:20:40 Most Dangerous Countries
01:22:20 Schedules and Deployments
01:24:00 Campaign Season Pressure
01:26:30 Work-Life Struggle
01:29:20 Turning It Off
01:31:30 The Worst Part of the Job
01:33:00 Fighting the Establishment
01:36:30 Teaching and Innovation
01:38:50 Leadership and Compassion
01:41:50 The Hardest Part of Retiring
01:44:00 Loss of Identity and Suicide
01:46:50 Life After the Secret Service
01:49:00 Doing It All Over Again
01:51:50 Closing Thoughts

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