Salem Hoffman-Sadka \u201917 is \u201cnot a big person,\u201d he says. The special agent for the U.S. Department of State\u2019s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) mentions his physical stature because, for the type of work he does, one might picture a tall, imposing figure. \u201cI\u2019m 5’5″\/5’6″ on a good day,\u201d he jokes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s not to say Hoffman-Sadka doesn\u2019t work to stay fit. He regularly practices martial arts and stays active, as required. But, he says, he prefers to lean into his interpersonal skills. \u201cThat\u2019s a strong suit of mine…. When you win someone over, they\u2019re going to go the extra mile. I\u2019ve found it\u2019s always beneficial and helps with the job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His current assignment is protective detail for U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield. \u201cBasically, I\u2019m with her all the time,\u201d says Hoffman-Sadka, who is part of a larger protective detail of men and women. Thomas-Greenfield is based in Manhattan \u2014 as is Hoffman-Sadka \u2014 so he handles protection for her in the city, but he also accompanies her on domestic and international trips. \u201cIt\u2019s incredibly rewarding to provide a secure environment for such a high-ranking figure to conduct diplomacy,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The security detail members rotate through positions, so sometimes he\u2019ll be in the protective circle that walks her through the crowd, or as detail leader by dictating agent responsibilities, for example. \u201cMy favorite position is \u2018lead advance agent,\u2019\u201d Hoffman-Sadka says. That means he\u2019s the one who enters the venue first in order to make contact with the staff and assess the security factors so his team knows what they\u2019re heading into. The responsibilities in this role can range from securing the event venue, to the hotel where she\u2019s staying, to the plane on which she\u2019s traveling. For an international trip, it involves planning and delegating the security elements of the ambassador\u2019s entire visit, which often requires tight working relationships with security and protocol for the host nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When there are high-level meetings \u2014 like a joint conference with Vice President Kamala Harris \u2014 Hoffman-Sadka needs to work with the Secret Service and other government employees. On trips abroad, he\u2019s making contact with the police chief of Freetown in Sierra Leone and the director of national security or Iceland\u2019s \u201cViking Squad\u201d (the country\u2019s special police unit), for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c[It\u2019s important to] remember common courtesy,\u201d he says. \u201cYou\u2019re showing up at someone\u2019s place of work, and you\u2019re coming in hot with all of these questions. It\u2019s a lot.\u201d To establish rapport, Hoffman-Sadka likes to spend a few minutes in the beginning asking someone how their day is going and express genuine interest in the individual. \u201cI find they\u2019re much more helpful,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hoffman-Sadka credits his previous experiences with helping him hone his personal skills. At Colgate, the peace and conflict studies major was involved in Outdoor Education, and after graduation, he was a field guide at a wilderness adventure therapy organization for young adults in Utah. Afterward, he became an after-school instructor teaching elementary-age refugee children. \u201cIt\u2019s funny how those experiences help here and there in a totally different circumstance,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Working for the Department of State had long been his goal, which was reinforced by a DSS special agent who was a Colgate alumnus visiting campus when Hoffman- Sadka was a student. The two kept in touch and \u201che would give me advice, like recommending I get my foot in the door by doing uniformed division (a police officer for the Secret Service),\u201d Hoffman-Sadka recalls. \u201cI\u2019m sure he was right; it would\u2019ve been the easiest way in. But I ignored him and did things I was excited about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hoffman-Sadka\u2019s postgraduation 10-year plan to join national security was rooted in a life-changing event: living in New York City when 9\/11 happened \u2014 he was 6 years old. Hoffman-Sadka\u2019s mom worked in the twin towers \u201cand thank God she was OK,\u201d but afterward, he was constantly making sure the doors were locked, double-checking windows, and buckling up his brother. \u201cI was probably pretty annoying,\u201d he notes. In middle and high school, \u201cif I found a book about the FBI or CIA, I would read it in a day. I became fascinated with it, and really excited about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2020, after a process that took approximately a year and a half \u2014 from the online application to the interview to the background check and fitness test \u2014 Hoffman-Sadka officially received the job offer from DSS. His first assignment was to the DSS New York field office\u2019s criminal investigation unit. There he was part of a human trafficking investigation that rescued two Indian women who were being held in a house and forced to work for the equivalent of a dollar an hour. It was a happy ending for the women, and Hoffman-Sadka remembers it as \u201creally powerful to go through\u201d personally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As part of the foreign service, he receives a new assignment every two to three years. His next tour will be at the U.S. Embassy in Brussels, handling security management. Brussels is considered a tri-mission because there\u2019s the embassy to the Belgian government; a mission to the European Union, which is housed there; and a mission to NATO, which is also housed there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s amazing the experiences you get in this work by connecting with all these different folks,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a cool gig.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This article does not represent the opinions of the United States Department of State.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" DSS special agent Salem Hoffman-Sadka \u201917 works protective detail for U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":15278,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2],"tags":[354,1441,1574,95,481],"coauthors":[388],"class_list":["post-15276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-alumni-spotlights","category-alumni-updates","tag-alumni","tag-outdoor-education","tag-peace-and-conflict-studies","tag-politics","tag-security"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/palXSH-3Yo","amp_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2024\/07\/DSC5043finalflat.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15276"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15981,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15276\/revisions\/15981"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15276"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=15276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}