Explore every episode of the podcast The Off The X Podcast

Retired Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Supervisory Special Agent & Author of "American Diplomat - Surviving on the Front Lines of Diplomacy as a U.S Foreign Service Special Agent" joins the Off The X Podcast and discusses his 20+ year career in the DSS serving at posts around the globe including the US Embassies in Bangkok Thailand, Cairo Egypt, Bratislava Slovakia, Dhaka Bangladesh, US Consulate in Basrah Iraq and more.

Listen in as I speak with Dylan Ragan, former Diplomatic Security Service Special Agent, about this time serving in the DSS across the globe. Dylan served in the New York Field Office, Lagos Nigeria, Istanbul Turkey, Herat Afghanistan - during the violent terrorist attack at the U.S. Consulate, Bratislavia Slovakia and ending his career as a State Department Polygraph Branch Chief.  

Listen in as NYT Best Selling Author and former Diplomatic Security Service Special Agent Fred Burton discusses his role in the DS Counterterrorism Division (currently known as PII) investigating some of the most high profile cases including the investigations of the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing - Ramzi Yousef, the kidnapping of Beirut CIA Station Chief William Buckley, Americans kidnapped by Hezbollah and more!

Tune in as I have a detailed discussion about the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Counterintelligence (CI) Unit with Robert Booth. Robert is the author of the book: State Department Counterintelligence - Leaks, Spies and Lies. Robert served nearly 30 years with the DSS and was heavily focused on CI. He played a role in major CI cases including the investigation into Robert Hanssen, Kendall Meyers, and Donald Keyser. 

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Tune in to the next episode of the Off The X Podcast where I have a conversation with DSS Supervisory Special Agent Kevin Warrener. Kevin served at NYFO, U.S. Embassy Manama, Bahrain, Counterintelligence Branch, as Site Security for the U.S. Mission to China, at the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Bangkok and at High Threat Protection unit.

Listen in as I speak to retired DSS Special Agent Jim Minor about his time serving as a DS Special Agent. In this episode Jim takes us through his career and his role in a number of critical and historical events. This includes his time serving in Mogadishu, Somalia, investigating Ramzi Yousef, the East Africa Bombings of our US Embassies, USS Cole, 9/11, Boston Marathon Bomber and Benghazi. 

Listen in to this SPECIAL EDITION of the Off The X Podcast where I speak to Rob Young. Rob is a Police Sergeant in the Stockton Unified School District where in 1989 at Cleveland Elementary he was a victim in one of the first ever Active Shooter events in a school. Rob survived and thrived and has made it his life's mission to keep our children safe in school. Tune in to his amazing story on the Off The X Podcast. 

Listen in as I discuss Jason's time as a MSG at U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia and Bogota, Colombia. In this episode, we go over MSG training, duties and responsibilities, lifestyle, and the uniqueness of serving at U.S. Embassy Moscow! If you're an aspiring DS Agent this one is a must listen. 

Join me as I chat with Special Agent Chris Kopeck about his two decades in the Diplomatic Security Service serving in the New York Field Office, U.S. Embassy Muscat Oman, Resident Office St. Louis and at multiple TDY assignments.

Join me on the podcast as I welcome Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Special Agent Kevin Williams. Kevin's worldwide globetrotting has taken him to the New York Field Office, US Embassies Addis Ababa, Johannesberg, Phnom Penh and Columbia, South Carolina. He's protected US athletes at the World Cup, supported presidential visits for high profile events in high threat environments, and went toe-to-toe with a babboon! 

Listen in as retired DSS Supervisory Special Agent and Author of Afghans Never Smile - Reflections of a DSS Agent from Both Sides of the Durand Line, Steve Silva, discusses his time in Peshawar Pakistan, Bagram, Afghanistan, working at the Joint Terrorism Task Force and more. 

DSS Supervisory Special Agent Kala Bokelman tells us about her career, delivers information and instruction about the 2022 Diplomatic Security Service Special Agent Vacancy Announcement. 

Listen in as active duty Special Agent Adrian Diaz of the Diplomatic Security Service shares the stories of his 17 years of service at assignments across the globe including Monrovia Liberia, Tallil Iraq, Sao Paolo Brazil, MSD, ATA and others. 

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Join Matt "Doc" Miller and I as we discuss his time as a former Diplomatic Security Worldwide Protective Services (WPS) Medic serving in Baghdad and Erbil. Matt is also a former Army Medic completing over 450 MEDEVAC missions in Iraq, earning the Bronze Star for his actions. 

Listen in to Jeff Carlson and I as we discuss his first-ever interaction with a president of the United States, his time serving as a Diplomatic Security Special Agent in Tripoli, his close relationships with the DSS Special Agents serving in Benghazi during the attack, and his work in Counter-Intelligence at US Embassy Kabul. 

Tony Beltran, former Blackwater, Triple Canopy, and US Marine lived and breathed High Threat Protective (HTP) Operations in Iraq from 2005-2017. Join us as he talks about the early days of Blackwater, working alongside DSS Special Agents, and his response to protect the U.S. Consulate in Erbil during the 2015 ISIS attack. 

Listen to Matt Rawls, aka Sleepy, a former Security Contractor and Force Reconnaissance Marine as he discusses his time working as a security contractor in Jerusalem, Basrah, Tallil, and Baghdad. 

Join me as I discuss the Foreign Affairs Security Training Center (FASTC) and the Foreign Affairs Counter Threat (FACT) course with Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Supervisory Special Agent Steve Strickland, Special Agent Maria Amaya, and FACT Operations Manager Rusty Pugh. In this episode we discuss exactly what the DSS is doing to keep it's diplomats safe in overseas environments. 

Tune in as Diplomatic Security Special Agent Julie Cabus, a member of the Senior Foreign Service, discusses her career at multiple diplomatic assignments on the continent of Africa, within Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, and several domestic assignments. Julie is the first active-duty special agent and the first female agent on the Off The X Podcast.

Join Billy Mac and I as we discuss his time as a Diplomatic Security Special Agent serving in Cairo, Niamey, Kinshasa, DS Training Center, Baghdad, Gaborone, DS R&D, and Abidjan. 

Join Joe as he discusses his time conducting security operations globally as a Marine Security Guard and Diplomatic Security Special Agent in the Miami Field Office, Criminal Investigative Liaison Branch, US Embassy Baghdad, US Embassy Rome, US Consulate Nuevo Laredo, US Embassy Colombo and the DS San Francisco Field Office. 

Join Matthew "Matt" Kovats as he discusses his time as a Marine Security Guard and a Diplomatic Security Special Agent. Matt talks about his time working in Benghazi, Libya, US Embassy Baghdad, Iraq, the Chicago Field Office, Diplomatic Security Headquarters and US Embassy Kabul, Afghanistan.

Join Special Agent Michael Perkins as he discusses his 27 years serving as a Diplomatic Security Service Special Agent. In this episode he discusses his time protecting Princess Diana, protecting US Embassy personnel in the midst of the Sri Lankan civil war, and leading the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) - San Salvador, among other things. Michael's assignments include the DSS Washington Field Office, U.S. Secretary of State Protection Detail, US Embassy Guatemala City, Mobile Security Deployments, US Embassy Lusaka, US Embassy Lima, US Embassy Colombo, ILEA San Salvador and the DS Houston Field Office.

From responding to the Marriott bombings in Islamabad, Pakistan to the protection of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens in Benghazi, one year before the attack on Benghazi, John Fluker discusses his 12 years serving as a Special Agent in the U.S. State Department's Diplomatic Security Service. Assignments: New York Field Office, Mobile Security Deployments, US Embassy Islamabad Pakistan, Office of Professional Responsibility, Houston Field Office, US Embassy Lima Peru and International Programs.