A Poplar Bluff, Mo., Army reservist had a behind-the-scenes view of the inner workings in Washington, D.C., during the transition of power as he was part of the security team for the United States secretary of defense.
Bryce Colvin, whose civilian job is as a Poplar Bluff police detective, was deployed in August 2016 to work personal security for then Security of Defense Ashton Carter as a special agent with the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command.
About half way through Colvin's deployment, President Donald Trump was inaugurated, and Jim Mattis took over as secretary of defense.
"I did travel operations throughout the United States and overseas," said Colvin, who indicated he was one of "the guys in suits escorting" the secretaries.
Along with his physical escorting duties, Colvin said, the travel operations included organizing motorcades to and from the secretary's destinations both here and overseas and manning the command center to control ongoing operations.
That, Colvin explained, included monitoring traffic and coordinating anything which was needed by those on the ground.
Although Colvin has had previous deployments, he said, this was his first as a protection agent.
"I was chosen to be on their security team," said Colvin, who had applied to became an agent years ago.
Being a police officer for many years "gave me a higher level of competency, which helped me climb through the positions faster," Colvin said.
According to Colvin, being chosen for this protection detail was "very prestigious and an experience of a lifetime."
Colvin said he accompanied the secretaries to such destinations as downtown Manhattan in New York City; a defense conference in Simi Valley, Calif.; the presidential palace in Djibouti, Africa; the presidential commissioning of an aircraft carrier in Norfolk, Va., and other various locations.
The amount of work, he said, varied by the day.
"It was very fluid, a very fluid and ever changing assignment," Colvin said.
During the year-long assignment, Colvin said, he learned a lot, but had not anticipated the opportunity to travel "because of our reserve tours are so short."
Colvin said the best part of his assignment probably was getting to go to government buildings that he wouldn't have common access to.
"I got to see the other side ... the back doors and the actual operations of D.C.," said Colvin, who had some involvement in the inauguration, but "wasn't front row" for it.
After the inauguration, "we had all the different riots and the increasing threats to government personnel" to contend with, said Colvin, who indicated there was a "big difference" between Carter and Mattis.
Not only were their personalities different, Colvin said, each had his own way of doing things and different security needs.
"It was neat to be part of the transition," Colvin said. " ... It was a very interesting time to be there."
With his assignment ending at the end of July, "it's good to be back home and good to be back to work," said Colvin, who has been an officer with the police department since 2008.