The Counter-Assault Teams of the US Secret Service, the service in charge of the Protection of the President of the United States of America and his Vice President, are tactical forces that accompany the presidential convoys of the President of the United States of America.
Presidential convoy of President Carter during his inauguration on Pennsylvannia Avenue on 20/01/1977
They were deployed starting in 1979. Previously, the convoys of US Secret Service vehicles were composed of cars called "the muscle car" in which five or six agents armed with machine guns were riding, and of a few unmarked cars, for the agents on foot who escorted the presidential car when it was moving at a walking pace. The "Muscle Car" was to form a barrage of fire in the event of an attack on the presidential vehicle.
Intervention of the US Secret Service on Pennsylvannia Avenue on 20/01/1977 One can see on this photo of 1977 the number of vehicles and agents around Jimmy CARTER during the Parade of Inauguration Day of his mandate on January 20, 1977 and the intervention of agents of the US Secret Service in front of a person who had approached the American President...
Exit of Jimmy CARTER in the street to return to his limousine
On this picture, we can see the "MUSCLE Car" behind the presidential limousine...
It is interesting to see over the years the evolution of the protection of the President of the United States, during his outings by car. In this picture, it is Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 30's, with members of the Secret Service around him.
Visit of Franklin D. ROOSEVELT in 1936
This principle of protective bubble follows the assassination of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia in 1934, which imposed a pro-active security around the Presidential limousine. The U.S. Secret Service quickly put in place this device to protect the American President at the time.
At the beginning of his mandate, following an attempted attack in Miami, he acquired an armored car. The Secret Service quickly looked for one. They found it at the State Treasury Department: the Cadillac V16 belonging to a certain Al CAPONE had been confiscated. It was used by Franklin D. ROOSEVELT until 1938.
Members of the US Secret Service can be seen here at the Inauguration Day of President John F. KENNEDY in January 1961 behind the presidential 1950 LINCOLN COSMOPOLITAN convertible. They are aboard two 1956 CADILLAC PARADE CARs.
We also see them here, during the visit of the Tunisian President BOURKIBA in Washington on May 03, 1961,
We also see them here, during the visit of the Tunisian President BOURKIBA in Washington on May 03, 1961,
Visit of Queen Elizabeth II with President EISENHOWER in October 1957 in the USA
The steps of the CADILLAC PARADE CAR of 1956 are very practical, because they allow the bodyguards to get off the vehicle quickly.
Members of the US Secret Service on the 1956 CADILLAC Parade Car in the streets of New York in 1962
Another important advantage is the height of vision. This makes it easier to see the crowd.
Visit of the American President JFK to Berlin on 26/06/1963
Here they are escorting the 1961 LINCOLN Continental - X100 of the American President John Fitzgerald KENNEDY during his visit to Berlin in 1963.
Two of them are on the back steps of the presidential limousine.
Video presenting this 1961 LINCOLN Continental - X100
Visit of the American President JFK in Dallas on 22/11/1963
And there, on the day of JFK's assassination on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas. It had been decided not to put the "BUBBLETOP" because of a bright sky. Knowing that even if it had been put on, it was not armored...
Agent Clinton HILL protecting the First Lady during the assassination of JFK on 11/22/1963
You can find under the link below, the story of the bodyguard who had the reflex to jump into the limousine of JFK to protect the First Lady
Here President Lyndon B. JOHNSON at his Inauguration Day in January 1965, aboard the 1961 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL which was fully armored.
President Nixon on board the X100
Here with NIXON also on his inauguration day in January 1969.
You can find under the link below, the "Presidential Inaugural Plates", plates specially put on the day of the inauguration of the American Presidents.
President NIXON in the LINCOLN CONTINENTAL 1969 in November 1971
On the following presidential parade limousines, a retractable rear handle was installed to allow members of the "US Secret Service" to stand in the back when the car was moving at low speed...
LINCOLN CONTINENTAL 1969 escort convertible
Also, classic Continental LINCOLNs accompanied the President's limousine, allowing members of the Secret Service to intervene just in case...
Members of the US Secret Service were also present during the visit of Pope John Paul II, during his tour of various American states in November 1979, here in Boston,
or here in Philadelphia.
or there, during his trip to Chicago the same month.
The American president Jimmy CARTER greeting the crowd in 1979 aboard the 1972 LINCOLN CONTINENTAL
We find them here, escorting Jimmy CARTER,
And here Ronald REAGAN during his Inauguration Day in Washington in 1981. Find other photos of the American Secret Service with presidential convoys in different eras.
They can be seen on this video during the convoy of the wife of the president of the United States, in Paris, in July 2017.
or here at the back of the motorcade during the Inauguration Day of the US President in January 2017.
Members of CAT
Among the escort cars are vehicles showing the protective device to passers-by, but the other vehicles that follow and have tinted windows are also CATmembers.
In this video, arrival of the president and CAT helicopters at the DAVOS summit in January 2018
Members of CSO 19, English intervention service
Depending on the country, the authorities can provide local counter-assault teams, like here with a British SCO 19 unit, during a visit of an American president.
Visit of Franklin D. ROOSEVELT in 1936 
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