Office of Secure Transportation Federal Agents

The Office of Secure Transportation under the direction of the U.S. Department of Energy is responsible for the safe and secure movement of government owned, National Nuclear Security Administration controlled nuclear materials. These materials are transported in specially designed carriers and are required to be escorted by armed agents of the Office of Secure Transportation. Agents of the Office of Secure Transportation can expect to spend up to three weeks a month traveling on missions or for training exercises. Mission requirements may expose agents to inclement weather, extensive travel, a close working environment, and physical harm. In the performance of their duties, agents may be expected to operate various levels of motor vehicles up to and including tractor trailer trucks. Agents may also be expected to use force up to and including deadly force in order to protect their nuclear cargo.

Three duty stations exist to which Special Agents of the Office of Secure Transportation may be assigned: Albuquerque, NM, Amarillo, TX, and Oak Ridge, TN. Upon successful graduation from a 20 week training academy located in Ft. Smith, AR, recruits are expected to pay their own way to their first duty station. Travel and per diem is only paid by the Department of Energy during the training academy, after that, the Department of Energy will not reimburse new agents for moving expenses to their first duty station. The training academy is described by the Office of Secure Transport as being a structured paramilitary law enforcement academy. Recruits live in dormitories and are trained in firearms, non-lethal and less than lethal weapons employment, tractor-trailer operations, tactics, physical fitness and other related areas.

Physical fitness is stressed by the Office of Secure Transportation. This is obvious from the fact that the Office of Secure Transport is one of the very few federal law enforcement agencies which requires its agents to pass bi-annual physical fitness assessments.

Because of the nature of its mission, Special Agents of the Office of Secure Transportation have some of the strictest entrance requirements of any other U.S. federal law enforcement agency. Agents are expected to obtain and maintain a top secret security clearance. A complete background investigation will include financial, motor vehicle, and criminal history queries.

Another aspect of the Office of Secure Transportation which sets it apart from other federal law enforcement agencies is the Human Reliability Program. This program is described as an enhanced security program used to ensure that individuals in positions requiring access to certain materials, facilities, and programs continually meet the highest standard of reliability, both mentally and physically. Part of the program, besides the bi-annual physical assessment, is random drug and alcohol testing (agents are required not to drink alcohol at least eight hours prior to duty), an annual medical assessment, an annual questionnaire, and an annual supervisory review, among other things.
Sources:

Federal Agent (Nuclear Materials Courier). U.S. Department of Energy.