Secret Service agents to learn stick-shift driving on new GM training fleet

Courtesy of General Motors, agents training to one day protect the president of the United States and other top officials will learn how to drive stick-shift vehicles.

The U.S. Secret Service promoted its relationship with General Motors after the company delivered 10 vehicles May 7 to the agency’s James J. Rowley Training Center in Laurel, Maryland. Two of those vehicles have manual transmissions, according to one of the trainers.

In a minute-long video posted to social media site X April 6, the entity charged with protecting the nation’s leaders, financial system and cybersecurity said in a statement that GM supplies some of the Secret Service’s most “visible protective vehicles.” In addition to the presidential parade limousine, the Detroit automaker also provides armored SUVs in motorcades, the agency said.

GM would not confirm whether it had previously sent the Secret Service testing vehicles.

“GM is committed to ensuring that the brave men and women who protect our national security and our government institutions have the best equipment to improve their training and to execute their critical mission,” Steve duMont, GM Defense president, said in a statement emailed to the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network. “We have always been honored to support our government and are proud to continue to be trusted with this mission.”

GM has one of the broadest portfolios of vehicles of any U.S. automaker among its four brands, the company also noted and was uniquely capable of delivering testing vehicles from manual transmissions to the latest high-performance features among a range of sedans, trucks, SUVs and police pursuit vehicles.

Mark Armstrong, an instructor at the training center for more than 10 years, said though it is unlikely that agents will encounter manual transmissions in the field, it’s still important for them to learn in case they are assigned to foreign field offices or travel on protective visits.

“Not everyone is able to operate a manual shift,” Armstrong said. “Having that platform here will enable us to give instruction on how to drive manual vehicles for overseas trips.”

Agents ‘eager to push limits’ of GM vehicles

GM provided two Cadillac CT4 sedans, two Cadillac CT5 sedans, two Corvettes, a Cadillac Escalade SUV, a Chevrolet Colorado pickup, a Chevrolet Tahoe with a police package and a Chevrolet Suburban SUV.

Constantine Gerukos, a Secret Service driving instructor for the past 13 years, said in the statement that he was eager to “push these vehicles to their limit,” particularly the donated vehicles of models most likely to be used by the uniformed division officers and special agents in the field.

In a voiceover that plays over a series of clips of agents driving GM vehicles, the department said the initiative “directly supports the Secret Services’ commitment to modernizing training by working with a fleet that reflects the complexity of today’s threat environment.”

“The introduction of next generation vehicles into the training fleet of the United States Secret Service represents a critical advancement in our modernization strategy,” the video voiceover said. “As the operational fleet of the Secret Service evolves, it is essential that our personnel have access to advanced platforms that mirror what they might encounter in real-world scenarios, ensuring that readiness begins on day one.”

The video ended with the phrase “Join Us” hovering over a link to the department’s career website, secretservice.gov/careers.

The Beast

This is the latest example of the Secret Service taking to social media to tout its relationship with GM. In March, the Secret Service shared images on X of Director Sean Curran meeting with GM in Warren “to discuss advancements that could benefit the next generation of armored SUVs” as well as specifications for the next presidential limo.

In September 2024, the Homeland Security Department and Secret Service awarded GM a $14.8 million contract for development of a next-generation presidential limousine. The contract could be worth up to $40.8 million through 2029. Presidential limousines are nicknamed “The Beast,” a term first used in 2001, in reference to the limo used by President George W. Bush.

The last vehicle constructed for presidents debuted one year into Trump’s first administration.

The Secret Service said that 2018 custom-built Cadillac, modeled after the Cadillac CT6, entered the presidential fleet and shuttled Trump around New York to United Nations General Assembly meetings. The Beast has a twin also used for motorcades.

Jackie Charniga covers General Motors for the Free Press. Reach her at jcharniga@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Secret Service agents to learn stick shift with GM training fleet