Matthew O'Brien '00

O’Brien has spent nearly twenty years providing security around the world for American embassies, consulates, and dignitaries as part of the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service. These days, O’Brien is the special agent in charge for the Boston field office of the DSS, overseeing operations in New England, providing security for visiting officials, and investigating crimes such as passport and visa fraud. 

We are the most broadly represented US law enforcement agency. We operate in 270 diplomatic posts around the world in over 170 countries, so if there’s an embassy or a consulate, you’re going to find us. We are a federal law enforcement agency, and we’re also members of the foreign service, which means we’re diplomats as well.  

In Baghdad, I was working out of Saddam Hussein’s former palace. We’ve since built a “real” embassy, but it was a unique living environment, and I spent about fourteen months there, starting in 2007. For a year of that, I was the agent in charge of the protection detail for the United States ambassador to Iraq, and it was a huge job to keep him safe. I crisscrossed Iraq dozens of times. I’ve been on every single air platform, helicopter, and aircraft that’s in the US military’s arsenal. 

Before I went to Colombia in 2008, my sole job for six months was to learn Spanish. A fortunate part of joining the State Department is that we can go to the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, Virginia. They teach literally every language down there to prepare American diplomats to go serve. I returned before moving to Pakistan for a thirteen-week familiarization with Urdu.  

My job now is not only to manage the New England operation, but also to mentor and advise newer agents. About 80 percent of my personnel are on their first tour, and they come to the field office to learn how to be agents. All of our missions are dangerous, whether they involve protection, arrests, or surveillance. My number one priority is the safety of our personnel.