For DSS Special Agents, protecting Team USA golfers is dream assignment

Dan Bair jokes that he justifies the many rounds of golf he plays with his buddies by telling his wife he’s trying to get good enough to start a new career on the PGA TOUR Champions when he turns 50.

Of course, the man who carries a 13.8 handicap knows that’s a pipe dream. Besides, he likes his day job as a Special Agent with the Diplomatic Security Service, which is the law enforcement and security division of the U.S. Department of State.

The Army veteran, who flew Black Hawk helicopters in Iraq and Afghanistan, has traveled to 42 countries in his nearly nine years with the DSS. He’s investigated transnational crimes, monitored security concerns in Somalia and protected political leader summits around the world.

Bair’s current assignment is close to his heart, though. He and Special Agent Amanda Salazar are providing support and security for the Team USA’s men’s and women’s golf teams at the Olympic Games in Paris.

The men’s competition will be held Aug. 1-4 at Le Golf National, which is about 15 minutes from the famed Palace of Versailles, while the women take center stage there a week later.

The men representing the U.S. are world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele (winner of the 2020 Olympic gold medal), Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa. The women’s team features the world No. 1 and reigning Olympic champion Nelly Korda, as well as Lilia Vu and Rose Zhang.

Bair and Salazar, who have been planning for the Olympics for the past two years, are there to protect them. They are also assigned to the U.S. men’s and women’s mountain biking teams for the competition on July 28-29.

The DSS has agents like Bair and Salazar at every Olympic venue and works in concert with French authorities, who are responsible for the overall security of the Olympic Games and Paralympics, as well as the International Golf Federation and U.S. and International Olympic committees.

“We’re the only law enforcement federal agency that gets to do things like this,” Bair said. “So, to say it wasn't a neat experience would be a lie. I’m honored. I'm humbled that I get to be around them, but at the same time, my job is to focus elsewhere, but I can't say that I'm not excited about it, for sure.

“We get to be around the best players in the world at the peak of their game at the Olympics. So, it's just another notch in our strange careers, whether you're at historical summits with political figures or you're at the Olympics with top Olympians in the world. So, excited about it for sure.”

Bair was an occasional golfer until he and his family moved to Virginia where they live on a course called Dominion Valley. The 40-year-old loves being outside as well as the camaraderie of the game, and he plays as much as possible – even sneaking in a quick nine on the day he left for Paris. For the record, he shot 43, making double bogey on his last hole.

Bair is a fan of all the members of the U.S. teams, but Schauffele – winner of two major championships this summer – is a particular favorite. He likes the consistency in his swing and says when he’s “pretending that I can golf,” Bair pretends that he’s the newly minted Champion Golfer of the Year.

And while he’ll obviously be focused on security, Bair hopes to learn by osmosis: “Maybe seeing these guys in person, I'll learn at least one little training aid or something that I can take back with me to get (my handicap) even lower,” he said.

Salazar, who will take the lead role with the U.S. women’s team, is looking forward to seeing if Korda can win another gold medal.

“I think that winning multiple medals in multiple Games is just sort of like the tip of the hat and really sort of solidifying your place as one of the best in the world,” Salazar said.

Salazar took a different path to the DSS than Bair. She went to college at the University of Delaware, where she played rugby and majored in hospitality management, later running food and beverage outlets at private clubs around the Washington, D.C., area. She wanted to travel, though, and a mentor steered her toward the federal government and eventually, the State Department.

She has worked in diplomatic security for the last 11 years. She spent three of those years assigned to the Secretary of State’s Protective Division, where she worked at political summits, sporting events and the United Nations General Assembly.

The DSS operates at more than 270 U.S. diplomatic posts in over 170 countries, and more than 30 U.S. cities. Salazar’s posts have included Istanbul, Turkey, and Bogota, Colombia, and most recently Bangkok, Thailand. She is headed next to Islamabad, Pakistan, where the aspiring golfer has heard there are some interesting courses.

“I’m excited to check it out,” she said.

Like Bair, Salazar is looking forward to the competition. It will undoubtedly be very different than when she volunteered at the McDonald’s Championship on the LPGA Tour for two years working as the standard bearer for Sei Young Kim and Seon Hwa Lee.

“Truly this is a dream come true,” Salazar said. “I have been trying to line up my assignments to this opportunity since I started with DSS, and I feel so fortunate to finally make it work. I think as a kid, especially in the United States, you watch the Olympics on TV, and it just is such a special time of year and for me, particularly the Summer Olympics.

“I'm really excited and ecstatic to be here.”