United States Secret Service

FY 2023 – FY 2027 

STRATEGIC 

PLAN
Director’s Message 

Our FY 2023-2027 Strategy is focused on achieving 

excellence through talent, technology, and diversity. 

We have a critical mission to protect our nation’s 

leaders and financial infrastructure. Dedication to 

our talent and adherence to our core values provide 

the foundation necessary to achieve this mission. 

We are grateful for the support we receive from 

the Department of Homeland Security, and for our 

partnerships across government, law enforcement, 

academia, and the private sector. All of these 

relationships contribute to the success of our 

mission. 

As we execute our mission, we must also look to the future. If we do not 

consciously invest in the future, we will be overtaken by it. Threats to our 

leaders and infrastructure will continue, with adversaries becoming more and 

more sophisticated. It is critical that we continue to transform and stay ahead 

of these threats. As such, our FY 2023-2027 strategy focuses on people, 

leverages technology, sustains our no-fail mission, and details five key areas 

where I would like to focus on transformation:

■ Strengthen Strategic Partnerships

■ Modernize our Footprint

■ Optimize Processes

■ Adopt Holistic Approach to Resourcing

■ Advance our Brand

Executive leadership is critical for our strategy, and each objective in our 

strategic plan will be led by a senior member of my team to ensure success. 

Together, the leadership team is committed to executing the strategy, and has 

my full support in moving us forward. 

I want to acknowledge the workforce for their significant contributions to this 

plan. Each strategic objective is rooted in employee engagements. Whether 

through focus groups; scenario-based planning; strengths, weaknesses, 

opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis; or other avenues – we listened.

Please take the time to read through this plan and understand our direction. 

I am confident that together we can achieve Excellence through Talent, 

Technology, and Diversity.

Kimberly A. Cheatle

Director
FY 2023-2027 STRATEGIC PLAN 4 FY 2023-2027 STRATEGIC PLAN 5

Planning Methodology:

Our strategic plan is the result of a multi-year 

effort to conduct a robust environmental scan 

consisting of foresight methods, research, and 

engagement with employees, subject matter 

experts, and external partners, including:

• Strategic Foresight Analysis (SFA).

The Secret Service established and 

 advanced a team of representatives 

 from across the agency that meets 

 twice a month to discuss emerging 

 signals and trends in the environment. 

 Products include trend cards and 

 alternative scenarios to inform foresight 

 exercises and products.

• Policy Analysis. Analysts reviewed

national guidance documents to 

 examine the overarching strategies,

policies, and priorities affecting

our organization.

• Scenario-based Planning. Employees 

 participated in an event exploring four 

 alternative worlds to provide a strategic 

 perspective on future uncertainties and

examine how to prepare for unanticipated 

events.

Vision 

Excellence through Talent, 

Technology, and Diversity

Mission

Protect our nation’s leaders and 

financial infrastructure

Ensure the continuity of 

government through the 

protection of our national leaders 

and National Special Security 

Events, as well as preserving the 

integrity of our nation’s financial 

infrastructure.

Values 

Justice, Duty, Courage, Honesty, 

and Loyalty

5

About Us:

The United States Secret Service is a premier 

federal law enforcement agency and ranks 

among the most elite in the world. Established 

in 1865 to combat widespread counterfeiting 

and ensure the stability of the country’s financial 

system, the Secret Service is one of America’s 

oldest law enforcement agencies. Since then, 

this responsibility has evolved to include 

investigating cyber-based financial crimes and 

partnering with all levels of government, other 

law enforcement agencies, and private sector 

financial institutions to secure the nation’s 

financial infrastructure. Notable present-day 

efforts include sponsoring Cyber Fraud Task 

Forces, training our partners at the National 

Computer Forensics Institute, and providing 

critical forensic and technical support for the 

National Center for Missing and Exploited 

Children.

In 1901, the Secret Service was tasked with fulltime protection of the President of the United 

States. While this duty remains the primary 

protective responsibility, over time the mission 

expanded to include protection of the Vice 

President of the United States, former Presidents 

and their spouses, major Presidential and Vice 

Presidential candidates, visiting heads of foreign 

states or governments, foreign embassies and 

consulates in and around Washington, D.C., 

National Special Security Events, and other 

individuals authorized by the President. Today, 

the protective mission also involves identifying 

threats, mitigating vulnerabilities, and creating 

secure environments for protectees. This 

includes the National Threat Assessment Center 

which conducts research and provides training 

on threat assessment and various types of 

targeted violence impacting communities across 

the United States. 

Together, our highly skilled employees dedicate 

their lives in service to our mission, one that 

remains critically important to the nation’s 

security. Our presence, our persistence, and our 

professionalism are vital to the success of our 

nation.

• Threatcasting. Personnel collaborated 

 with the Army Cyber Institute in a 

 workshop to examine “The Future of 

 Cyber Enabled Financial Crime.”

• Senior Leader Interviews. Secret

Service executives were asked 

 about the future, threats, and their 

 views on opportunities for the 

 organization.

• Focus Groups. Personnel participated

in focus groups that examined the

agency’s vision, concerns, priorities,

challenges, and opportunities for 

 efficiency.

• Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, 

 Threat (SWOT) Analysis. Employees

engaged in workshops to analyze, 

 assess, and prioritize internal and 

 external factors affecting the mission.
FY 2023-2027 STRATEGIC PLAN 6 FY 2023-2027 STRATEGIC PLAN 7

FUTURE FOCUS

MISSION PRIORITIES

TALENT & TECHNOLOGY

Advance our Brand

Strengthen 

Strategic 

Partnerships

Modernize our 

Footprint

Adopt Holistic 

Approach to 

Resourcing

Optimize 

Processes

Maximize Internal 

Communications

Expand 

Use of 

Leading-Edge 

Technology

Deploy Unrivaled 

Protection 

Capabilities

Maximize Security 

of Sensitive 

Information

Future-Proof 

Investigative 

Portfolio

Reimagine Career 

Progression

Optimize 

Workforce 

Planning

Recruit, Retain, 

and Inspire New 

Generations

Enhance Training 

Methods and 

Facilities

Champion 

Diversity, Equity, 

Inclusion and 

Accessibility

Modernize 

Infrastructure

Improve Access 

and Security of IT 

Systems

Shape Culture

VALUES: Duty • Justice • Courage • Honesty • Loyalty 

VISION:

Excellence through talent, 

technology, and diversity

MISSION:

Protect our nation’s leaders and 

financial infrastructure
FY 2023-2027 STRATEGIC PLAN 8 FY 2023-2027 STRATEGIC PLAN 9

Talent and Technology

Reimagine Career Progression: Given the 

changing times, we must re-examine career 

paths so that they maximize skills in critical 

areas. We will focus on mission requirements, 

merit, retention of talent, and empowering 

future leaders at all levels. We will do this 

while advancing equity and transparency in 

professional development opportunities.

Optimize Workforce Planning: A wellrounded and skilled workforce is necessary to 

properly implement the future mission set. By 

matching people, expertise, and requirements 

we maximize our strengths and increase our 

effectiveness and efficiency. This includes full 

spectrum planning, job series examination, and 

succession planning. 

Recruit, Retain, and Inspire New Generations:

To be the employer of choice in the Federal Law 

Enforcement community, we must recruit, retain, 

and inspire the workforce of the future. This 

will be accomplished by increasing workplace 

flexibilities, using novel recruiting strategies, 

promoting our brand, and examining our hiring 

standards. 

Enhance Training Methods and Facilities:

Operational readiness demands realistic 

state-of-the-art training. We must enhance 

and modernize to ensure our employees and 

stakeholders are best positioned to address 

the future threat landscape. By investing in 

upgrades, we prepare ourselves for our no-fail 

mission. 

Champion Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, 

and Accessibility: Successful organizations 

create and foster cultures that recognize each 

employee's unique contribution to the mission. 

We must embrace diversity, equity, inclusion, 

and accessibility (DEIA) across the agency. 

DEIA must be demonstrated by all employees 

- leading by example - through “every action, 

every day.”

Modernize Infrastructure: To ensure 

optimal operational posture, we must acquire 

and maintain leading-edge capabilities 

and resources. This requires continuous 

modernization of weapons, training facilities, 

operational equipment, transportation, IT, and 

protective site infrastructure technology. 

Improve Access and Security of IT Systems: 

Effective law enforcement operations require a 

modernized and dependable IT infrastructure. 

Increased hyperconnectivity and future reliance 

on intersecting technologies mandates that 

our IT infrastructure support a dispersed, 

self-sustaining, and resilient network for the 

workforce. We must continually evaluate the 

full spectrum of current systems and improve 

accessibility and reliability.

Shape Culture: An effective leadership culture 

values and supports every employee. We 

must eliminate perceived divisions across 

workforce categories. Becoming a unified team 

of professionals allows us to move the agency 

forward.

Mission Priorities

Maximize Internal Communications: 

Connecting with employees is critical for 

employee engagement. This impacts both 

individual morale and organizational success. 

By deliberately planning and conducting 

open, multi-directional, and unobstructed 

communications we promote dialogue and 

improve workforce culture. 

Expand use of Leading-Edge Technologies:

To get ahead of threats, we must maximize 

our investments in leading-edge technologies. 

By placing a priority on innovation, we 

position ourselves to leverage technological 

advancements early and harness their benefits.

Deploy Unrivaled Protection Capabilities: 

Front-line operators require the systems, 

equipment, and tools to effectively meet mission 

demands. Providing threat assessments that 

proactively identify current and emerging 

threats, trends, tactics, and techniques are 

key to ensuring operational success. Providing 

thoughtful, continual capability improvements 

will enhance our overall protective posture.

Maximize Security of Sensitive Information:

Operational security can determine success or 

failure. We must safeguard our information in 

any form - whether digital, written, or verbal. 

By emphasizing individual responsibility, we 

strengthen our collective efforts. 

Future-Proof Investigative Portfolio: The 

nature of currency is undergoing a revolutionary 

shift. Likewise, related threats are evolving and 

the mission space radically shifting. To remain 

agile and resilient, we must transform tactics 

and focus investigations with an eye towards 

the future.

Future Focus

Advance our Brand: A strong, shared focus on 

our mission is critical to our culture. By clearly 

communicating our value proposition, we ensure 

both our internal and external customers know 

what is most important to fulfill our mandate.

To do this we must tell our story clearly and 

impactfully to all stakeholders.

Strengthen Strategic Partnerships: In this 

complex operational environment with limited 

resources, it is critical that we partner with the 

interagency, private industry, and academia to 

achieve lasting results. This requires a strategic 

approach to optimize relationships with key 

partners. 

Modernize Our Footprint: As the operational 

environment evolves, we must re-examine legacy 

models. By revisiting field office alignment, we 

strategically position ourselves for the future, 

while increasing efficiencies.

Adopt Holistic Approach to Resourcing: A 

comprehensive examination of our requirements 

is necessary to maximize use of limited 

resources. Prioritizing our needs, empowering 

decision-making at appropriate levels, and 

examining all options in a holistic manner will 

position us for success.

Optimize Processes: Process improvements will 

enable us to save precious time and resources 

by being more efficient, optimizing operations, 

and increasing agility in an unpredictable 

and rapidly changing environment. We must 

examine where processes and procedures 

can be shortened, simplified, accelerated, or 

consolidated and commit to improving them. 

Objective Definitions:
FY 2023-2027 STRATEGIC PLAN 10 FY 2023-2027 STRATEGIC PLAN 11

Strategy Management, Performance 

Measurement, and Strategy Execution:

The Secret Service is dedicated to promoting 

organizational transparency and accountability. 

As such, we are developing a strategy management 

system to gauge our effectiveness as we progress 

through strategy execution, allowing us to adjust as 

necessary. Quarterly Strategy Reviews will allow 

us to review the qualitative and quantitative key 

performance indicators associated with our objectives 

and determine level of progress. These reviews will 

provide our leaders with a forum to discuss strategic 

challenges, identify opportunities, and allocate 

resources to select initiatives in line with our 

Strategic Plan.

As we consider how our strategy impacts 

the critical activities we carry out daily, the 

relationship is simple – our strategy focuses on 

building a future organization that can deliver 

the capabilities our stakeholders require. Our 

operational activities focus on putting those 

capabilities to work to fulfill our mission. 

Together, they deliver the exceptional value 

that our stakeholders have come to expect. 

Glossary: ■ Strategic Plan – A document that communicates an 

organization’s mission, vision, values, and desired 

outcomes. 

■ Strategic Planning – A disciplined process to produce a 

strategic plan.

■ Objective – Broadly-defined outcome that an organization 

must achieve to accomplish its vision.

■ Initiative – Projects that are undertaken to achieve 

objectives. Must include owner, schedule, resource 

requirements, action steps, progress, and expected results.

■ Mission – A concise statement of an organization’s basic 

purpose.

■ Vision – An emotionally inspiring statement describing 

what success will look like for an organization over the 

strategic planning horizon.

■Values – Ethical guidelines for decision-making and daily 

conduct. 

FY 2023-2027 STRATEGIC PLAN 11
U.S. Department of Homeland Security 

UNITED STATES SECRET SERVICE

www.secretservice.gov