Since this is virtually the only area within this thread with which I can claim any level of knowledge or expertise, I figured I would go ahead and add/clarify to Mr. Odom's post.

Within the Department of State you have the Foreign Service and the Civil Service. The Foreign Service is divided between Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) and Foreign Service Specialists. Most (but not all) DSS agents are Foreign Service Specialists. Foreign Service Officers are the "Diplomats," and specialize in several different cones. Foreign Service Specialists, besides DSS agents, include such careers as health pracitioners, engineers, communications specialists, etc.

Most DSS agents have an OPM code of 2501. Series 2501 agents typically follow the career path outlined by Mr. Odom, with the workload being skewed towards protection work as opposed to criminal investigations. The non-2501DSS agents are coded 1811, which is the same as most federal criminal investigators in other agencies (DEA, FBI, etc.) DSS 1811s do protection work but are intended to focus on investigations. DSS 1811s also fall under the Civil Service as opposed to the Foreign Service.

The differences might seem superficial, but keem in mind DSS 2501s are on the same pay scale, etc. as FSOs and the rest of those in the Foreign Service while the 1811s are on the Civil Service schedule. Additionally, career development and tenure benchmarks are different between the two. 2501s are expected to learn a language at some point in their career, 1801s are not.

Can't comment on the "red headed step children" remark. DSS appears to have a reputation for professionalism.

Why all this matters to the original discussion is that ultimately these guys carry guns and consequentially there will likely be resistance by DoS to increase numbers dramatically. Furthermore, DSS seems to have fairly high standards when it comes to hiring agents. Without lowering standards, they might be hard pressed to increase their size to meet the objective of replacing all contractors. This, combined with Mr. White's previous points outline why it is better to retain the services of the contractors. As far as reed11b's comments go, I have no knowledge of the feasibility of the suggestion.

Here is a link to the State Department Foreign Service Specialist employment site in case anyone is interested in learning more about the differences between the employment categories of the State Department: http://careers.state.gov/specialist/employment.html