The scene appeared chaotic. Bodyguards, with weapons drawn, leaped to the running board of President Bush's limousine. Agents stormed a nearby building. Others crouched low with gas masks on.
But despite the appearance of confusion, these Secret Service agents were all efficiency as they hustled President Bush from Thursday's outdoor rally that was disrupted by gunshots and tear gas.Their actions in Panama displayed the finely honed training they rarely need to use. The scene also revealed in televised news footage some of the security measures the Secret Service uses in its 24-hour mission to protect America's leader - methods that range from bulletproof raincoats to guns concealed in luggage and counter-assault agents with military weapons.
The Secret Service routinely denies requests for information about how it carries out its mission.
Before Bush goes anywhere, a Secret Service advance team is dispatched to check out details of every site he will visit. In Panama, the advance team rejected several proposed rally sites as too exposed or too remote. They settled on the small downtown Plaza Porras, a decision which in hindsight appears to have been flawed.
A team of agents stayed behind when Bush left Panama to analyze the Secret Service performance and investigate why demonstrators were allowed so close that Panamanian police had to shoot tear gas and fire gunshots in the air.
Accompanying Bush on his trips is his armor-plated limousine and other equipment, including a bulletproof lectern if he plans to make a speech.
When the first pops were heard from tear gas fired by Panamanian police, agents could be seen bolting from behind the scenes with their rifles at ready and donning gas masks they normally carry on their belts. Some stormed into the foreign ministry building behind the square, after getting a report - apparently false - that a shooter was lurking inside.
Meanwhile, bodyguards on the platform with Bush whipped out a bulletproof raincoat and held it up behind him.
While the Panama events suggest a glamorous and exciting job, much of the Secret Service work consists of long, tedious hours.