Protecting the president. A unique and very important job that very few people get to say they did. For Millard West security guard Steve Haw, he got that experience of protecting the president and much more.

Whether it was a security guard or a police officer Haw Having family friends in the Secret Service, Haw showed interest in it. In 1989, the Secret Service sent out a need for help as they were understaffed and needed more agents, so Haw applied. He was shocked to learn he had been accepted into the program, a job he continued to be in for 12 years.

“I was in the uniform division, which is like the police force for the White House,” Haw said. “My first assignment was at the White House in the emergency response team. In 1991, I saved George Bush’s granddaughter from drowning in the White House pool. So I got a thank you letter from the president. I was a firearms instructor and also was in the patrol division. I got dragged by a car involved in a shooting and was actually thrown from the car. I mean you name it, I did it.” 

Over the years he has witnessed several events and been through many hardships. One of the most influential was being at the White House when the first plane hit on Sept. 11, 2001. 

“It was just surreal,” Haw said. “I was working afternoons and I got called back in after the first plane hit the tower and everything was blocked and closed down. I was driving on the sidewalk just to get to work. A lot of that changed me and changed how I thought about things.”

He also served with other units beyond the Secret Service. After 9/11, Haw felt a higher calling and he was asked to go help the Federal Air Marshal Service. The Air Marshals are a law enforcement agency that helps to protect flights from terrorist activity. This was especially important after 911.

“At the time there were only 33 agents, but after the attacks there were thousands of agents,” Haw said. “I was assigned to the Washington Field Office. I ended my career in the Baltimore Field Office as the supervisor for the Joint Terrorism Task Force.”

The president travels all around the world to meet other world leaders or even in the USA to help spread popularity. The Secret Service is always with him, wherever the president goes, they go.

“I got to travel all over the world with the president,” Haw said. I’ve done things I never would’ve been able to do if I wasn’t in the Secret Service. I worked at the Olympics in 1996, when they had the bombing. The president was down there for the ceremonial so we set up a perimeter for the president. He actually left right before the bombing happened. So it was chaotic to say the least.”

Haw got out of the Air Marshal Service in 2015 and moved to Omaha so his wife could be closer to family. He really didn’t know what he wanted to do, but like many with a background in law enforcement, he was interested in a job that would accompany his skills. He joined the security team here at Millard West and is excited to start his new journey protecting students instead of the president.