It’s been a year in the making for one pair at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, where one of them has made his Olympics debut. And now that both of them are in Vancouver, on some days they’ve had to perform at high levels for more than 12 hours straight.
But this duo isn’t made up of athletes. It’s comprised of U.S. counterterrorism officials.
“I will be in Canada,” reads a note taped to an office door in the main Justice Department building in Washington. “In an emergency I can be reached through the [Justice Department] Command Center.”
Of course, the Director of Preparedness and Response for the Justice Department’s National Security Division is in Vancouver in case of emergency there.
His office in Washington has been dark for the past two weeks, and he is in Vancouver with another National Security Division attorney, Francis Schmitz.
“The U.S. Government’s mission dictated that, given the security requirements surrounding Vancouver, including a variety of cross-border issues and other security matters, DOJ attorneys should be part of the overall deployment this year,” the Director of Preparedness said, noting that the Justice Department has sent similar representatives to summer and winter Olympic games for more than a decade.
The Director of Preparedness, who asked that his name not be published for “a variety of reasons,” and Schmitz serve several roles in Vancouver.
In particular, they provide “immediate, on-site legal guidance” to the FBI and others “in connection with security and legal issues that arise,” the Director of Preparedness said in an email to FOX News from Vancouver.
The team also acts as a “mechanism for receiving and sharing information” between Justice Department leadership, federal prosecutors across the United States and other law enforcement and homeland security officials in Vancouver, he said.
“I would say that it’s hard work for us and for all the law enforcement personnel here, especially because we have to continue managing our responsibilities at home, but the assistance [from Canadian authorities and the U.S. State Department] has been exceptional,” he said.
He and Schmitz work out of the “Olympic Coordination Office,” where other law enforcement and U.S. government personnel are based.
“As the only two officials from Main Justice on the ground in Vancouver, Fran and I are responsible for providing 24/7 coverage here on behalf of the National Security Division and Main Justice,” the Director of Preparedness said. “We are each working 8-10 hour shifts, seven days per week … Obviously, these day shifts can extend to 12 hours or more depending on events or crises.”
Schmitz’s shift begins each day at 7 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m., when the Director of Preparedness takes over. The later shift typically ends at 11 p.m., but both officials are on call overnight.
Asked whether there have been any incidents or “crises” in Vancouver requiring substantial involvement from himself or Schmitz, the Director of Preparedness declined to offer much.
“I’m afraid that I can’t get into your last question too much, except to say that the [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] and Vancouver Police have been doing an amazing and professional job, and we are very proud to be able to support their efforts,” he said.
The Justice Department attorneys are joined in Vancouver by a team of officials from the Department of Homeland Security and agents from the FBI, which has been working on the Olympics security operation for about a year.
“The FBI has a small team in Vancouver to support the U.S. mission and assist our Canadian partners,” said Richard Kolko, a member of the FBI team in Vancouver.
All of them will soon be joined by another top counterterrorism official.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is slated to be in Vancouver later this week, as part of the U.S. delegation to the Closing Ceremony of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
