The Super-Secure Delivery Service That Only Diplomats Can Use

[@christopherg2347]

Imagine being the one guy in the service that lost a package - and it is a freaking piano to boot. “If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning."

[@zig913]

He left it unattended in Bulgaria, rookie mistake.

[@100beep5]

"Even the most useless person serves as a bad example"

[@gabrielc7861]

​@zig913 atleast it wasn't romania

[@ameliathehedgehogfairy9386]

a whole piano, unbelievable 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀

[@sarowie]

This reminds me of an old job. We where trained what not to do regarding corruption. We where not allowed to take clients onto the company Yacht. Someone asked for a real example. The trainer stated that this IS a real example. Now where where wondering where the company Yacht is docked, because nobody could have imagined that we had a company Yacht.

[@martinyordanov3401]

As a Bulgarian, I'm absolutely not surprised the only package that was lost was stolen here

[@nijeuveklako]

Gde si bratko

[@MI-qx4lc]

Е ако ние не сме го откраднали кой друг?

[@nijeuveklako]

@@MI-qx4lc rumuni?

[@KerriEverlasting]

😂😂😂

[@youngarkas4994]

Let me guess, your family still owns that miniature piano your great-great-grandfather 'found' at a train station in 1919?

[@watcher321]

Yeah, right! There I was a Second Lieutenant recently assigned to First Signal Group in Orleans, France. This was 1961. MY CO called me in one morning in early December. "Hey, Lieutenant, you're Jewish, aren't you? Therefore, you won't be celebrating Christmas, will you?" I nodded. "I've got a little job for you. On December 25th you're going to be assigned as a diplomatic courier on a flight from Paris to New York City. Your orders are being cut." Hey that was great. I was from NYC and I could surprise my folks. On Monday morning I arrived at Orly Airport and went to the diplomatic office. I got my .45, met the Sergeant assigned and was taken to the baggage area. The compartment was loaded with postal sacks. I sealed the door and climbed the stairs to the plane's passenger area. Well, surprise, when we boarded the whole coach passenger area was filled with mail sacks. Primarily military mail heading home to the US. There were no coach passengers. The stewardess told us we had been upgraded to First Class. In First Class there were only four other passengers: Bob Hope and Danny Thomas. They had been in Paris for a TV special. The Sergeant and I had a ball. We played bridge with them; we ate with them; we heard war stories, and I heard the famous story about David Niven and the Battle of the Bulge which I have told numerous times. When I arrived in New York City I taxied to my folk's apartment, had a great dinner and was back in France the next day. What fun!

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Funny how the fact that you don't celebrate Christmas led to you being able to visit your parents for Christmas.

[@watcher321]

My pal@@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 just doesn't understand the military. None of us celebrated Halloween so we all had duty. Now that should scare you. America in defense.

[@KurtRichterCISSP]

Fun fact: USPS Priority (edit: REGISTERED) Mail is approved for classified material up to SECRET

[@Theinatoriinator]

Double-wrapped and reported to your security consultant of course.

[@doujinflip]

Only domestically as Registered Mail though. Probably a rare case these days too since documents nowadays are digitized and sent through classified-level VPNs.

[@wellsilver3972]

​Whar @@doujinflip

[@shawnjoseph4009]

Secret isn’t very classified though lol

[@Rockethead293]

@@shawnjoseph4009 there's Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret

[@joermnyc]

Note: the Diplomatic Security Service is one of the HARDEST special agent jobs to get in the Federal Government. Under 2% of applicants make it through the multiple tests (even a writing sample!), in person vetting process, extensive background checks and situational judgement scenarios. Even after all of that, you now must ACE 9 months of intensive training before you get to work as an agent. Oh, and you need 4 years of college and can’t be older than 37 UNLESS you have been working in the military, and even then you’ll need a wavier from the higher ups at DSS.

[@SquirrelNebula]

Welp, there goes my dream job that I've only just found out about. 😭😂

[@eldropout7400]

Gahhh

[@АгронДепартье]

It is just an easy job and too many people can handle it/apply. Fewer apply to Navy Seal because people understand their chances.

[@dead-claudia]

@@АгронДепартьеnavy seals are military, not special agents.

[@jamilahrazzaq8780]

Right lol! Same 😪

[@resterAnonyme]

As a former Defense Courier also called DCS (Defense Courier Service) we worked with them primarily between our Ft. Meade, MD station and their D.C area location. We would hand over material they could delivery more efficiently and vice versa. It was a fun job for about a year or 2, but there comes a point where it gets monotonous. I got to go to Cuba, Germany, Canada, Portugal and flew in a UPS cargo jump seat to Louisville, KY quite often. One major difference is the DCS (Military) uses 2 couriers vs the 1 the state department uses, but generally we have a lot more classified then they do. 20 years ago someone wrote about out history and we had a spy at out Paris location helping out the soviets. In 1980 a hijacking in Italy and after the Gulf War the Saudi King wrote a $760 Million check we delivered to D.C.

[@aresef]

In the 1980s, Nigerian officials worked with Mossad to abduct a former minister and stick him in a crate labeled as a diplomatic parcel. It wasn’t properly labeled so British customs officials were able to open it.

[@NoewerrATall]

That incident would make a pretty good video itself.

[@D_Winds]

Quite interesting! It'd be easy enough to make a TV series out of this idea, title it "Couriers", and exagerate some stories to create an amusing show.

[@doujinflip]

I'd like to see a bunch of consular officers get together and write up a screenplay for "The Line", because apparently it's just nonstop drama at the visa windows 🛂

[@juanfo7307]

They could send a banana as a joke😂

[@au5tie]

The Pan Am show was a mix between couriers and desperate housewives

[@ExperimentIV]

@@au5tieno it was more spycraft and desperate housewives and the golden age of jets and it definitely should have gotten a second season. that was the first thing i ever saw margot robbie in!

[@stevenneiman1554]

I mean, given that in the line of duty they've lost more courier lives than packages, you might not need too much exaggeration.

[@joewilson3393]

When I was in the Army, I did the mail for my Military Intelligence unit. The deployed back from Iraq, and had to mail some of their classified documents. I had to go through the whole process of getting a secret security clearance just to drive my GSA van to the post office, sign for a poster tube marked classified, drive it to the CO, and leave it in a chair in his office while he finished putting his stuff on shelves.

[@tylisirn]

There is always a theoretical possibility of you seeing the contents of the pouch. (Through no foul play, such as recovering the contents of a broken container after a car crash. The process of getting the clearance also vets you personally to make sure you do no foul play.)

[@qovro]

How long did it take for Amy to get a diplomatic job so she could research this episode?

[@JanTuts]

Nah, they just stuffed her in a diplomatic pouch, sent her across the world, and had her keep track of the process.

[@fetzie23]

@@JanTuts AirTag in the pouch? :)

[@JanTuts]

@@fetzie23 ... They only thought of that after they had already sent her off :P

[@LacrosseBro104]

There's actually a really interesting book about the events Sam describes at 1:26. It's called The Spy in Moscow Station.

[@QuestionableMorality]

I remember when I travelled back (with a big group of diplomats) from Beijing to the U.S. they gave us a bunch of these orange packages to take with us because of increased tensions with China. So basically every one of the diplomats acted as a courier I guess. This was about a 6 months ago.

[@deejaygaming7389]

Oh finally someone made a video about this extremely specific topic that I really needed to know about, no way!

[@mattsnyder4754]

Wait. The only package that’s ever been stolen from this service was an ENTIRE ASS PIANO?

[@henrikrundgren3169]

4:40 - The pronunciation of Łódź was amazing. 75% of letters are not something generally found in English; but that's apparently not an issue, just remove all the pesky extra lines and read whatever is left. (Apart from that great video, as usual)

Polish should just maybe stop using mildly different characters for wildly different sounds. O and Ö look similar, sound similar. L and Ł look similar but sound very different. Makes it more difficult for no reason

[@lavenderinthedark]

@ absolutely wild fucking take. yea just change your whole language for people who dont even live in your country, sounds like a plan

[@highviewbarbell]

​@how about look up how to pronounce a language before reading lines containing that language instead of just plowing ahead like a doofus ignoring new letters and diacritical marks

[@adeemuff]

Wooch!

[@cly_]

Did you mean: Woosh!

[@doujinflip]

Couriers escorting pouches also automatically fly business class when available since they're on the clock, and get to keep the miles too 😮 But it's _when available_, since not all routes can use a commercial airline and someone higher up does the scheduling. So there's also cases where they're seated on charter flights, airfreighter jump seats, riding shotgun in a truck, or even berthing on the dreaded transoceanic slow boat.

[@TransitAndTeslas]

When flying on business with any company you always get to keep the miles which is a nice perk for sure. That’s because airlines assign miles to the specific person flying. Save em up and use them for personal flights.

[@erkinalp]

@@TransitAndTeslasno, they do not get miles, in fact they are banned from keeping loyalty info for diplomatically immune transports

[@LRM12o8]

@erkinalp are you saying that actual ambassadors are specifically excluded from the airline's so-called "ambassador" programs? 😂

[@simulacrae]

All of those things sound great, at least you get to travel for free and get well paid for it.

[@doujinflip]

@@erkinalp Depends on the sending country. American couriers can claim the perks, while Australian ones may not.

[@andrewstockwell66]

I think you meant Mauritanian, not Mauritian. Mauritius is an island nation in the Indian Ocean.

[@peteranon8455]

I'm imagining it's 50% classified documents/drives and 50% pharmaceutical.

[@jbird4478]

Yes, it's kind of a public secret that diplomats smuggle lots of stuff.

[@Firevine]

10% classified documents, 30% "pharmaceutical", 60% children.

[@koenven7012]

before the internet, there was probably a lot of 'adult reading material' in there as well, especially to stricter countries.

[@Dumplingu]

According to a polish coworker, Lodz is pronounced like wodge

[@mikolajm6354]

Yeah, that's probably as close to sounding correct as you can get with english pronounciation

[@Mido_]

more like woodge

[@shoredude2]

He didn't pronounce correctly Nouakchott either.

[@BarcelPL]

woodge, or wooji, but shorten the last "i"

[@miproduction6196]

@@Mido_that’s crazy. What’s y’all favorite food

[@charleslee1373]

The scene in The Americans where the Soviet courier takes the pouch to the bathroom to be x-ray'd through the stall wall is one of the best scenes in that series. Also, haven't various high profile defections happened via diplomatic 'pouch' (as in a person stowed inside a large container with a diplomatic seal) or is that some made up James Bond shit? In another scene in The Americans, that Soviet scientist arrives via 'pouch'

[@Marylandbrony]

4:22 That is no longer the flag of Mauritania. There are now two red bands on the top and bottom.

[@alexcarbone1222]

The thing I learned in this video is that the weird government agency Hobbs worked for in fast and furious is real

[@charliemunson7467]

Lol, I worked at the DS Los Angeles field office back in the day. I answered that phone when the studio called to get an advisor. Transferred it to my boss. Can confirm it's not very accurate.

[@joshuaadams8240]

I heard a horror story about one of these diplomatic pouches making it to an embassy in the UK. Turns out, it was a machine gun used on innocent people and the UK government had to cut ties with the embassy's home country before they could arrest the offender.

[@philsharp758]

"The Silver Greyhounds" was the royal messenger service set up by King Charles II in the 1600's and used by the British ever since. Woodrow Wilson must have been inspired to use the same name.

[@doujinflip]

They're called the King's/Queen's Messengers now, but their emblem is a silver greyhound

[@darkwoodmovies]

It's remarkable what the US government is capable of, now if only we could get that same kind of effort when it comes to doing literally anything for their own citizens.

[@bonmacp]

This IS for the benefit our own citizens! Everything going into and out of a U.S. Embassy or Consulate (whether Classified or Unclassified) is brought in by Diplomatic Pouch. (However, only the Classified ones are escorted by Diplomatic Couriers). The US Embassy and Consulate employees serve the American people. Don’t believe me? Tell me what you will do, and who you will turn to when you get your passport and wallet stolen while traveling overseas. Or what happens to your body if you happen to die overseas? Your friendly US Embassy and Consulate folks are there to help you (and/or your next of kin) for these and plenty more problems that you can’t even imagine. (If you have ever served as an Embassy Duty Officer, you’d understand). Not everybody serving at an Embassy/Consulate goes around with their pinkies in the air sipping champagne at cocktail parties. In fact, they are some of the hardest working folks I know - living in less than ideal/friendly countries, working literally night and day (and holidays) during periods of crisis.

[@darkwoodmovies]

@@bonmacp I'm not saying this isn't important. I'm saying that this shows they CAN be efficient and excellent at whatever they want to be good at. The only thing standing in their way is the fact that shareholders don't benefit from giving Americans good healthcare etc.

[@olivercharles2930]

Helping your own citizens is communism.

[@luftboyprod]

im colorblind, and i cant believe THIS is how i found out that fedex's colors are purple and orange.

[@Heshhion]

I know a dude that sat on the tarmac with printers & etc for 6hrs in the sun. He had to make sure no one touched it during the lack of transport in country.. He was in a suit and it was south east asia. he pissed in a bottle..

[@bonmacp]

Oh, the stories we could tell! If you only knew! Each of us could write our own book.

[@gamingforpizza5142]

Transporting a piano? I bet you 99% of the time they use this service to avoid fees and smuggle drugs.

[@bonmacp]

You’d bet wrong.

[@gabrielc7861]

1:28 "My keystrokes are being recorded? Literally 1984 i tell ya"

[@olivercharles2930]

This but unironically.

[@celestialkitsune]

6:00 Gotta love the way that sponsor starts out. Throwing obvious shade at the completionist and his fraud. 😂

[@cyberpunk.386]

4:02 What are Fixers? Sounds like someone from a Hollywood movie on drugs…

[@lsedge7280]

Also, the UK's diplomatic courier service originated as and still includes the King's Messengers, and formed in the 19th century, and which inspired the US DCS, and which I assume inspired the "Silver Greyhound" name, given they used badges and emblems of a silver greyhound.

[@marvindebot3264]

The USDCS is a really, really great job and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes travel, doesn't like people much and can pass the checks and balances.

[@healtipidfil-am]

Hi, do you know how long diplomatic mail takes to arrive ?

[@jasbindersingh2441]

105 years service😂😂😂😂 , the Kings messengers have been delivering messages for 800 years

[@Nooticus]

One of my fave HAI vids in a while! Top secret stuff and logistics are both so fun. Also, thank you to the entire team that makes these videos (especially writers Amy Adam and Ben) for a truly fantastic year of videos!

[@Suplyndmnd]

I've actually done this job in the receiving end. I was be the person at the receiving airport.

[@eetuthereindeer6671]

1:05 the pro Byzantium half as interesting shows Constantinople on the map

[@michael_betts]

It's not an anachronism. Constantinople fell to the Turks in 1453, but the name wasn't changed to Istanbul officially until the 1930s, and this is talking about the immediate post WW1 era, so the name is appropriate.

[@highviewbarbell]

​@@michael_bettsit's always appropriate ☦️ 😊

[@pitrzer]

I work at a freight forwarding company in Europe. And we sometimes handle Diplomatic Pouches, but its usually just furniture or other personal belongings. Usually when they move to and from a country. Its handled like secured freight but without it being checked. So nobody will ever take a look whats inside. Nor is it x-rayed, sniffed or in any other way checked. There are no security officers or something following it, this seems only to apply to american diplomats.

[@kaelon9170]

This actually depends on the confidentiality level of the pouch. Each diplomatic shipment is rated at a certain confidentiality level. Generally shipments rated as secret and top secret need to be accompanied by a diplomatic courier at all times and so would not use a freight forwarding company like the one you work at. It makes sense that furniture and personal belongs are not rated secret/top secret and so don't need supervision at all times.

[@forgettablelisa]

This is how high level smuggling works

[@avirajsinghmehta1857]

Well there is one exception when a bunch of people want to smuggle gold they did use Diplomatic pouches but they did get caught

[@durukanus1]

I was sent as a diplomatic courier a little while ago, it will always be in my memories, however the task was way more challenging than what is shown in the video.

[@andrewhopkinson2503]

Interesting that the army's precursor to the DCS was called the silver greyhounds. The British equivalent to the DCS, the King's Messengers, has a silver greyhound as its badge. The King's Messengers have been around since at least 1199

[@akhilchalil1585]

Best channel for gold and other stuff smuggling

[@hdswashere]

It's a little suspicious that Givewell is sponsoring ads across several channels. Plus the number of ads I get for charities in general is ridiculous. Makes you wonder how they can afford all those promotions. 🤔

[@ssnful123]

Givewell is actually a really good website/charity, its a nice watchdog. Most charities have an advertisement budget. After all, if you spend $1 and gain $10 for charities that do well, its a good investment that helps more people. But true you have to be careful of bad charities, but you can use a bunch of charity watchdogs(including givewell) to see if your money is well spent.

[@saint-miscreant]

charities aside, because I fully agree on that point, it’s entirely possible that Givewell is paying below market rate but many channels are willing to accept it to help promote responsible giving

[@mrparkerdan]

They afford it with YOUR donations. 🙄 … the rest goes to salary and administrative expenses.

[@olivercharles2930]

You realize charities don't use 100% of the donations for charity right? That would not be smart. After all, you gotta keep the company afloat to do charity.

[@olivercharles2930]

@@mrparkerdan And charity.

[@Balfoneus]

Man, these guys are one exoskeleton with a baby attached away from being Death Stranding couriers

[@gibsonms]

The UK has the King’s Messengers… they have their own passports and everything.

[@HarpaxA]

HAI totally "forget" to mention that DCS is often used to smuggle stuff, especially drugs and illegally import stuff (unpaid custom electronic, historical statue etc)

[@Flyingcar100]

That would be embarrassing to have to admit you lost a piano?

[@jamesmiller7712]

@4:38 the town in Poland is pronounced "Wooj". My grandad was always fascinated by this place. My girlfriend is half Polish and taught me why Ł = a 'w' sound Ó = 'oo' Dz = 'j'

[@MrDantas112]

I worked for fed ex in the UK and they certainly had a diplomatic courier service, we couldn’t even X-ray it.

[@jojoknight]

04:40 I just couldn't stop laughing at your pronunciation of Łódź. Cute! I'm so happy the city name appeared on the screen 😂😂😂

[@samsearle4433]

DHL did this in the middle east in the 79s, 80s and 90s. Especially Beirut which was in civil war.

[@bonmacp]

The Courier Service would charter a small DHL cargo plane from our hub office in Bahrain to fly to several places in the Middle East. We shared the plane (both costs and cargo space) with the Brits (Queen’s Messengers). The only people onboard were the two US Couriers and two QMs, along with the two DHL pilots.

[@testattestdotnet]

I'm looking for a transporter. "I'm listening."

[@koreaaircargo]

As for our diplomatic pouch handling staff, they are all specialized in the diplomatic pouch services with more than 30-year experience; with their expertise, we could make it possible to deliver the service in more cost-efficient, secured, and timely manner.

[@SayAhh]

Ah, so like a high-end, secure Uber Eats!

[@scottd9448]

There are a few unscrupulous countries traffic a huge amount of narcotics via their diplomatic pouches. In 2012, a 16 kilogram shipment of cocaine was sent to the United Nations in New York. There have been other incidents involving south American and African countries.

[@lukemurley]

Lodz in Poland is pronounced Wudge to rhyme with budge. That's the reason it's my favourite Polish city.

[@ArsenioDev]

Okay not quite only usable by diplomats, other government agencies can use it too. Back at NASA I used diplomatic pouch very frequently to ship instruments around the world to funkier places. It was mildly annoying to get sorted but man it was great

[@4RILDIGITAL]

It's truly remarkable how a system has been shaped to maintain national security. The video was engaging and informational.

[@brandonwalker5011]

Many countries throughout history have spent immense effort to keep state secrets.

[@erk_0483]

3:46 I was exactly here one time, thats a piece of the Berlin wall.

[@jazzhecker]

4:21 not mauritanian flag, + you said mauritian, not mauritanian

[@triton_152]

1:03 Constantinople?!?!!?!?!

[@LD-xt1vo]

Yep, until 1930 when it was renamed Istanbul.

[@triton_152]

@@LD-xt1vo And byzantium before that

[@WannaBeHocker]

2:35 Harrison Ford is piloting that plane - taking off from a taxiway

[@grozaphy]

can i wrap my parcel in that pouch?

Very strong Going Postal vibes, Sir Terry.

[@JohnSmithShields]

Amy could have had a great field trip on this one.

[@prettypic444]

*GASP* AND THEY WERE DIPLOMATS!

[@nraynaud]

I have heard stories of treats for children delivered by heavily armed diplomatic courrier service asking which room is safe to drop the loot in an African orphanage. (From a European embassy, not US)

[@miproduction6196]

this is the epitome of DUTY! Bravo ! This would be an AWESOME job man!

[@miproduction6196]

We need more about this. This is awesome

[@toolbaggers]

If you 'lose' a grand piano, you're not very good at your job.

[@seb_617]

I was totally expecting this one to be sponsored by NordVPN. Seems like the perfect segue.

[@tacet3045]

The Silver Greyhounds are the UK's Corps of King's Messengers, they got the name Silver Greyhounds from Charles II but had already been running important messages since the 12th century. The USA's DCS were based on the Kings Messengers.

[@MrHSX]

No one's gonna questions why they were sending a piano inside a diplomatic package?!

[@bonmacp]

Strangely enough, it could be bugged with listening devices. It would have been scanned for bugs before leaving the DoS, and escorted by diplomatic courier so that it could not be tampered with along the way. We had a piano in the atrium of our embassy in Dakar, Senegal.

[@CC-si3cr]

This job is so cool!!! The government needs to do a better job at letting college students know cool jobs like this exist in the federal government. If I knew this was an actual job I definitely would've looked into the qualifications on how to become a Diplomatic Courier. How cool would it be to say you work for the State Department, but my job is classified? It seems Navy SEALs training would be required or some kind of gun proficiency. Aren't you supposed to stop someone from taking the orange pouch if it's ever in jeopardy?

[@charliemunson7467]

Lol relax. They don't carry guns and there's no SEAL training. You use "verbal judo" to de-escalate any problems. They do plenty of recruiting, college kids just don't care about it. And you can join whenever, we had a guy join who was a cop for 25 years.

[@bonmacp]

The job isn’t classified; what we carried was. Former military service isn’t a requirement, but most couriers have served. If you were a college graduate and had prior military experience, those were qualifications which put you ahead of someone without that kind of experience. It is very rare someone fresh out of college gets selected to be a DoS Courier. (I was a USMC Intelligence Officer; I had the qualifications of having a high level security clearance, several prior background investigations, and training in the handling of classified materials). Weapons training isn’t required, because we aren’t armed.

[@iAPX432]

As a French, I know why they chose Tours: there was a US military base there. Everything should be under control.

[@dudemanofdude]

Their music was pretty good. But I didnt realize the diplomats had that big of an influence on the music industry

[@liamtahaney713]

Sounds like an epic job

[@bonmacp]

I served as a U.S. Diplomatic Courier for 26 years. It was the best job in the world.

[@pamady276]

Silly question We know that these courier is transpoting secret diplomatic cargo and equipment. Is the cargo also need x-ray screening on the regular airport or not?? Or they go through their special secret diplomatic cargo x-ray only? Is it possible to smuggle illegal item that could harm the destination country by using these diplomatic cargo? Such as drugs, heroine, spy tools, weapon, gun, bomb etc??

[@ajblack2410]

It’s immune from search of any kind it can be considered an act of war if you do

[@augiegirl1]

The NCIS: Los Angeles episode “Partners” (s3, e14) explores that question. One thing that is said in the episode is that a “pouch” can be any size, from being able to fit in a person’s hand up to multiple pallets or even possibly a whole shipping container, which I'm surprised that the video didn't mention.

[@DomyTheMad420]

"sounds like a sweet job" did you miss the part where they're not traveling, they're boarding planes & train for a living, getting near permanently jet lagged?? always take a 2nd look before claiming the grass is greener.

[@mcgrathsw1]

Can confirm.

[@ronniefox7118]

I see these diplomatic packages at UPS quite often actually.

[@bonmacp]

Those would be the white Unclassified pouches. The classified ones are orange, and are always escorted by DoS Couriers.

[@selimarabac811]

I didn't know that Istanbul had changed its name to Constantinople. When exactly did that happen sam?

[@TheBradams73]

4:23 correction: American Embassy in Mauritius, not Mauritian embassy...

[@erlandyt]

Your pronunciation of Helsinki is perfect

[@zamn61]

4:22 "Mauritanian" not "Mauritian"

[@epiman3930]

Mixed up mauritania and mauritius (i have been angered as a result of this error)

[@hillppari]

so this is how the coke is moved

[@kexcz8276]

2:27 Hey really- are you Czech related or what? XD So many hints at that at so many videos LOL

[@HandyMan657]

Apparently, according to a certain orange stained someone, you don't need any of this, just a few groundskeepers to move documents around and a bathroom to store them all in. And classified is subjective, along with Top Secret, that can be declassified with a mere thought.

[@bonmacp]

Yeah, as someone who has spent their entire adult life safeguarding classified materials (often at peril of my own life), you have no idea how upset I am over this.

[@drcgaming4195]

3:40 like a joey, not a kangaroo. joeys are in the pouch, kangaroos are too big for another kangaroo's pouch

[@katashworth41]

I heard a story of someone posted to Moscow in the 80s who would use their diplomatic bag to have packets of chocolate biscuits and videos of Eastenders sent to them. I hope that sort of thing still goes on (though why anyone would want to watch Eastenders ia beyond me, I’ve seen more cheerful films about the Holocaust).

[@nullpo2478]

Funny how my diplomatic courier claim to need some money to deliver my package because he lost his documents. Guess add another one to the list

[@BruinsPastaSauce]

sounds like a sick job. would love that.

[@dantetre]

1:02 Constantinople was called Istanbul by the post War era.

[@yo.adrian]

Why did I spend so much time imagining the color of delivery drivers' uniforms?

[@General12th]

Hi Sam! Those who can't make HAI videos instead go on to become diplomatic couriers.

[@majormushu]

So i looked this up because i was curious and the pay is awful for the US diplomatic couriers especially for what is expected of you.

[@bonmacp]

Starting pay isn’t great, but benefits are. Also, you can rise through the ranks fairly quickly the first 3-5 years, and get “step increases” each year.

[@georgf9279]

It's astonishing, how they can be the last to get on and the first to get off commercial planes and have dudes standing outside to watch the taxi. I mean all the different airlines and airports in foreign countries don't HAVE to accommodate these requests.

[@Berkeloid0]

I guess they only do this with those countries who do accommodate the requests. For the others they would bring things in via a different method.

[@bonmacp]

Strangely enough, we actually do this just about everywhere, friendly countries or not. Some places won’t let the US personnel who are meeting the incoming plane to access the tarmac, but they can stand just off to the side to keep the aircraft and cargo holds in sight. The arriving courier can descend from the plane, get the pouches from the hold, and take them over to the waiting U.S. personnel; they will do a pouch exchange there, then take the outbound pouches back to the plane. Once they have been loaded, the courier will re-board the plane. The local embassy folks will still stay to watch the plane until it is “wheels up”

[@Berkeloid0]

@@bonmacp Fascinating. What would happen if something went wrong, e.g. local police confiscated the parcel direct from the hold after the courier was on board?

[@bonniemacpherson7742]

That’s what the U.S. escort on the ground is there for. Believe it or not, this has never happened because they know our escort is there to prevent it (confiscation) from happening. If the pouches get removed from the cargo hold, our escort would retrieve them for safekeeping and notify the courier by text message that the pouches have been removed (but it is a rare occurrence, and is normally just because they have been moved from one hold to another for space or weight restrictions. The escort would tell us how many pouches have been moved, and which hold they have been moved into). It is an *extremely* rare occurrence that they would ever be removed from the plane completely, and again, it would normally be because of space/weight. Our pouches have priority (even over passenger baggage, believe it or not). The local police (even in unfriendly countries) know they can’t simply confiscate the pouches or detain diplomatic couriers. They know the international incident this would cause, because there are International laws (the Vienna Conventions) regulating it.

[@AaronandTaylor]

Seems like a missed opportunity for the plot of a Liam Neeson movie.

[@qwertyu9919]

NGL, this sounds fantastic for a spy game, just... Death Stranding but on an active warzone.