Factbox: U.S. Secret Service's reputation dented by embarrassments

(Reuters) - The U.S. Secret Service, charged with guarding the lives of presidents, their families and other dignitaries, is considered one of the elite protective agencies in the world but it has had its share of failures and embarrassments in recent years. An independent review panel on Thursday recommended an outside leader to spur change at the agency, as well as more agents, better training and a higher White House fence. The following are some of the agency's highest profile blunders and missteps in recent years. * An uninvited couple sneaked into a White House state dinner for the Indian prime minister in 2009. Tareq and Michaele Salahi shook hands with U.S. President Barack Obama and had their picture taken with him. The couple reportedly were seeking publicity to boost their chances of getting on a reality television show. * On Nov. 11, 2011, Oscar Ortega-Hernandez of Idaho Falls, Idaho, opened fire on the White House with a semi-automatic rifle from the street. Perimeter guards went on alert but were told that no shots had been fired. Supervisors later concluded the shots came from feuding street gangs. No one realized the White House had been hit by seven bullets until four days later when a housekeeper found a broken window and piece of concrete on a balcony. Ortega-Hernandez was sentenced to 25 years in prison. * In April 2012 several Secret Service members in Cartagena, Colombia, where they had been sent to prepare for Obama's arrival at a summit meeting, capped a night of partying at strip clubs by taking several prostitutes back to their hotel. Local authorities became involved when one man got into a money dispute with a prostitute. Of the 13 employees suspected of soliciting prostitutes, six resigned or retired, three returned to duty and four had their clearances revoked and were removed. * A Secret Service agent was found passed out drunk in the hall of a hotel in Amsterdam, where he was helping prepare for an Obama visit in March 2014. Three agents were sent home in the incident. * A toddler breached White House security protocol in August 2014 by squeezing through the perimeter fence, sending officers scrambling to intercept him. A Secret Service spokesman said the boy was given a timeout. * Prosecutors say decorated Iraq War veteran Omar Gonzalez was carrying a knife when he climbed the White House's iron fence on Sept. 19 and sprinted across the lawn. Fence jumpers at the White House are not rare but Gonzalez managed to overpower a Secret Service officer and run through part of the building's first floor before being stopped, the Washington Post said. Additional fencing and a review of security procedures were ordered and Secret Service Director Julia Pierson was called before a House committee to explain the breach. (Writing and reporting by Bill Trott; Editing by Christian Plumb)