# What makes Special Agents so special?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-special-agents-so-special/268394
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [October 9, 2004, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-special-agents-so-special/268394 "2004-10-09T20:08:05Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2004, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-special-agents-so-special/268394/1 "2004-10-09T20:08:05Z")
Why don’t they just call them “agents?” Or how about “federal agents?” I thought about working for the FBI, but I was afraid that if I told someone I was a Special Agent, they’d think I rode the short bus to Quantico.
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### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2004, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-special-agents-so-special/268394/2 "2004-10-09T21:47:29Z")
It’s the whole “give them self-esteem” thing.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [October 10, 2004, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-special-agents-so-special/268394/3 "2004-10-10T06:21:26Z")
The Feds have quite a lot of “Agents”. The guys who do corp tax audits are “Revenue Agents”. AFAIK, there are several agencies that have “Special” agents (even the IRS), and they all get to carry guns.
That then would be my guess based upon the available information; they’re armed.
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### Author:  [@Monkey\_Lore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monkey_Lore)
#### Post date: [October 10, 2004, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-special-agents-so-special/268394/4 "2004-10-10T12:36:57Z")
The [History of the FBI](http://www.fbi.gov/libref/historic/history/origins.htm) page at the official FBI website states that the “FBI originated from a force of Special Agents” who reported to the Attoreny General (DOJ), but doesn’t say why they are called “Special Agents.”
There’s an [older thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=28578&highlight=special+agent) where one reply states:
> [@Bricker](#):
>
> I’ve been told that FBI and other government agents are called “special” to distinguish them from general agents of the United States, those individuals with contracting warrants that permit them to legally obligate the government in matters of contract.
A [USENET post](http://groups.google.com/groups?q=g:thl2453979794d&dq=&hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&selm=38434DEE.8A347AE6%40ix.netcom.com) explains this some more.
I can’t find any official cite to back up this claim.
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### Author:  [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)
#### Post date: [October 10, 2004, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-special-agents-so-special/268394/5 "2004-10-10T16:49:21Z")
We have people permitted to legally obligate the government in contracts…we call them Contracting Officers.
Now this is DoD, but I’m not aware of any government agency that applies the name “agent” to their COs.