White
House Communications Agency Q&A
WHCA
HISTORY
1. In what year was WHCA
established and what was it originally called?
Answer: The White House Signal
Detachment was formed on 25 March 1942.
2. When the Agency was first
formed, how many officers and enlisted personnel were assigned?
Answer: The White House Signal
Detachment was composed of 2 Officers and 30 Enlisted personnel.
2. How long did Colonel George J.
McNally serve as the Commander of WHCA?
Answer: Colonel
McNally served as the Agency Commander from March 1946 to May 1965, a total
of 19+ years. The WHCA HQ building is named after him.
3. What was Colonel McNally’s Code name?
Answer:
Star
4.
Immediately following the Second World War, what was the Agency's manning level
reduced to?
Answer: The manning level of the Agency
at the end of WW II was 2 Officers and 18 Enlisted personnel.
5. In what year did the Agency go
24/7/365?
Answer: The Agency went full-time in
1950 at the outset of the Korean Conflict.
6. What was Camp David originally
called?
Answer: Camp David was originally
called Shangri-La.
7. When did the Agency decide to
permanently assign personnel to Camp David.
Answer: In 1951 the first member was
assigned to Camp and over the subsequent months the detachment would be filled
with new members.
8. In what year was the name of
the Agency changed to the White House Army Signal Agency?
Answer: 1954.
9. In what year did the Agency
get its present name?
Answer: August 2, 1962.
10. Where was the Shop located
prior to moving into 3248 M Street?
Answer: 26th Street and D Street NW.
The agency moved to M Street in 1964.
11. When did WHCA vacate the shop
on M St?
Answer: All of the groups that operated
in the Shop moved to Anacostia between 1972 and 1976. WHCA initially operated
out of Building 94 and Building 47. Also, a large portion of WHCA personnel
worked on the 18 Acres
12. In what year did WHCA move
into Building 399?
Answer: The Agency moved into Building
399 in 1991.
13. Why did President Richard
Nixon present WHCA with the Presidential Unit Citation?
Answer:
It was awarded the agency in recognition of their performance
during his 1972 visit to China.
14. Where is the WHCA Hall of Fame?
Answer: In the Colonel George J.
McNally building 399 at Anacostia.
15. In what year did WHCA start
the All-Star Program?
Answer: The Agency began the All-Star
Program when WHCA moved into their new Building at Anacostia in 1991. There are
currently 57 names on the HOF List.
16. Who designed the WHCA logo?
Answer: MSG (R) Ronald S. Knowles . Ron was
in Drafting and Reproduction Branch for nearly 20 years In 1962, then SSG Knowles was directed by the
Commander to design a new seal when the agency transitioned from White House
Army Signal Agency to White House Communications Agency during the Kennedy
administration. The new WHCA Seal has been in use now for 57 years.
17. Who is eligible to receive
the Presidential Service Badge?
Answer: Military personnel who serve in
the Agency for one year are eligible for the Badge.
18. When was the Presidential
Service Badge established?
Answer: Executive Order 10879, which
established the Presidential Service Certificate and the Presidential Service
Badge was enacted on 1 June 1960. This Executive Order was later revised under
Executive Order 11174 on 1 September 1964.
19. What is the 1600
Communications Association?
Answer: The 1600 Communications
Association is a WHCA Alumni Association made up of former and current WHCA
members.
20. Who is eligible to join the
1600 Communications Association?
Answer: Anyone currently serving or who
has served in the Agency is eligible to join.
21. Who was the first president
of the 1600 Communications Association?
Answer: Colonel George J. McNally
22. Counting our current
President, President Joe Biden, how many Presidents has the Agency served? Answer:
WHCA has served 15 different Presidents
23. Counting the current WHCA Commander COL Brian Jorgenson how many how many have served in that capacity? Answer: 29 from Mar 1946 to Present
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