The Presidential Motorcade (2018)

The Presidential Motorcade
The Presidential Motorcade ready to roll.
Type of Activity	Establish Communications Support
Location
Location	Washington DC
Date of Activity	25 Mar 2018
Coordinates

The Presidential Motorcade is built from a fleet of both custom and sometimes rented vehicles. A finite number of Presidential limousines exist, with between 16 and 20 being an estimate. Careful planning and a logistical planning must take place to pre-position the most capable (and usually newest) vehicles based on the threat level and operating environment at each destination.

It is not uncommon of for the President to visit three separate cities during a single day, especially during campaign season. That means three separate motorcade detachments need to be forward deployed to those cities. This is done via USAF heavy-transports such as C-17s, or on some occasions, a single C-5 Galaxy.

The Presidential Motorcade is both the safest and seemingly the riskiest convoy on the planet. A comparison of today’s Presidential Limousine “The Beast” and that of JFK’s “Bubble Top” shows  the stark differences in the level of security features that have been added in today’s limousine.

When President John F Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, he was riding in a motorcade through Dallas in the 1961 Lincoln Continental four-door convertible.

Completely open at the top, the car, code-named Stagecoach, had no armor or bullet-proof elements whatsoever, a fact incomprehensible today.

The tires were not bulletproof. There was no bulletproof glass. It did have a removable plastic top, but, again, it was just Plexiglas, no bullet resistance in that material. It's amazing to think of it, but they just didn't anticipate that kind of problem. The motorcade did not have any medical support, nor did it have procedures in place to respond to emergency situations.

The custom-built car cost $200,000 and had features including retractable steps for Secret Service agents and two radio telephones provided by WHCA.

Following Kennedy's assassination, the car was driven directly back to the White House, so it could be examined as part of the investigation.

'They determined that the most practical thing to do was just to rebuild this existing car rather than to start from scratch, so, yes, they took the car down to the frame and rebuilt it as a true armored vehicle.

The biggest change they made in modifying the car was putting in a permanent roof that could not be removed, and they surrounded the whole vehicle with bullet-resistant glass.

President Lyndon, Johnson seen here in the Presidential limo with wife 

Ladybird, never liked traveling in the car in which President Kennedy had been killed.

The White House approved a plan for a re-vamp of the car in December 1963.

It was completely armored; a top was added, and it was given a paint-job in 'regal Presidential Blue Metallic with silver metallic flakes that glitter under bright lights and sunshine.'

Lyndon Johnson was two cars behind Kennedy the day of the assassination. After he was sworn in as president, he occasionally had to ride in the car, but Johnson was never comfortable riding in the car and avoided it whenever possible.

He disliked the blue paint job the car had been given because it was  similar to the original color, so it was promptly painted black. When President Nixon had use of the car, he had a hole cut in the roof as a hatch, so that he could stand up and wave at crowds. 

Presidents Ford and Carter also used the car, until it finally reached its usefulness and it was finally retired in 1977. The Bubble Top is on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit MI. 

This globe-trotting fleet of vehicles is basically a rolling, armored White House, complete with its own contingency response force, communications office, press corps and medical facilities.

Today's Presidential Limousine has many safety features incorporated in its exterior and interior as indicated below:

The exact configuration of the motorcade changes depending on the mission and the assets at hand, but there is a basic layout. Sometimes extra cars are added in different positions, and just because the Presidential limousines are in motion, the President isn't necessarily inside one of them.

A pair of Presidential Limos are loaded onto a C-17 Globemaster III.

In addition to the Presidential Motorcade being forward deployed to where the President is heading, it is now usually customary to deploy a pair of Presidential Airlift helicopters  belonging to Marine Helicopter Squadron 1, otherwise known as HMX-1.

The "The Beast," and AF-1 during a Presidential Visit

The Beast and HMX-1 arriving at a Presidential visit

Generally, the Presidential Motorcade is made up of the following components:

Route Car & Pilot Car

The Route Car runs minutes ahead of the Presidential Motorcade, presumably checking the route and providing guidance for inbound "sweepers" [see below] while also providing intelligence to the entire motorcade. The Pilot Car does the same but runs a minute or even just seconds in front of the motorcade. It may be accompanied by motorcycle police to cut off key intersections and highway overpasses.

Motorcade Pilot Car

Sweepers

These are usually throngs of police on motorcycles and in patrol cars as part of a Presidential Motorcade. They deploy in front of the motorcade, clearing the way so that the motorcade’s speed can remain as consistent.

Sweepers

Lead Car

The lead of the core of the Presidential Motorcade formation. It works as a guide and a buffer for what lies ahead. It can be a Secret Service Suburban, a local marked police car, or really any car the Secret Service chooses.

Lead Car

Presidential Limousine: Code Name "Stagecoach" or "Spare"

The Presidential limousine rides at the very center of the motorcade “package.” What appears to be a very heavy Cadillac is really an extremely survivable and luxurious armored car. "The Beast" as latest addition to Presidential limo history is known, is outfitted with many unique capabilities and countermeasures, each one aimed at keeping the President safe and allowing him to rapidly evade danger during an attack, whether direct (ambush) or indirect (gassing a city, etc.).

The Beast's defense capabilities include top-level ballistic armoring, night vision/infrared driving systems, a sealed cabin with an independent air supply capable of enduring a nuclear-biological-chemical (NBC) attack, and even a supply of the President’s blood type. All of this is in addition to a state-of-the-art communications connectivity system, including internet and secure telephone communications.

Stagecoach and spare awaiting Departure

'Stagecoach,' is the name for whatever car the President is in and of course is the whole focus of Presidential Motorcade. Everything is centered on making sure that car makes it to its destination. In addition to 'Stagecoach,' at least one identical car always accompanies it, and sometimes many more. These cars, known as 'Spares,' are used as a backup and blocking vehicle should POTUS's vehicle have a mechanical issue or is attacked, as well a serving as decoys.

While the motorcade is in motion, highly trained Secret Service drivers execute a classic roving 'shell game,' weaving Stagecoach and Spare, or Spares, in and out among each other so that a would-be attacker would have a tough time picking the car containing the President. The Presidential limousines even have identical plates.

Presidential Security Detail SUV: Code Named "Halfback"

Halfback is the following car for Stagecoach and Spare(s), and it carries the President's Secret Service protective detail. Usually this vehicle is a specially outfitted Chevrolet Suburban with police lights mounted on a light bar, in the interior windows, and in the grill. This is basically the President's first line of backup should something occur while enroute, and it will follow a pre-planned set of defensive driving and VIP protection tactics based on a long list of contingencies. Rear-facing third row seating usually has at least one overtly armed Secret Service Agent sitting with the window or tailgate open.

The President's security detail riding in Halfback.

Electronic Countermeasures Vehicle Code Name: “Watchtower”

This vehicle has large vertical aerials and domes on its spine and actively jams communications and remote detonating devices. In some configurations, it may also work at detecting incoming projectiles and small unmanned aircraft via short-wave radar.

This vehicle, along with others in the motorcade, may also provide laser warning  and radar warning for the convoy. If a threat is detected, such as one using a laser for designation and ranging, or if a threat radar were detected, IR smoke, chaff and targeted jamming could be deployed, disrupting such an attack.

 ECM vehicle Watchtower

Support Vehicles

Support Vehicles usually transport high-value staff, such as parts of the President's cabinet and their security detail, as well as additional security personnel and the President's doctor.

Counter Assault Team Vehicles: Nicknamed "Hawkeye Renegade"

These vehicles are also usually black Suburban’s or some other large SUV, with police lights, rails and running boards for external transport of agents, and they always have their rear gates ajar with a heavily armed and armored commando hanging out of the back.

The Secret Service's Counter Assault Team, known as the 'CAT,' gives the Presidential Motorcade its heavy hitting combat punch. These elite Secret Service operators, selected from a tiny fraction of those who apply, carry state-of-the-art arms, including assault rifles, night vision goggles, expendables like flash bangs and concussion grenades, and sometimes heavy body armor.

The CAT is the direct-action unit that rapidly counter-attacks if the convoy is ambushed, or it sets up a defensive buffer if the convoy were about to be attacked. Meanwhile, the President's Security Detail would work to rapidly evacuate the President from the scene.

The heavily-armed CAT riding in one of the motorcade's Suburban’s.

Intelligence Division Vehicle: The "ID Car"

This vehicle works as a 'big picture' intelligence node, communicating with over-watch and surveillance units, local police, and other intelligence sources about possible threats or obstacles along the motorcade's route. The agents in this car try to identify problems before they occur.

Hazard Materials Mitigation Unit.

Hazmat Unit

This black work truck carries sensors to detect, and gear to respond to, nuclear, biological or chemical (NBC) weapons attacks that threaten the Motorcade. It also works as a roving storage vehicle, carrying supplies and other classified capabilities.

Hazmat Unit in the center of motorcade

Press Vans

These vehicles are usually large vans that carry the White House Press Corps in the motorcade. Obviously, this space is reserved for major news outlets and the White House media team. This includes a camera, wire and general press vans.

Press Corps Vans

The White House Communications Agency Vehicle: Code Name "Roadrunner"

The Control Vehicle carries a top military aid with the highest level of clearance, who would assist the Commander-in-Chief during a major military incident, giving operational guidance, and if need be, activating the Nuclear Football. These vehicles are usually modified SUVs, such as Chevrolet Suburban’s with enhanced communications and low-profile police lighting or sometimes rented vans.

WHCA Mobile Command and Control Vehicle (Roadrunner)

Mobile Command and Control Vehicle

Roadrunner, also known as the Mobile Command and Control Vehicle, is one of the most conspicuous vehicles in Motorcade. A beefed-up Suburban, it houses a large satellite communications array and posts an antenna farm along its roof-line.

"The Mobile Communications Vehicle (MCV) is built on a Ford Super Duty truck platform modified to maximize payload with an overall appearance of a six-door sport utility vehicle with air ride suspension. The MCV includes a structurally reinforced 5 slice antenna platform that incorporates an omni-directional satellite mount.

Just three occupants are needed in the truck's six-door custom cabin.

This vehicle keeps the President and White House officials securely connected to the world, providing encrypted voice, internet and video communications via the Pentagon’s constellation of hardened communications satellites. This vehicle may also be able to handle communications for nuclear arms release.

Roadrunner also helps facilitate secure communications within the Motorcade itself. Think of it as a big rolling data encryption center, Wi-Fi hotspot, radio repeater and doomsday communications control center.

Ambulance

An ambulance is a constant feature at the rear of the Presidential Motorcade. It is there to treat injuries that may occur following an attack, a wreck or an unexpected biological event. This resource is primarily reserved for the President.

An ambulance is always in the rear in case of an Emergency.
 

Rear Guard

This is usually a phalanx of local police vehicles, such as motorcycles and marked patrol cars. Their job is to provide early warning and a defensive buffer for the rear of the motorcade.

Several police motorcycle officers makes up the Rear Guard.

Ground Force One

Although rarely deployed in Presidential travel, a pair of heavily modified and thickly armored buses were procured by the Secret Service around the turn of the decade. The joint project between Prevost Car and Hemphill Brothers Coach Company, known as the model X3-45 VIP 3, allows the President to travel more efficiently by road in rural areas when many stops are on the schedule.

Once delivered, these roving White Houses were painted gloss black and had advance communications installed to interconnect them with Roadrunner and the world beyond, as well as other improvements like what you would find in the Presidential limousine. Both limo buses were used leading up to the 2012 election, Codename Ground Force One they can easily replace the Beast at any time in the motorcade!

USSS Armored Bus

This is the configuration of today’s Presidential Motorcade. I have had the pleasure to see the whole motorcade, wind their way through large cities and small towns with the greatest of ease, it is an amazing spectacle to watch.

Getting into position for the Presidents Departure

I've had the privilege to work Air Force One’s arrival and departure many times while I was in WHCA and I will never forget the feelings I had when I saw crews of AF-1, HMX-1 and the Motorcade execute their duties while transporting the President.