WHCA Transforms Presidential Communications (1992 to 2020)

WHCA Transforms Presidential Communications
Type of Activity	Modernizing Communications
Location
Location	Washington DC and Others
Date of Activity	1992 through Present
Coordinates	38°53'51.2"N 77°02'20.9"W

From the time that I left the White house Communications Agency in 1974 to the present day the challenge for WHCA is to ensure the Agency consistently provides leading-edge technologies that enable the President and his staff to lead the nation effectively. In its role as the premier service provider for presidential communications, WHCA not only showcases Defense Department capabilities during all presidential events, but also the capabilities of the most technologically advanced country in the world as WHCA travels globally supporting the President in his role as head of state. 

WHCA’s challenge was to provide reliable, redundant, robust secure and non-secure voice, data and video to the president anywhere, anytime and by any means. The terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001, coupled with emerging requirements from a tech-savvy administration, highlighted the need for reliable, real-time, secure information flow to the President and his staff. 

Col. Michael D. McDonald, USAF (Ret.), saw a lot of changes in presidential communications systems during his three-year tenure as the commander of the White House Communications Agency (WHCA)—changes that went into high gear after the terrorist attacks. Although a lot has been accomplished, the colonel says continued improvements will help the President and his staff take full advantage of the benefits of technology. WHCA's commander, captures the essence of this aggressive modernization plan thus: With the right technological solutions, we intend to transform WHCA — all components — into a fully integrated, network-centric organization. With a rapidly deployable command, control, communications, computers and intelligence packages that allow us to put together a secure presidential communications support team anywhere in the world within 72 hours once we receive an execute mission.

WHCA, which is in Washington, D.C., is truly a joint agency staffed by members of all the armed forces. Its responsibilities include providing the President and his staff with information systems both at the White House and on the road, so he can communicate with the military forces at every level.

WHCA is organized into six operational units. Three of these units are the presidential communications commands that travel to a location before the president arrives and set up the communications hub. All the capabilities that the President has at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue literally need to move with the president. The President must have these capabilities at his disposal whether he’s at a location stateside, on Air Force One, HMX-1 [Marine Helicopter Squadron-1] or anywhere he goes in the world. This includes both classified and unclassified capabilities.

The remainder of the units supports specific missions. The Washington Area Communications Command provides the fixed infrastructure that facilitates all White House communications. Audio and video capabilities at locations outside of Washington, D.C., are the responsibility of the Visual Information Command. For example, this unit established the two-way videoconferencing systems. 

Today WHCA’s technologies mirror those found throughout industry and the civilian world. Previously, the communications setup was designed as a single system that met the needs of the President. Now, it is a system of systems, and WHCA is in the process of incorporating an Internet protocol [IP] supported network.

Specifics of this information technology transformation plan include a realignment of core functions and missions in WHCA, coupled with a myriad of technological upgrades. Many of the improvements to systems began prior to September 11. At the end of 2000, the U.S. Defense Department assessed the state of the president’s communications capabilities. This was DOD looking at DOD support to the commander in chief.

WHCA started looking at each one of the stovepipe systems the Agency had and looking at their capacities and capabilities, what Internet technology could provide, and began moving down that path. WHCA hit everything from the office phones to the mobile systems that travel with the president on the road to the aircraft and have been moving down that road, evaluating all applications.

Figure 1 . White House Communications Agency current support for daily operations.

Figure 1 above depicts how WHCA supported daily operations prior to September 11 for the President and his staff. As this illustration indicates, there were separate infrastructures to support multiple voice, data, video and radio systems. Each of these systems requires an extensive amount of labor to install, operate and maintain. WHCA didn't have the personnel on hand to operate and maintain all these disparate systems. Couple this issue with support of the travel mission using scenarios, required a substantial financial investment in IT equipment and services was required. 

A light bulb went on, and a lot of the equipment—while it still worked and could still provide service—probably would not meet the information needs that would be coming along in 2000 and onward. What September 11 did was underscore everything that the DOD had noted. WHCA had already begun a massive effort, and by September 11 it had a good idea of what was needed to do. Then the terrorist attacks happened, which created an even greater sense of urgency.

The assessment that WHCA completed revealed approximately 41 projects that required work. WHCA singled out 11 of the largest and most complex to hit first. Known as the Pioneer Project, this work included upgrading all the IP networks supporting WHCA’s portion of the White House operation. It converged data, voice and video on those networks. It brought a new mobile band to the table that was IP capable. It brought new technologies to the Red Switch, the secure voice environment. It also expanded the use of various military communications satellites. 

Those things are now coming to fruition. It’s a long-term plan that will continuously upgrade the President’s communications and keep them upgraded. Col MacDonald claimed that the changes that have taken place have improved communications tenfold over the past three years. 

What the country needed that day was a homeland security equivalent of the military’s Global Command and Control System, and nothing like that exists in the civilian world. The lack of connectivity at that point in time made life interesting.

The Federal Aviation Administration had the right type of systems in place and that is why it could assess the situation and direct aircraft to land safely, but the White House needs the same kind of situational awareness, the colonel states.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security must determine how to link all the people in different areas of homeland defense and security, such as local fire departments and emergency personnel, by applying the right technology. 

Col. McDonald emphasizes that the events of September 11 resulted in more than just upgrades in technology. The WHCA now works very closely with other agencies like the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Office of Naval Research and is teaming with industry. Teaming arrangements have been put into place, and new teams continue to be formed.

This would have happened eventually, but it would have been much slower. Many companies have been working with WHCA, and companies, on their own dime, did a lot of integration and experimentation in order to help WHCA provide robust services.

A huge amount of innovation has emerged from the events of September 11, For example, videoconferencing onboard Air Force One, made possible by IP networking, will allow personnel to send and receive e-mail as well as to take advantage of voice over IP communications. “The challenge we now face is that we have to move faster and not just in the military but in the White House as well. Now, whenever the president goes somewhere, 20 to 25 people must deploy to the destination five to seven days in advance of the president’s arrival. 

We need to expand the use of IP so that only 10 people are needed, and they can deploy only 72 hours in advance of the President anywhere in the World.

Force transformation 

Recognizing the need to create a more streamlined, fully modernized communications-support agency in response to the events of September 11, 2001 — and the unprecedented levels new presidential communication commands were created. Camp David, the agency's remote detachment at Thurmont, Md., was also re-flagged as a subordinate command, providing telecommunications support for the presidential retreat. 

September 11 also exposed challenges in providing secure, redundant communications support for the President and his staff. After the initial attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the White House lines had an immediate impact involving WHCA was a sudden surge in secure voice traffic and the White House staff was literally waiting in line to use secure data communications.

Mobilized by the September 2001 events, WHCA quickly assessed critical communications-support systems for the President and his staff. WHCA realized that it must provide an infrastructure that assures communications for the President and his staff under all threats providing reliable and redundant communications support.

Systems supporting these missions must be redundant, secure and reliable in a global environment faced with significant information-assurance challenges, from day-to- day operations through crisis management and national-security emergencies. Therefore, the primary goal of providing the President and his staff with capabilities consistent with "corporate executives in the corporate environment" requires a major paradigm shift in the way WHCA currently does business. In order to meet these requirements and the growing expectations from the President and his staff for instantaneous, global, secure, redundant and reliable communications support.

What WHCA has done

Overhauling the agency's aged and failing legacy computer systems has been an ongoing project. Our most recent achievement in this endeavor was successfully fielding encryption cards and computer systems to WHCA and WHMO staff members for sending secure email transmissions. Upgrades to our special-mission circuit program include digitizing key communication links using secure terminal equipment and installing voice-over-Internet-protocol voice/ data equipment, upgrading both secure and unsecure video conferences with his senior staff and advisers. Technical upgrades to Air Force One include installing live DirecTV, providing real-time information concerning world events to the President and his staff.

Specifically, a converged network will enable WHCA to integrate its five divergent networks into a single architecture supporting all voice/ data/ video requirements, while simultaneously expanding and improving service to the president and his staff regardless of location.

      Figure 2. The illustration shows converging and streamlining network architectures 

into one seamless converged data and voice system.

Also, events of 9-11 highlighted the criticality of our secure voice system and its vulnerabilities. A massive effort is currently ongoing to modernize our secure voice systems supporting the president and his staff. This includes new equipment and software upgrades, coupled with the installation of Real Time monitoring technologies.

To enable real-time monitoring of deployed systems and assets, WHCA network engineers designed a state-of-the-art operations center, modeled after the Defense Information Systems Agency's Global Network Operations and Security Center. This operations center stood up Sept. 1, 2002, providing 24 hours a day, seven days a week support for our travel and fixed communication sites. Embedded in this new command-and-control facility are network monitoring tools and firmware systems, enabling us communications managers to make informed decisions in reallocating resources to meet priority needs.

In 2002 the Special Missions Command was established and handles communications for unique missions in fixed locations such as Camp David or the President’s personal estate, this mission has remained largely unchanged through present day. When the Government updated their contingency operations orders and plans in 2003, WHCA was tasked with creating and maintaining a Continuity of Operations facility that would ensure all services being provided by WHCA would be available should a major issue affecting Washington DC cause services to be limited. In late 2003 WHCA opened the Signal Support Element which established a facility outside of Washington, DC designed to ensure communication reliability for the President and all White House staff and supporting various Government Agencies.

In 2015 as the Agency and Special Missions Command began supporting All White House computer and network requirements it was discovered that a more robust call center was required to supporting the increase of over 3,000 White House customers. The Command was again called upon to solve a major issue facing the Agency. In late 2015 the Special Missions Command stood up the White House Information Technology Service Call Center at Camp David and began providing unprecedented support to the newly converted White House staff. As the travel and customer service requirements began to pick up it was determined that with the changing technology and pace required a change in how the Command trained and equipment it provided its members. 

At the beginning of 2016 the Special Missions Command conducted a major personnel and mission capability shift which established a team of well-rounded and highly cross-trained members. Out of this needed change was born the Special Missions Command, a Cross Functional Team which assumed the enormous task of providing all travel and Emergency Action support for the President while at Camp David, the President and Vice President while at their private residence and routine travel support for the President and Vice President around the world.

Next steps

Through its government-industry partnership outreach program, WHCA is developing strategic partnerships with key government organizations and industry officials to fulfill these critical communications requirements for the president and his staff. These relationships bring the WHCA modernization team together with the strength and expertise of government agencies and industry to solve complex telecommunication problems. Cooperation through this initiative has yielded a variety of partnership opportunities including DISA, USSS, Navy Research Lab, National Security Agency, National Security Council, U.S. State Department, Cisco, Dell, Compaq, Avaya, and SAIC — to name a few. WHCA’s goal in this endeavor was to reduce support costs and improve the readiness of WHCA's telecommunication systems through innovative government/ industry partnerships. 

Results of current teaming efforts with our industry partners include testing a myriad of wireless devices. Specifically, we're testing a new generation of high-speed mobile services including data-enabled wireless phones, virtual private- network systems, pagers, computers, printers and personal digital assistants using 802.11, infrared and Bluetooth technologies. As mobile computing and telephony converge, the challenge is to overcome the lack of robust authentication solutions to support these smart mobile devices. WHCA is currently working with NRL, NSA and leading industry counterparts to remove those obstacles.

The goal is developing and fielding an NSA-approved, secure encryption standard that provides end-to-end integrated security in wireless and wired environments for the president and his staff. A new mobile communications van placed in service in 2018 replaced WHCA’s aging Roadrunner fleet used to support presidential-motorcade movements. These state-of-the-art replacement vehicles were developed with NRL's assistance. These new vehicles will provide highly capable, robust, mobile communications platform providing secure streaming video, data and secure communications to the presidential limousine and support vehicles.

The way ahead

As WHCA expands the boundaries of its enterprise network to the President and his staff, a highly mobile, scalable, IP based, secure communications infrastructure will meet those demands. This new infrastructure will enable WHCA to reduce their operational footprint and rapidly disperse a critical workforce (and other) resources to meet multiple mission requirements while simultaneously providing significantly enhanced telecommunications support to the President and his staff. Riding on a single-converged-network platform, these communication packages will provide increased bandwidth to our fixed and travel locations, secure commercial wireless-communications support and seamless network connectivity between fixed and travel locations.

Also, maximizing the use of commercial-off-the-shelf telecommunication products and collaborating with industry/ agency counterparts ensures that WHCA remains on the leading edge of proven, reliable and new technologies supporting the President and his staff.