Detachment 3 “Cadre/Creed” | |||
| |||
Elevation | 1,516 feet (462.08m) | ||
Location | |||
Location | Adams County, Pa | ||
| Established | 1962 | ||
Coordinates | |||
Site 6-Detachment 3 “Cadre/Creed”
By Don Cammel
 |
| The USSS CP at the Eisenhower farm in Gettysburg PA |
Construction of Creed tower and the C adre facility within Site R was completed during the mid-50 and early 60’s. Creed tower had eight floors plus two levels of Plexiglas which covered the microwave dishes and other antennas.
 |
Cross Section view of Creed Tower |
 |
Site of Creed Tower near the main entrance to Site R |
Site 6 Cadre (Site R, Blue Ridge Summit, PA.)
The site that was codenamed Cadre was built as part of the Site R underground complex. The Cadre facility consisted of the WHCA switchboard and the communications center.
 |
| The West Portal A and B entrances to Site R |
Inside Site R, WHCA maintained the Presidential Office Suite and Quarters for relocation of the President. WHCA also had an admin area for use as the detachments office, a switchboard room, Commcenter and Crypto area, plus a small dining room with private cooking facilities for the White House Mess to cook meals for the relocated Presidential party. This area was a very sterile looking underground office environment, black asbestos tile floors, dropped faded white ceiling tiles, and often very noticeable air handlers moving fresh air about the facility.
The makeup of the detachment consisted of about 3 or 4 switchboard operators, 3 TTY Commcenter operators, 2 COMSEC repairmen, and our OIC, an Army CWO and NCOIC for inside Site R. We had a supply person, and about 10 people at CREED with various radio skills in both FM base stations, HF radio, and microwave.
The switchboard at Site R was one of the very first ESS Digital switchboards, and the most obvious distinction was very noticeable immediately….NO CORDS! The Operator would see an LED read out of the party calling, answer the call, and then push an extension button or trunk line and make the connection. Once the call was connected, the operator was now completely OUT of the call. The users could “flash” back to operator, but in order to reconnect to someone different, it was often easier to hang up and restart a new call. Since this switchboard was going to be used for the President in time of crisis, and only a few people trained, the section was often not able to travel because of manpower requirements to always keep two trained people off travel status. CWO Frank Sisco, started an aggressive cross-training program, and all the Commcenter, COMSEC, and people working inside the complex became very efficient at operating this system. We had Position 17 and 18 of the ANMCC Fort Ritchie switchboard, and our positions were remoted to our own facility, we never interfaced with the other 16 positions. There were so many “gee-whiz features” we discovered new applications every day. You could place a call, receive a busy signal, and initiate a “Camp On Busy” feature where both parties would be connected when the call was finished. This always added confusion, and early versions of Call Forwarding, and very robust in creating group conference calls, but difficult to release individuals from such conferences. We had to put in a retro-system to transfer all the ESS 4W circuits with relays, to traditional 2W circuits and have a 19in rack of relays that would allow an umbilical cable to be connected to the WHCA analog mini-board. This was a Giant step backward, but the Stromberg-Carlson system would take 10-15 minutes to reboot during scheduled and unscheduled outages. In my opinion, this was one of the most challenging systems ever used by WHCA and only a few of us were ever involved.
 |
| Cadre and and Creed locations at Site R |
Presidential Office Suite and Quarters
WHCA’s designated Office space was located in Bldg. C, and the Presidential Offices and Quarters just down the hallway in Bldg. D. There were 5 buildings designated from A-E which coincided with the 5 rings of the Pentagon. Each of the building was 3 stories tall and there was a freight elevator near the cafeteria, and a small private controlled elevator for the Presidential Suite.
The President’s office had a balcony, overlooking the ANMCC War Room, which was located down the hall in the 'D' corridor. The living quarters were across the hallway from the office space. Every Friday, we had a cleaning schedule to vacuum and dust the POTUS Suite and Office. I remember there being one of the first King Size beds I had ever seen.
The original furniture was chosen based on Jackie Kennedy's preferences. One piece that stood out was a wicker rocking chair, which seemed somewhat out of place amidst the otherwise bland surroundings. (It was one of those standard LBJ high-back chairs with the Presidential Emblem in the working area.)"
The order was to 'get rid of it.' The challenge lay in removing 'property' from Site R, considering we had to pass through a double blast door or our special vehicle access point. We cleverly packaged the chair in brown paper, labeled it as a package for 'Armed Forces Courier' service, and used our 'Courier Card' to successfully transport it out of the facility.
I'm certain that someone enjoyed the chair for years afterward, and no questions were ever asked. We encountered a similar situation when we needed to transport two cases of LBJ wine urgently to Camp David. It became something of a game to figure out how to circum-navigate the Military Police enforcing the rules."
It is rumored that the Presidential quarters was nicknamed the 'Lucy and Desi' suite, their television series was actually better decorated than the bare walls of the quarters. However, after the events of 9/11, WHCA underwent significant upgrades in communications, including substantial changes in internet usage. This might explain why that particular nickname could have been fitting for someone in 2000. It's possible that modernization efforts extended to the POTUS quarters as well.
In all of these shelters, the office supplies seemed to be stuck in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Carbon manifold sets, rock-hard bottles of White Out, new Remington 550 manual typewriters, and plenty of steno pads were abundant. Typewriter ribbons were in ample supply, though well past their expiration date by 1970. We had many 2 ½ lead pencils with hardened erasers, rusted paperclips in the box, and serious doubts about how stenographers and secretaries could function properly.
The most modern equipment during that time was the introduction of the IBM Selectric typewriter, of which we had two. They utilized a special 'type ball' for all-capital lettering, possibly for use in a teleprompter. Dignitaries assigned to deploy to Site R often came for orientation tours, primarily from the USSS, WH Staff, and Military Aides.
DSCU Detachment 3 personnel were all Active Duty Military, but never wore uniforms. There were up to 2500-3000 people at times working inside Site R, and most were Active Duty sent on a rotating basis from the Pentagon for 14 days at a time.
Access to the Presidential Suite was VERY controlled and only WHCA personnel, visiting USSS, and occasional WH Staff on orientation would occasionally gain access for a tour or briefing inside the suite.
We manned our office space 24/7 like “Firemen in the Firehouse”. Once the day crew departed around 4:30 pm, you would basically clean up the dining room (Pinochle Game Daily), and then we would use the kitchen to cook whatever food we brought for our 24 hour shift. On duty personnel were allowed to sleep at night once the check list had been completed. Television with local DC and Baltimore. stations was available, and there was a hide-a-bed that we were allowed to use.
One night Don was all comfortable in the scratchy US Army issue wool blanket about 1:30am, and our doorbell rings. “I put on my pants and shirt, combed my hair without a mirror, and go look outside through the peep hole. All I can see is the chest of a USAF uniform and a guy pacing back and forth with a couple of strap hangers.
I opened the door, and while doing so, a USAF BG attempted to push the door open as I pulled it shut behind me. I asked him if I could help him, and he announced, “I am here for my tour of the Presidential Suite”.
At this point he had no clue that I was a US Army Active Duty SSG (E-6), and I told him, I didn’t get word on your visit, the area is controlled by the White House Military Office, you can “Dial “O” on the phone here by the door and reach the Camp David Operator that can connect you to the WHMO stand-by Officer.
He then started out…..this is “B.S”, I am a ONE STAR GENERAL, and the ranking person inside Site R for this week. You will regret not granting me access, this is wasting my time. Sorry, General, but I have my rules. Who is your boss? Chief Warrant Officer Frank Sisco….was my reply. And what is your title? I told him I was an Army SSG. He then went wild and told me that I would regret not allowing him access. He made the call to the Camp David Operator who connected him first to the WHCA Duty Officer, and then the Situation Room, and was told to call back during core hours the next day! He was totally steamed when he departed.
The next day, I received a call at home from Frank Sisco and he was laughing about the events of my shift. He had been on multiple calls from WHMO and DCSU Headquarters during the day, and they were proud of my actions and laughing about it.
This guy never did get his tour and after his rotation back to the Pentagon, they arranged for a tour of the next person on the roster and made sure he told the other General we honored the request. I am sure he was steamed again! Just another day inside the mountain. “
It's worth noting that there were no windows due to being 768 feet underground, and the same black asbestos tile floor was present, which we stripped and buffed on a monthly basis. Upon entering, the lack of occupancy and poor air circulation always seemed to produce a musty odor. Other operational areas weren't as bad, but the humidity remained quite high, resulting in oxidation on door hinges and 19" equipment racks.
In 1970 the WHCA microwave network and the PEF locations were deemed obsolete and WHCA’s presence was no longer needed. Detachment 3 personnel were re-assigned to form the new CCT’s at Fort Ritchie, Camp David, San Clemente, and Key Biscayne and to other WHCA units. “During the early 1970s to the mid-1980s, Fort Ritchie Detachment/CCT had Site R responsibilities. The CCT frequently conducted short-notice deployments into the Site, periodically checking RF and phones. There was not anything remarkable about the quarters or decorating colors. The surroundings were quite drab, but things may have changed after the CCT closed Fort Ritchie and relocated to Luke AFB, AZ.
Travel and Trip support
Det
#3’s personnel were also required to support Presidential travel worldwide.
"Acoustical Couplers”-Don Cammel
My first overseas Presidential Trip was with LBJ to El Salvador in Central America in 1968. We
actually tested three systems using the GE Acoustical Coupler, the DEX-1, and
the XEROX version of the DEX-1 our team set up the Comm.
Center in the new U.S. Embassy. Dan Schottlekotte was the 13A technician and he
worked on a completely isolated system in his hotel room when we had lots of
failures. It was then discovered that the built-in cradle to accept the
handpiece was often different than the traditional WECO 500 set. This allowed
for ambient noise from air-handlers, even conversation and sometimes
"feedback" to interfere with the connection.
The Commcenter was set up in a storage room that had a couple of large
power transformer/rectifiers which gave off a very loud annoying background
loud hum. We had a difficult time getting a standard TTY line working, so we
attempted a test of the GE Acoustical Coupler. We would get a few lines of good
copy and then it would drop out. Dan S, in his quiet thinking process,
determined that the physical seal of the handset in the coupler base was not
keeping out the ambient noise of the electrical rectifiers and interfering with
our connection. Out came a roll of Gaffers Tape, in an attempt to seal the
space around the handset. You had to tape it fast, or you would lose the
connection and have to start over. This effort continued for several hours
during the pre-visit. We tried covering the coupler with a pillow without
success. The next attempt was to wrap a washcloth around the handpiece with
some improvement, but we need a thinner fabric to create a seal. We then tried very thin black socks and wrapped them around the handset
before placing it in the coupler and then closed the cover. This solved the
problem, and we were able to make everything work. We never did get the dedicated TTY
line working.
We then bypassed the acoustic receiver on the GE unit, and we had
a hard wire DC Voltage signal direct from the KW-7's with a fabricated harness
so we used the GE
Acoustical Coupler for the entire visit, including the transmission of the
morning PDB, which needed about 3 transmissions to fill in the occasional
errors and splice the TTY tape to make a final good copy. I still can hear the
hum from that rectifier that bothered us for the entire week.
Graphic Sciences
would never allow us to do the same thing with the DEX series machines. That is
my recollection from a non-techie, who always got in trouble with the
Maintenance guys and reminded I was an "Operator"!
I was the junior person in the Commcenter on the El Salvador trip and working the midnight shift. One night around 2am, we had a TOP SECRET message on the TTY arrive with IMMEDIATE precedence and one of the addressees was Walt Rostow, the National Security Advisor to LBJ. The same role was made famous by Dr. Kissinger with Nixon and other administrations. Mr. Rostow had elected not to stay in the same Staff Hotel, and the State Department rented a mountain chalet overlooking the ocean for him, which was about 30 miles away, but a minimum of a two hour ride.
I was dispatched to deliver this message, and the Supervisor mandated
that since it was TOP SECRET, I should carry the standard issue Commcenter
pistol, a Colt Detective Special with a 2" barrel and 5 rounds. After a
scary ride through crowded streets and narrow mountain roads, I finally arrived
at Mr. Rostow's temporary quarters for the visit. It was now approaching 4am.
The State Department and USSS guards pointed me to the bedroom, and I
walked in and knock on the door, only to find him slumped over his desk in in
pajamas. He of course was startled, but I delivered the message, and announced
that I would be waiting in the foyer in the event he wanted to dispatch a
reply, to please let me know so I could return to the Embassy.
I couldn't help but notice, he was using an old fashion fountain pen,
and it was in his PJ pocket, and he had a big circle of "black" ink
about 5" in diameter on around his pocket. After a few minutes he comes
out, has the message and instructs me, please bring this back at 7am. Quickly,
I advised him, I will just stay here in the foyer until 7am, because it is a 4
hour round trip to and from the Embassy. He thought for a second, and I got my
first lesson on downgrading. He placed the yellow TTY copy on the table, took
his ruler and held it in place and tore off the top and bottom headers of the
message which contained the RED letter with the classification markings. He
then folded up the text portion and placed it in his pajama pocket, reached for
his Presidential Zippo lighter, took the two strips with the classification,
and lit them on first and dropped them into the large ash tray. He then told me
to have a safe trip back to the Embassy.
I got back to the Embassy, and explained the situation, and the Trip
Officer and others really struggled with how to record what had actually
happened to the message for the logging purposes. I was an E-5 at the time, and
I wasn't going to challenge the National Security Advisor on how to handle a
message in the middle of the night! That was actually the first TS message that
I ever touched, and have to say, I still remember it well. ·
No comments:
Post a Comment