DOD IG Audit of WHCA-Revised (1995)-revised

 

DOD IG Audit of WHCA
Type Of Activity	DOD IG Audit
Location
Location	Washington DC
Date of Activity	Dec 1995
Coordinates	38°53′52″N 77°02′11″W

Over the decades, WHCA’s mission has grown significantly. What began as a low-profile communications unit now encompasses a wide range of services supporting the president, vice president, National Security Council, First Family, and White House staff. This includes setting up secure communications, videotaping key presidential moments for the National Archives, providing stenographic services for press briefings, and managing logistics for presidential appearances.

By 1978, WHCA had reached a peak staffing level of over 1,000 personnel. Although downsizing efforts reduced the agency to about 850 members, it remains the largest organization under the White House Military Office (WHMO), with a budget exceeding $120 million during the Clinton administration. Despite this, WHCA operated largely under the radar, with minimal oversight from both the Department of Defense (DoD) and White House leadership.

Scandals, Oversight, and “The Coffees”

In the 1990s, WHCA faced increased scrutiny due to its involvement in videotaping Democratic National Committee (DNC) fundraisers and informal White House coffees. This controversy erupted after WHCA, following Senate inquiries into campaign finance practices, delayed the release of video footage, sparking accusations of obstruction. The tapes documented President Bill Clinton’s interactions with major donors, raising questions about WHCA’s role in preserving politically sensitive moments.

Critics argued that WHCA’s presence at these events blurred the line between its communications mission and political activities. Some speculated that WHCA’s expanded duties were a byproduct of bureaucratic mission creep, with the agency taking on additional roles to justify its budget and staffing levels. Others noted that Clinton may have become so accustomed to constant video documentation that he failed to question WHCA’s ubiquitous presence.

Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Harold Ickes acknowledged the ambiguity surrounding WHCA’s activities, admitting in congressional testimony that White House staff rarely noticed the agency’s video crews. He also described WHCA as part of the White House Military Office, a unit with a long history of classified projects, including the construction of presidential bomb shelters and secret taping systems used by past presidents.

A History of Secret Funds and Loose Oversight

WHCA’s overseer, the White House Military Office, controlled a secret fund during the Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon administrations. This fund, purportedly for security-related expenses, was sometimes used for questionable projects, including renovations to presidential properties and the installation of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s and President Richard Nixon’s secret recording system. WHCA personnel were often assigned to these classified tasks, highlighting the agency’s role as a tool for executive discretion.

Following revelations about this secret fund in the 1980 book Breaking Cover by former WHMO Director Bill Gulley, the Reagan administration promised reforms, but questions about WHCA’s management persisted. In the 1990s, congressional inquiries and audits by the DoD’s Inspector General revealed issues such as unaccounted property, excessive equipment leases, and mission overreach.

A History of Secret Funds and Loose Oversight

WHCA’s overseer, the White House Military Office, controlled a secret fund during the Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon administrations. This fund, purportedly for security-related expenses, was sometimes used for questionable projects, including renovations to presidential properties and the installation of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s secret recording system. WHCA personnel were often assigned to these classified tasks, highlighting the agency’s role as a tool for executive discretion.

Following revelations about this secret fund in the 1980 book Breaking Cover by former WHMO Director Bill Gulley, the Reagan administration promised reforms, but questions about WHCA’s management persisted. In the 1990s, congressional inquiries and audits by the DoD’s Inspector General revealed issues such as unaccounted property, excessive equipment leases, and mission overreach.

Despite WHCA’s considerable size, WHCA has operated with little attention from either its Defense Department or White House masters. The agency’s basic tasks have been reviewed only three times since its inception, and it escaped formal audit until a DOD IG audit was completed in  November 1995.

The initial attempts to conduct oversight of this 900-person, $100 million-a-year White House-directed agency were made by Congress in 1994. Those attempts were met with repeated  delays  and White House stonewalling. Early 1995, after meetings with the White House Counsel's office, GAO, and the Department of Defense IG's office, Congress finally received the approval to have an IG's investigation done going back 5 years.

WHCA was annually performing $7.8 million worth of tasks beyond the scope of its mission; it was unable to account for more than half a million dollars’ worth of agency property; and it was paying close to $800,000 to lease superfluous equipment.

This report on phase one of the audit cited “no evidence of significant theft or significant waste” in WHCA, but noted several areas in need of “management attention.”

The DODIG’s report concluded that WHCA's budgets have gone largely unreviewed. Its annual performance plan has failed to meet DOD standards. Its acquisition planning has violated DOD  regulations and resulted in wasteful purchases.

Finally, the DODIG concluded that WHCA is providing the White House with services and equipment which are outside way, out­side of the scope of its mission of telecommunications support to the President of the United States.

Congressional Inquiry and the Road Ahead

Despite these findings, WHCA’s operations remain shrouded in secrecy due to their classification as matters of “presidential protection.” Efforts by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate WHCA were blocked by the White House, which cited national security concerns. Congressional Republicans pushed for further hearings resulting with Congressional hearings conducted on May 16 and June 13, 1996.

In conclusion the committee recommended, both a comprehensive audit and a more formal, explicit delineation of responsibilities were long overdue for WHCA. Although management controls were generally satisfactory, there were deficiencies in several areas that needed attention. More systematic oversight is important in the future to assist WHCA in being as efficient and effective as possible. The DOD IG will work closely with DISA and WHCA to make sure that the problems found in the audit get fixed. but WHCA’s low-profile history and classified status may limit what can be uncovered.

While WHCA continues to support the president with essential communications services, its evolving mission, political entanglements, and history of minimal oversight raise ongoing questions about transparency, accountability, and the proper scope of its activities.

The April 1996 phase-two report concluded that WHCA was receiving “little or no oversight of budgeting, acquisition planning, and organizational effectiveness,” and recommended that the DoD’s oversight role be strengthened.

WHCA has been a deep, dark hole over at the White House into which there has been spending nearly $100 million annually without any executive branch oversight. It  has  also become  a  pot of money devoted to many things-kind of a miscellaneous pot of money-that have nothing to do with telecommunications or the President.                                                                            

The White House Communications Agency has had a totally unique mission, and the staff who serves there perform their duties exceptionally well and have done so for more than 50 years and for 11 Presidents, both Democrats and Republicans.

Among these:

The DOD IG’s report concluded that WHCA's budgets have gone largely unreviewed. Its annual performance plan has failed to meet DOD standards. Its acquisition planning has violated DOD  regulations and resulted in wasteful purchases.

Finally, the DOD IG concluded that WHCA is providing the White House with services and equipment which are outside way, out­side of the scope of its mission of telecommunications support to the President of the United States.

The executive summary is copied below with complete report available at Audit Report on White House Communications Agency. (Report No. 96-033) and Audit Report on White House Communications Agency Phase II. (Report No. 96-100)    

Transcript of Congressional hearings conducted on May 16 and June 13, 1996 Oversight of theWhite House Communications Agency

INSPECTOR GENERAL

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

400 ARMY NAVY DRIVE

ARLINGTON. VIRGINIA 22202·2884

November 29, 1995

MEMORANDUM FOR DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE MILITARY OFFICE

UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (COMPTROLLER)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (COMMAND,CONTROL, COMMUNICATIONS AND INTELLIGENCE)

DIRECTOR, DEFENSE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AGENCY

COMMANDER, WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY

SUBJECT: Audit Report on White House Communications Agency

(Report No. 96-033)

We are providing this report for review and comment. We performed the audit in response to a request from Congress and the Deputy Secretary of Defense. We considered management comments on a draft of this report in preparing the final report.

The recommendations in Findings A and B relate to a reallocation of funding between parts of the DoD budget and the budget for the Executive Office of the President. Finding A questions the appropriateness of DoD, through the White House Communications Agency, funding audiovisual, stenographic and news wire services and photographic equipment for the White House. Finding B covers the provision of .White House Communications Agency support and equipment to the Secret Service. Although the Secret Service is required by law to reimburse an agency providing the support, the Secret Service has not done so. Several DoD appropriations and Secret Service appropriations would be affected by the recommendations. Thus, we suggest early consultation with the Office of Management and Budget and the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) so those changes, if agreed to, could be implemented in the President's FY 1997 budget.                     

DoD Directive 7650.3 requires that all recommendations be resolved promptly. Management comments were responsive to all recommendations except the recommendation to specify services to be provided by the White House Communications Agency and to transfer funding, managing, contracting, and purchasing of audiovisual, news wire, and stenographic services and camera equipment to the Executive Office of the President. We request that the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence) reconsider his position and provide additional comments by January 12, 1996.

We have not completed our audit of all aspects of White House Communications Agency activities. We started work on the final phase of the audit and expect to provide a draft report in early 1996. The issues we plan to review during the final phase include the organization and staffing of the White House Communications Agency, acquisition planning, management of telecommunications equipment and services, and controls over selected financial activities.

Office of the Inspector General, DoD

November 29, 1995

Report No. 96-033

(project No. 5RD-5027)

White House Communications Agency

Executive Summary

Introduction. The Chairman,  House Committee on Government Reform and  Oversight; the Chairman, House Subcommittee on National Security, International Affairs, and Criminal Justice, Committee on Government Reform and Oversight; and the Deputy Secretary of Defense requested the audit. The Deputy Secretary of Defense emphasized that this review should be as thorough as possible of all White House Communications Agency (WHCA) activities in the last 5 years.

Audit Objectives. The audit objective was to review all activities at the WHCA, the authorities and management controls under which the activities are conducted, and various nonspecific allegations of mismanagement and waste. The adequacy of the management control program will be discussed in a subsequent report.

Audit Results. We found no evidence of theft or significant waste of resources in this phase of the audit. However, the following areas need management attention.

o During FY 1995, WHCA and DoD funded about $7.8 million for services and equipment that are not within the scope of the WHCA telecommunications mission as presently defined and should be funded by the Executive Office of the President (Finding A).

o WHCA was not reimbursed for permanent support to the Secret Service, as required by law, and understated support costs reported to Congress by $3.2 million. The Secret Service did not reimburse about $4.3 million for support and, because DoD absorbed support costs, the. The Secret Service budget was augmented by that amount. WHCA is expected to provide permanent support valued at $7.0 million during FYs 1996 through FY 2001 for which DoD should be reimbursed by the Secret Service (Finding B)..

o WHCA managers did not maintain control over repair parts inventories, and contracting officer's representatives did not document maintenance data. Therefore, WHCA can neither ensure the adequacy or accountability of repair parts inventories nor determine the cost-effectiveness of maintenance contracts (Finding C).

o WHCA lacked accountability for nonexpendable property on hand and had excess expendable supplies valued at about $226,000. Property valued at about $577,000 was not accounted for and is at risk for potential waste or loss. Further, by reducing the requisition objective for expendable items and by eliminating excess expendable items with no demand histories, $226,000 could be put to better use during FY 1996 (Finding D).

o The inventory of base communications equipment and services is neither complete nor accurate. Consequently, the inventory could not be audited, and WHCA could neither review and revalidate communications requirements nor assess the cost effectiveness of configurations for equipment and services. Further, WHCA is at risk of paying for unneeded equipment and services (Finding E).

o WHCA paid for leased, long-haul telecommunications circuits and equipment that were no longer required. If the circuits are terminated, about $759,000 can be put to better use during FYs 1996 through 2001 (Finding F).

o WHCA did not validate bills for long-haul telecommunications equipment and services before verifying that the bills were accurate. As a result, WHCA had no assurance that payments ceased for terminated services or that payments would not be initiated for services ordered but not installed. If effective procedures are implemented, about $294,000 could be put to better use during FYs 1996 through 2001(Finding G).

Summary of Recommendations. We recommend that management take the following corrective actions.

o Specify the services. that WHCA is to provide to the Executive Office of the President.              Transfer responsibility for funding, managing, contracting, and purchasing of audiovisual, news wire, and stenographic services and camera equipment to the Executive Office of the President.

o Specify the permanent and temporary support provided to the Secret Service and determine which is reimbursable or non-reimbursable, specify billing procedures, and bill the Secret Service for reimbursable support provided during FY 1995 and continue to bill for all future reimbursable support.

o Fully implement the existing maintenance management system, turn in excess. repair parts, update lists of equipment under maintenance contracts, and use vendor service reports to assess the cost-effectiveness of maintenance contracts.

o Record identified property in the property book, establish the control point for receiving all property, perform monthly reconciliations of the document register, annually review requisition objectives, and turn in excess property.

o Establish a complete and accurate inventory of short-haul equipment and services, and maintain required inventory records.

o Initiate action to terminate unneeded long-haul circuits and equipment, establish the required review and revalidation program for equipment and services and establish a complete inventory of equipment and services.

o Establish procedures to verify the accuracy of Customer Cost and Obligation Reports on a monthly basis.

Management Comments. The Assistant Secretary of Defense (Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence) submitted joint comments for himself; the Director, DISA; and the Commander, WHCA. The Assistant Secretary concurred in all recommendations except for the recommendation to specify the services that WHCA is to provide to the White House and to transfer responsibility for funding, managing, contracting, and purchasing of audiovisual, news wire, and stenographic services and camera equipment to the Executive Office of the President. See Part I for a summary of management comments and Part III for the complete text of management comments.

Audit Response. As a result of information from management, we deleted one recommendation (Finding D) regarding property accountability. The Assistant Secretary's comments are not responsive regarding the recommendation related to specifying WHCA services and transferring these responsibilities. We maintain that WHCA should not fund the costs of audiovisual, news wire, and stenographic services and photographic equipment for the White House absent clearer direction to do so. We do not question the President's need for the services, contracts, or equipment provided by WHCA, and we recognize the legal authority of the President to issue an Executive  Order to specify the services WHCA is to provide. However, as a DoD organization, WHCA is governed by DoD Directive 4640.13 in providing telecommunications services and the functions now performed and funded by WHCA go beyond telecommunications services as defined in that Directive. We request that the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence) reconsider his position and provide additional comments in response to the final report by January 12, 1996.

The Presidential Visit To The Peoples Republic Of China (1972)-revised

Beijing China
President and Mrs. Nixon arriving in China
Coordinates:                                   39°54′50″N 116°23′30″E
Country	China
Settled	473 BC
Elevation	43.5 m (143 ft.)
Population    (2009)	22,000,000

21 to 28 February 1972 President Nixon Visits China

U.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to the People's Republic of China was an important step in formally normalizing relations between the United States and the People's Republic of China. It marked the first time a U.S. president had visited the PRC, who at that time considered the U.S. one of its staunchest foes. The visit has become a metaphor for an unexpected or uncharacteristic action by a politician.

Improved relations with the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China are often cited as the most successful diplomatic achievements of Nixon’s presidency. After World War II, Americans saw relations between the United States and the Soviet Union deteriorating, Russians consolidating communist puppet states over much of Eastern Europe, and China teetering on the edge of communism. Many Americans felt concern that communists might cause the downfall of schools or labor unions. One of the main reasons Richard Nixon became the 1952 Vice-president candidate on the Eisenhower ticket was his strong anti-communism stance. Despite this, in 1972 Nixon became the first U.S. president to visit China while in office.

President Nixon and his advisors on AF1 in route to China

Nixon in China 

From February 21-28, 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon traveled to Beijing, Hangzhou and Shanghai. Almost as soon as the American president arrived in the Chinese capital he was summoned for a meeting with Chairman Mao who, unknown to the Americans, had been ill nine days earlier but was at that point feeling strong enough to meet Nixon. Secretary of State William P. Rogers was excluded from this meeting and the only other American present was National Security Council staffer (and later U.S. Ambassador to China) Winston Lord. To avoid embarrassing Rogers, Lord was cropped out of all the official photographs of the meeting. Although Nixon was in China for a week, this would be his sole meeting with the top Chinese leader.

The Nixon’s arrival in China

 Chairman Mao and President Nixon

Adventures in Key Card Changing

While most of the WHCA teams were deployed on the China trip and since President Nixon was in China during my first week with WHCA, Tom Maier can say without any fear of contradiction, that he spent more time in the White House, and more specifically, the “Oval Office,” than he did that week.

One of the first tasks that he “got” to do while at 13A was to check the Secure Telephones (they were using the apartment-refrigerator-sized KY-3s back then) in the Oval Office, the president’s EOB office and the office of the Military Aide. This was a real kick and something they always let the “newbies” do, although in a very-well-supervised way. There were always two people involved. We first had to check with the WHCA Duty Officer to find out whether the President was in or expected to be in either of his offices. If he was, the check on that phone was put off until later.

However, the Duty Officer didn’t seem worried at all about intruding on the Military Aide. We would always knock before entering his office but Nixon’s Military Aide, Major General Brent Scowcroft, seemed more like your grandfather than a high-ranking General Officer who was on daily speaking terms with the President. If he was in the office, he would just smile and motion us on in. We quickly replaced the key cards, performed the phone check and left.

In the evenings, we also had to replace the “key cards” in the KY-3 for the President’s Office. Although the phone itself sat on the President’s desk, the KY-3’s enclosure was in a small kitchenette (as I recall) located off the office. If the president was out of the office, we would enter directly through his secretary’s (i.e. Rosemary Woods of the 18-minute-tape-gap fame) office, pass through a corner of the President’s Office and then turn hard right into the kitchenette. But if the President was in his Office (which almost never happened at night) we had to enter the kitchenette through a hallway door.

Although the exact sequence of events are foggy to him now, one night there was apparently some sort of miscommunication between us, the Duty Officer and the Secret Service. Because the President WAS in his office, we entered from the hallway, as we were supposed to do. 

Apparently, the noise we made alarmed one of the Secret Service agents in the Office because as he bent over to change the key cards…it was a tight squeeze as Tom recalls…the agent burst into the kitchenette from the Office side scaring the ever-loving’ crap out of us.

Fortunately, there were no repercussions over the confrontation, but my heart was pounding for quite a while after that.

Don Camel remembers the China Trip

I remember a lot of milestones on that trip. I was on the team in Hangchow and stayed at the West Lake resort which was the equivalent of our Camp David. We had a welcome banquet on the evening of the arrival, and ALL the U.S. party was invited to attend. This was White House Staff, USSS, WHCA, and the traveling WH Press Corp. We were all seated at round tables with 8-10 people and the crowd was probably close to 400 people total. Even the camera and sound folks were considered part of the team.

The "Official Diaz" included the President and Dr. Henry Kissinger, and the Chinese had an equal number at the table. Then the rest of the tables were organized Alphabetically by last name. I can’t remember all the names at my table, but we were about table #3 and very close to the front. David Brinkley, Steve Bull, Don Cammel, Walter Cronkite, John Chancellor....you get the picture. In the overflow hall next door, one of the tables close to the end of the alphabet included the name Albert Redman (the current Commander of WHCA). I was instructed to go take his seat and leave mine open for the Colonel. We were all seated and waiting for the "Official Party" to arrive and suddenly, a couple of security guards approached my seat. They looked stern, but they basically escorted me back to my proper seat! Colonel Redman was not exactly happy, but we American's had absolutely zero input on seating, in their society, everyone in the hall except the head table was considered equal. 

WHCA personnel always stayed in an approved "hotel" style building in Hangchou. (That was the proper spelling in that era, along with Peking instead of Beijing used today. All of the meals were served family style at round tables seating 8 people and there was a window for each meal. A small group of Supervisors would remain in work areas when the meal started, and once the first group was finished, the next group of people would go to the dining area witch was a screened in Porch. At the end of the hall the screens had been replaced with temporary vinyl or glass covering. 

It was VERY cold in the eating area. The last group of people would arrive, and they would scan all the other tables. Some serving platters were still piled high with something that you could not identify. Quick lesson, if the rest of the team left it there, don't even bother to taste it. We would point to completely empty serving dishes with just a hint of some kind of sauce and indicate we wanted more of that item. Still often a mystery, but we avoided tasting a lot of items that were non-starters. Of course, there was NO selection of anything "beef" since cows are sacred. We once had a dish that resembled "beef stew" in a very strange chartreuse sauce, and it was delicious. We ordered more and it was a big hit. We then asked, "What are we eating? Found out that I like "Muskrat"! Yak! 

Laundry on overseas trips was always a problem but we had mixed results on the 1972 trips to China and then Russia. 

In China after a few days, we received instructions through the houseboy about laundry. No, problem, just place you items in a small bag in the closet and leave it at the foot of your bed. Don Cammel decided to test this service, and took about 3 pairs of underwear, some socks, and a couple of polo shirts and tried it out. 

The houseboy picked up the bag and took off down the hall on the dead run! It looked like he was stealing something! No worries, in about 3 hours, he reappeared with a mess hall tray being held high in the air, and on the tray were all my very clean, ironed underwear, socks, and shirts! Really the definition of pardon the pun, but a "Chinese Laundry". Don spread the word, and the entire team enjoyed the same results without and problems for the remaining 3 weeks of our stay and we can't say enough good about the service. 

Now let’s fast forward a couple months to our visit to Russia. Don was assigned to the team in Kiev. he once again was the "test" case for how the service in Kiev was going to work. The front desk seemed a little confused, but it was explained to place items in a pillowcase type bag, and drop it off at the front desk. No inventory was necessary, probably because they couldn't read English. he took a few items, mostly underwear, and some perma-pressed shirts, and maybe a pair of dockers type pants. He dropped them off at the front desk at about 0900, and the next morning at about 1030, the House Boy delivered the laundry, and it was once again, an excellent experience.

He again spread the word at the joint Count Down meeting with 45 WHCA, 30 USSS, and 15 WH Staff, along with another 20 State Department people. So several people took bags to the front desk, and we quickly received a memo from the Embassy, saying that future drop offs should be in a Conference Room on the first floor. It also instructed that returned laundry would be delivered to a claim room on the top floor of the hotel, turned out to be a large banquet room. 

The next day, we looked out our WHCA Office window, and the bags of collected laundry was being dropped down a chute from about the 3rd floor, into a large dump truck! We soon started expecting the return of our laundry.

After almost a week, they told us it would arrive the next morning. We went up to the banquet room, and there were rows of tables set up like a flea market. One table had 400 pair of every brand of underwear known to man, the next table 700 socks not matched to each other, and then of course another table with various under shirts, yellow arm pit stains, some with holes, some very new, many very old. Then our regular shirts, slacks, and everything else. It was obvious that someone had a new "red" sweatshirt and now there was one table of "pink" underwear. Each of us tried to walk through an identify our items. Very difficult without names or markings. Really a lot of J.C. Penney underwear.

This massive pile of laundry remained huge for several days, many items no one wanted to claim in front of others. WHCA did not have any female members at that time, but the State Department and USSS might have had a couple women. They were not pleased about their various "cup sizes" being observed by all of us "dirty old men in training". Remember, they hauled this off in a dump truck, so it was a huge amount of clothing. 

The memos from the front desk to go claim your items continued to get frantic as we were closer to visit day. In the end, there was still enough laundry to fill 3 giant boxes like a truck load of toilet paper from Sam's Club. The WH Advance told them to just donate any unclaimed items to charity after we left. 

About 5 months later, the WHCA Vault received 3 large boxes shipped through the COMSEC courier service from the US Embassy Annex in Kiev. You guessed it, all the remaining unclaimed laundry from that visit! They once again asked people to come check it out and claim any missing items. After a few months, they were donated to the Salvation Army. Some team members were able to process claims for "lost items" and received a check for replacement. The paper drill was very long, depreciation schedule for used underwear is actually listed in a government document somewhere! 

President Nixon held many meetings with Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai during the trip, which included visits to the Great Wall, Hangzhou, and Shanghai

The Nixon’s tour the Great Wall of China

The Nixon’s tour the Great Wall of China

At the conclusion of his trip, the United States and the PRC Governments issued the Shanghai Communiqué, a statement of their foreign policy views and a document that would remain the basis of Sino-American bilateral relations for many years. Kissinger stated that the U.S. also intended to pull all its forces out of the island of Taiwan. In the communique, both nations pledged to work toward the full normalization of diplomatic relations.

 Letter of Appreciation

Certificate of Membership

President's Travel Itinerary

Destinations	Dates		Purpose
Agana Guam		February 20-21, 1972	Rest stop in route to China
Shanghai, Peking, Hangchow  People's Republic of China		February 21-28, 1972	State visit; met with Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou En-Lai.

WHCA’s Role in the President’s Trip to China 

On February 10, 1972 the San Clemente CCT departed for Guam which is an island in the western Pacific Ocean and is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States. Agana is the island's capital. Our primary mission was to set up a support base that would be able to quickly respond to any personnel or equipment emergencies that might occur during this trip. 

Agana the Capital of Guam

B-52 departing Andersen AFB to Vietnam

We arrived at Andersen AFB early in the morning on February 11, 1972, as soon as we unloaded all of our equipment and got settled in the hotel. We met with some government and military personnel to find locations suitable to install our communication equipment. Andersen was the perfect location because of its tight base security. 

From early 1972, Andersen AFB was the site of one of the most massive buildups of air power in history. The influx of bombers, crews, and support personnel pushed Andersen's military population past 15,000. Over 150 B-52's lined all available space on the flight line. 

We utilized three locations on Andersen to set up the mini switchboards, the crypto equipment in the Comm. Center, and the HF SSB and FM radios. Since the arrival would take place at Andersen and the President and Mrs. Nixon would stay in a nearby private residence. We decided to install Baker/Charlie and Sierra base stations in the same building as the Switchboard and Comm. Center. This would make it an easier installation for the keying lines to the radio consoles and paging system that terminated at the switchboard... 

We installed a URT-23 HF Transmitter with two R-1051 receivers to work with the WHCA people on mainland China. We were given a schedule of specific dates and times that we were allowed to test on our assigned frequencies. Once we completed testing we went to 24hr coverage on all communications activities 

R-1051 SSB Receiver 

URT-23 1KW SSB Transmitter

The WHCA Mini-switchboard

The President arrived on February 20, 1972 and spent the evening on Guam before continuing his flight to mainland China. 

The President, Mrs. Nixon, Dr. Kissinger and a few Staff members arrived in Peking on February 21, 1972 to begin one of the most historic events in history. The President would spend seven days in China, during that period of time the WHCA installations on Guam would be the focal point for most of the communications to and from the President and his Staff. 

The President left China on February 28, 1972 and we immediately started to remove our equipment and got ready to load it on a C-141 returning from China with some WHCA personnel and the Key Biscayne CCT.

Guam became the staging area for all equipment and personnel returning from China. Of course, the C-141 Crew was tired of running shuttles from the three trip locations in China to Guam, so on arrival the aircraft was grounded for repairs and for a new crew was assigned to fly us to HI.

The KBCCT flew directly to Guam from China by the most direct route. Some details are fuzzy, but they remembered the Exchange and Snack Bar were closed on their arrival at Anderson AFB, Maybe they were just tired and ready for a good old American Cheeseburger, however the only food available was a mobile "Hot Dog Cart" in front of the Exchange. and it was bought out in record time!  Those were some nasty hot dogs, but they ate every one of them! When they left China, it was late in the day then when they arrived in Guam the C-141 when they arrived had to be unloaded and then reloaded on the plane that we had loaded with the equipment from the Guam stop. The long flight from China to Gaum plus the 2+ hour time shift gives you a long very day.

We had been on Guam for 35 days and were all anxious to get home, but the Military Customs Officers on Guam had other ideas they read the rules, and they were NOT going to allow anyone to enter the U.S. territory from the People's Republic of China. Since we were on Guam we were not required to go through customs however by sharing the plane with returning WHCA personnel we had to wait while the Customs Officers contacted the State Department in Washington DC. 

The answer was to defer our customs clearance until we reached the U.S. instead of Guam. Finally, The plane was loaded, and we were ready to depart Guam for a couple of days of rest in Honolulu, Hi. We received clearance and departed Guam for Hickam AFB, once again we had a major problem with the C-141. All of the equipment that we loaded on the C-141was deck mounted and not as simple as moving a dozen pallets, so they wanted to fix the aircraft instead of unloading it. The Hickam AFB folks were like the people in Guam, checked the regulations and deferred the Customs clearance to mainland U.S.

We were all ready for some R&R after spending close to a month preparing and executing this very historical event. We stayed in Hawaii for almost three days at the Ala Moana Hotel on Waikiki beach in Honolulu both the El Toro CCT and the Homestead CCT again boarded  the aircraft.

Ala Moana Hotel in Honolulu HI

Both the San Clemente CCT and the Homestead CCT personal were on the aircraft along with all of the communication equipment from both stops. We landed at El Toro MCAS, and it was very hot and with typical Marine logic, we had to stay on the hot aircraft for almost an hour. While the Customs Agents were discussing the process they needed to follow, the El Toro Team started un-strapping their portion of the equipment, and setting aside all of the PX purchased Sony and Pioneer stereo equipment of this era that they purchased in both Guam and Hawaii. Finally, the El Toro Customs said they would only clear the El Toro team members to remove their equipment and would be  getting off the plane at El Toro, so, March 2, 1972 the San Clemente CCT returned to their home base at El Toro MCAS form Guam and the China trip was over.  

EL Toro Marine Corp Air Station operations

The rest of the personal and equipment were deferred to the next stop. There were both DC folks bound for Andrews Air Force Base (AAFB), and the Key Biscayne CCT headed to Homestead Air Force Base still on board and they were not allowed to deplane at El Toro.

 By the time the Key Biscayne CCT arrived in Homestead, they had been officially in country for over 7 days, and still not cleared by Customs. When the Key Biscayne team arrived at Homestead, they had one member that was a Navy person, and his mind set from folklore was that items purchased via the PX were gray market and had no warranty unless you paid the duty taxes. The Customs guy was so cool. He told him, I don't know how to fill out this paperwork, but I will call my boss. He lives in Ft Lauderdale and will take two hours to get here.

Because there was a pending visit by the President to Key Biscayne there were helicopters ready to take some of the team members to Walkers Cay. These people basically hugged their families, got a new suitcase, and headed out for the weekend. Bottom line is the people from Key Biscayne never did clear customs, the Customs Agent from Fort Lauderdale called his guy and said, just let them in.

Little did I know that in three months I would be transferred to Key Biscayne and live on Homestead Air Force Base.