President Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) | |||
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Type Of Activity | Presidential Support | ||
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Location | Washington DC | ||
Date of Activity | 1981-1989 | ||
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Ronald Reagan 40th President of the United States
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| 1981 Inaugural Parade |
Ronald Reagan’s presidency began on a dramatic note when, after the inaugural ceremony, he announced at a luncheon that Iran had agreed to release the remaining American hostages that they had held for 444 days.
1981 Inauguration
Larry Bethea comments: I was working night shift during the Reagan Inauguration, we were used to getting a call from then President Carter for a wake-up time and weather briefing but that night the new President didn't call down. The next night we awaited a wakeup call announcement from the new President, nothing. Finally we called a Stewart and relayed a message, the SAO (Special Assistance Operator) who took the call from President Reagan thanked us then told us "My Nancy" will wake him up each morning.
Within the first week of Reagan's Presidency President Reagan was at a evening function in DC and was about to return to the White House via motorcade when he heard the Secret Service use the informal callsign "The Boss". Reagan asked an Agent on his detail if he could borrow the walkie talkie. The Agent unplugged and handed his radio to the President. I was at Crown Base to hear President Reagan say. I have an official radio callsign and would appreciate if everyone used it, I'm not the Boss. The channel went silent, no one said anything until the SS Control Center confirmed, with a short brief comment, "was that Rawhide?" The Agent had his radio back and I could hear his huge smile saying "affirmative, that was Rawhide". After that the Secret Service and WHCA always used his proper callsign, Rawhide.
The 1981 Presidential Transition was a fascinating time for me and since then I watched each Transition I knew WHCA folks had to adjust to new People, new Personalities and attitudes and each Transition is also historic for the peaceful transition of power is rare in the history of Mankind..
Donald Cammel comments: Transition from one administration to the next is always interesting. I was there for transition from LBJ to Nixon, Nixon to Ford, and then came back for transition from Carter to Reagan. The support folks use this as a potential to drop certain services unless the new administration has already seen such services. Always looking to cut back on things like the 3 eye televisions from LBJ, reducing the number of News Summaries for example. Today, since WHCA is no longer a stabilized long tour, it is unlikely anyone working on a transition has any experience from the previous effort. In my era there were always many folks that had lots of experience. The Operations folks were constantly working with the new WH Staff on meeting their needs and expectations. Never sure whether we offered some services or someone asked for them.
The 1981 Assassination Attempt
Only two months after taking office as president of the United States, President Ronald Reagan was steps away from the presidential limousine when John W. Hinckley, Jr., a deranged drifter fired six shots from a .22-calibre revolver toward him while he was leaving the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C.
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| President Reagan exits the Hilton Hotel just before shots rang out |
Three bullets severely wounded three members of Reagan's entourage and security detail – press secretary Jim Brady, Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy and Thomas Delahanty, a D.C. police officer. One of the bullets, unbeknownst to Reagan or the Secret Service at the time, had bounced off the door of the limousine and punctured the president's lung before it lodged itself close to his heart.
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Critically injured Jim Brady Larry Bethea remembers that on March 30, 1981 it became my Longest Day in the U.S. Air Force. I was walking into the White House compound when a Soldier from my section was walking out. She said Hi, and then alerted me that there was a assassination attempt against President Ronald Reagan. My first thoughts were mixed, and I asked her if she should be leaving under these circumstances. She said that she didn't know if the President was struck by a bullet but told me about others being hurt. She continued to leave as I rushed into the Duty Station to hear the Radios a buzz while the switchboard was quiet. Returning to the Radio room I heard Jerry Parr, the President's lead Agent announce that the President was coughing up blood and would reroute the President’s motorcade to the hospital. Agent Parr was asked if the President had been struck? He looked over the President and couldn't find where. He suggested tackling the President into the Limo may have broken a rib on the transmission hump because they both landed on it. I then heard others say that ABC NEWS is already airing the Attempt and watched 2 or 3 minutes of their video before being ordered to the switchboard. I returned to the switchboard room to find dozens of calls needing to be answered. I plugged into the board and started to patch calls; little did I know I would sit there for another 16 hours. While normally five operators could manage the switchboard, it required maybe eight on that day and sometimes calls were ringing for some time for we focused on our Emergency Procedures. There are many untold stories around that day, Bell Atlantic technicians for instance rushed over to the Hospital and rerouted phone lines some were public phones being used by the press. They were disconnected in mid-sentence and the telco lines were routed between the White House and the Emergency Room at the Hospital. The eight Military Personnel, including myself, were mostly in our 20's and yet only one person staggered, allowing grief to overtake her. She was pulled off the board and a few minutes later was back on the job doing her duty. She heard firsthand the Doctors report, how serious the wound was and how close it came to the President's heart. I heard a number of prayers that day, during a pause I glanced over to see one young man kneeling by the switchboard, I then realized he was praying. The Vice President, George HW Bush was flying back to Washington DC on board Air Force II we had ground to air communications with him his entire flight. At one point he called and wanted to get a health status of the President. I patched him to the President's Doctor/spokesman and listened for quality assurance (SOP). After the call the Vice President called back asking to speak with the operator who he was just speaking with. I picked up the call, he was very concerned with me. He basically said, “I didn’t want you to pull the President's doctor away from his duties. I assured the Vice President the Doctor that he spoke to was overseeing the Doctors caring for the President. Once he realized this, he thanked me. Another call I received was from Sarah Brady, she heard on the News her husband James Brady, the White House Press Secretary was dead. She wanted confirmation. I patched her to the Hospital, and she was told that her husband was still alive. She called back and informed me that her ailing Father-in-Law was visiting and to not upset him with any bad news that she would take all the calls. I respected her reasoned thought in such a crisis and informed everyone on the switchboard. Agent Tim McCarthy is a large man, when he heard the first shot he turned towards the threat without moving from his spot. He took a bullet for the President and maybe the entire reason Reagan survived. A Hero! When he was loaded into an ambulance a fellow agent jumped into the front passenger seat. He informed the driver to drive to George Washington Hospital. The Driver worked for another Hospital and protested, for he feared he wouldn't get paid. The Agent assured the driver he would get paid, but the Driver continued to protest, that is until he was looking at the wrong end of a barrel. The Agent had no time for discussing payment and pulled his weapon to protect his fellow Agent. The driver then rushed over to GW Hospital. In the Military there is a Chain of Command, from your immediate supervisor all the way to the Commander in Chief. At one point I glanced behind me to see most of my Chain of Command standing, watching us on the switchboard an Army Captain, a Marine Colonel, a Army 1 Star General, USAF General David C Jones Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger. A few weeks after my Longest Day a very nice letter came to our section from the Sec Def, Caspar Weinberger. He couldn't believe what he witnessed, what my section accomplished and shared mostly his feelings of how impressed he was with our professionalism, how we handle such a crisis with disciple and calm. President Reagan came down to our section to personally thank us for our service, he left a crystal jar of his favorite jellybeans, but our NCOIC taped the jar closed so that the gift can be preserved for the section. I wonder what color those jellybeans are today? Most Americans have no idea how close life and death was for Ronald Reagan that day. Nancy Reagan knew and did everything she could to protect her husband hence forth. There was a huge team of people that came together that day to save our President, some parts were small, others were huge. Each part contributed to saving our President this day in 1981. President Reagan was rushed to George Washington University Hospital for emergency surgery, Reagan joked with doctors as he was being wheeled into the operating room: “I hope you’re all Republicans.” The President was Released 12 days later, An early Ronald Reagan accomplishment that has gone on to shape policy was his approach to labor unions that were operating outside of the law. In Aug of 1981 he took a hard line against air-traffic controllers who were unjustly striking, setting a precedent that has been pointed to for decades. Reagan's economic and domestic policies had a major impact on the American people and have had for many years. One of the most well-known Ronald Reagan accomplishments was his tax cuts, which were designed to benefit the middle class. These Tax cuts were just one part of Ronald Reagan's overall economic approach known as Reaganomics, which decreased unemployment and inflation and, over time, revolutionized the country's economic structure. Ronald Reagan energized new generations of Republicans, who continued to lead and develop the party in coming decades. One of the accomplishments of Ronald Reagan that clearly influenced later leaders was his charismatic, yet casual, speaking style, which ushered in a new era for political communication. Ronald Reagan also spearheaded a campaign to re-focus the country's attention back on its own people, an idea that has again taken hold in recent years. Columbia, The First of NASA’s Orbiter Fleet Commonly referred to as OV-102, for Orbiter Vehicle-102, Columbia was delivered to Kennedy Space Center in March 1979. STS-1, Columbia’s maiden voyage, launched on April 12, 1981, and was the inaugural flight in the Space Shuttle Program. It proved the operational concept of a winged, reusable spaceship by successfully completing the Orbital Flight Test Program – missions STS-1 through STS-4. The orbiter weighed 178,000 pounds with its main engines installed. Columbia was also the first orbiter to undergo the scheduled inspection and retrofit program. In 1991, Columbia returned to its birthplace at Rockwell International’s Palmdale, CA, assembly plant for upgrades and improvements. Her last flight was on January 16, 2003. But back in 1981, none of that was assured. The space shuttle was a revolutionary spacecraft for its time, the first reusable spaceship and the first one designed to land on a runway like an airplane. Young and Crippen's STS-1 flight was also the first test launch of the shuttle. Never had NASA put astronauts on a spacecraft that hadn't been tested unmanned first. On Columbia's maiden voyage the shuttle only had the 2 brave men for Crew which later increased with payload specialists and robotic arm operator. The Military used the Shuttle for installing new satellites & repairing/updating older satellites.  This is a story of one of those requests handled by. Presidential. Communicator Wm. Larry Bethea. Jr. Hail Columbia By Wm. Larry Bethea. Jr. Sgt U.S. Air Force veteran, 1978-1982. “As an Air Force airmen assigned to the 2045th Com. Group, I was selected for duty to the White House Communications Agency. I reported for duty in January 1986. After months of training and testing I was awarded the position of presidential communicator, operating the tactical switchboard and radio network for the President, Vice President, Secret Service, and the Senior White House staff. I arrived early for work on the morning of April 12 1981 and went to the break area to witness the history making first launch of the Columbia space shuttle which occurred at 7:00.03 am EST. After watching the liftoff, losing sight of the shuttle, seeing a streak of light racing to the stars I was called to the morning briefing. I was assigned to the special operator position and my duty was to respond quickly to the President, VP, and Senior WH staff, patching calls by telephone or radio anywhere in the world. At 07:00.12 vice President George HW Bush called from his car phone and wanted to speak to the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia. Instructed me that he wanted to take the call in his office and would arrive in 10 minutes. I responded to the vice president like he had asked me to call his chief of staff not having a clue how to make the call. How do you call a spacecraft? I asked my supervisor and he didn’t have a clue either. Being born and raised around Washington DC with a family working within NASA I knew the Goddard Space Center in Greenbelt MD was a communications tracking facility. With approval from my supervisor I called the commercial number in the public phone book and told them who I was, what I wanted, and if they could help. The next thing I knew I’m patched to the pilot of the space shuttle Columbia, Robert Crippen. It happened so fast that we had five minutes to spare so I asked NASA and the pilot if they could hold the line for 5 min. NASA responded by saying Sure no problem. With that pilot Crippen asked me if I could patch some music up to them while they waited, I said sure and patched country music up to the space shuttle. On an earlier trip with the President to Cleveland Ohio I discovered a radio station with country music that you could dial into and get their broadcast. I’m sure that was a first. Anyway when the Vice President picked up his office phone I had to drop the music patch, answer the Vice President, and introduce the space shuttle crew. Easy, huh, not when making the introductions. The pilot interrupted, thanking me for the music, and the VP is wondering, what music? I didn't respond to the pilot Robert Crippin but instead re-introduced the crew. and assured the Vice President the crew was on the line. The vice president spoke to the crew, congratulated them for a successful launch, and wish them Godspeed. (From one veteran pilot to another in my humble opinion). In my first 20 minutes of my shift, I made communications history by making the first phone call to a space. Shuttle for the Vice President of the United States and providing music for the space shuttle crew.” President Nixon talked to the Apollo 11 astronauts on the moon in 1969 but that was a highly planned and coordinated call.
Signal Switchboard, Crown Radio, and Echo Fox Radio Console In January of 1981 the Signal Switchboard moved from the East Wing basement to the new a new area in the basement of the Old Executive Office Building, room 015. The old Western Electric WE 555 was removed and the Western Electric 608-D was installed in the OEOB, it was the only L shaped WE 608 in the world.
The switchboard was "L" shaped. The two positions on the left in the photo above were "SAO"s Special Assistance Operators who handled Presidential calls. Pres. Reagan is saying in the photo above "... and you do this job with equipment this old? 
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| LTC Oliver North is sworn in by the Warren Commission |
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| President Reagan addresses the nation about Iran Contra |
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| ReykjavÃk negotiations between President Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev |
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| Berlin Wall 1987 |
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| Ronald Reagan gets a small piece of the Berlin Wall (1990) |
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| Ronald Reagans announcement to the American People |
Nearly a decade later, on June 5, 2004, he died at his Los Angeles home at age 93, Reagan was given a state funeral in Washington, D.C., and later buried on the grounds of his presidential library. Nancy Reagan died of heart failure in 2016 at age 94 and was buried alongside her husband.
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The Ronald Reagan Memorial at the Reagan Library
Reagan Ranch Visit April 2018 by Kenneth W. Barbi Summary I had the opportunity to visit the Reagan Ranch (Rancho del Cielo) on April 21st as a guest of Young America’s Foundation to see the preservation efforts of Ronald Reagan’s Santa Barbara White House where many of us worked in the 1980's. The Ranch was purchased from Ronald and Nancy Reagan in 1998 to provide the family financial resources to care for President Reagan’s health. Its new owner, Young America’s Foundation WWW.YAF.ORG, is a conservative youth centered political action organization. Background Quoting from author Brad Thor, “Young America’s Foundation is the largest youth outreach organization in the Conservative Movement and the only group that uses the power of the Reagan Ranch to shape future generations. The Foundation is the exclusive owner and operator of the Reagan Ranch, having worked with Ronald Reagan and the Reagan family since 1962 to advance freedom. Today, Young America’s Foundation hosts conferences and seminars at the Reagan Ranch to inspire young people and policy makers with President Reagan’s freedom philosophy of limited government, free enterprise, and a strong national defense.” The foundation hopes to make Rancho del Cielo the Mount Vernon and Monticello of the 20th Century. When the Ranch originally came on the market in the mid 1990's before Young America’s Foundation purchased it, there were unsuccessful efforts to have the Federal or California State Government buy it to preserve it as the real life home of a great US President. My April Visit When WHCA folks worked in Santa Barbara and at the Ranch, we learned a great deal about our humble President and no doubt have many fond memories of those days. I had not been back in over 30 years as my Air Force career progressed, and after retirement moved on to other interests. I was thrilled to be invited to the 20th Anniversary celebration of the purchase of the Ranch by a close friend and member of the Young America’s Foundation. Currently, the Ranch is not open to the public except by special invitation. Meeting people we had worked with as customers such as Ed Meese, T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr., Becky Norton Dunlop, Dennis LeBlanc, and Frank Donatelli was refreshing. Meeting current Trump administration supporters such as Governors George Allen and Scott Walker; and White House Assistant to President Donald Trump, Marc Short (Director of Legislative Affairs at the White House), was very rewarding. Because of my professional association with President Reagan as one of his WHCA Trip Officers, I was well received at the receptions and dinners along with former Naval Military Aide, Rear Admiral JJ Quinn (back in 1987 he was a junior officer); and John Barletta, President Reagan’s chief lead Secret Service Agent and riding friend who oversaw Ranch Security. John is on Young America’s Foundation Board of Directors. Very few Foundation members ever met President Reagan personally as many of us did. Preservation Efforts From my recollections, the Ranch has changed little since the 1980's although the building WHCA used at the Ranch has been torn down, but our phones (all labeled up as we used to do) and a few Secret Service radios are still present! The El Escorial Delux Hotel (which provided us accommodations; and served as our nerve center and communications center) is no longer a hotel, but rather El Escorial Villas.
The road up the mountain is still narrow and in terrible condition.
The secret service command post has been fully restored to the way it looked in the 1980's
 P1350 Motorola base station
The Tack Barn is the same.
 The home is virtually unchanged along with the patio, lake, and wooden phone pole fences that Ronald Reagan personally built while he lived there as President.      Among other things in the house is a wine cooler he purchased while living there as President. He dutifully filled out the warrantee card with his name, address, and phone number; and filled in the block - Occupation - Public Employee. That’s why we liked him so much!
In the bedroom pictured here, is a phone switch that I can’t identify. It appeared to either switch to different lines or turn them off. It is now inactive.
In the bathroom is the President’s famous Liberty Bell shower head, and a partially used bottle of Head and Shoulders he last used there.
 The guest house has been remodeled on the inside.
The Pond and Dock that President Reagan built is in great shape. He gave the canoe to Nancy and it is still there.  My only regret with this unique preservation effort is that very little of the actual WHCA communications equipment we deployed to the Ranch is on display. Remember, the 1980's were the years of great change in techniques of Presidential Communications - - DES secure Motorola radios, E Mail, dial-in access, Grid computers; DSCS, Fleet SAT, and Ku-band satellite terminals to name a few - - no more Kleinschmidts! Can some of that equipment be recovered and provided to the Ranch for future generations to see? Ken Barbi is an Electrical Engineer who graduated from the
Ku-Band Satellite Use at WHCA - - The Beginning by Kenneth W. Barbi, (WHCA Trip Officer 1983 - 1986) kenbarbi@verizon.net White House Communications Agency (WHCA) personnel have been on the front lines of challenge supporting our President with leading-edge technologies for over 80 years since we were formed as the White House Signal Detachment (WHSD) by the War Department on 25 March 1942. During my tour in the mid-1980's, we were using copper wire, analog unsecured POTS (plain old telephone service), Kleinschmidt teletype writers, unsecured VHF/UHF radio, and bulky STU-1 secure encrypted voice passed through MODEMS over analog circuits at 2,400 - 4,800 BPS. That was state-of-the-art in the 1980's. That all changed when the new Reagan era White House staffers brought their personal Radio Shack TRS-80 Model-100 Portable Computers along on trips using them to pass important traffic back home without encryption. We were at a definite turning point driven by our times. For our Commander, Col Larry Schumann, a new day had dawned. The traffic had to be secured. He commissioned a new start-up company - - GRiD - - to build laptop computers with an amazingly large (in that day) 10 MB hard drive. We commissioned NSA to develop PCM voice coding encryption for secure calls built into a standard desk telephone set. Portable deployable AFSAT and DSCS satellite terminals, Mobile Communications Vehicles called Road Runners, and DES encrypted VHF/UHF handheld radios that had to be re-keyed every day soon followed. Today in 2023, the WHCA has a unified digital architecture seamlessly integrating secure voice, data, and video over multiple transmission media into a mix of Internet Protocol (IP) networks. As one of President Reagan's trip officers, my one man team in the Plans Division developed the first Presidential usage of Ku-Band satellite service. In May 1985 (during a European swing to Germany, France, Spain, and Portugal in commemoration of the 41st Anniversary of the Normandy Invasion), we set up our first international commercial Ku-Band link from Bonn, Germany, to Washington, DC. We did a "down and dirty" deployment going from the drawing board to the field. The entire effort was a joint collaboration between WHCA and COMSAT General. This was one of my projects dependent on commercial assets rather than military assets like my other AFSAT and DSCS projects. The deployment was not without challenges. This is a picture (Figure 1) of us on the roof of our hotel in Bonn, Germany, after we block and tackle hosted the dish from the street. I am immediately to the right of the dish with a camera around my neck. Inside the hotel, our terminal equipment (Figure 2) provided two encrypted T1 (1.544 Mbps) circuits to the hotel trip site comm center from Washington.
This was not the original dish I traveled over with from Andrews AFB on a C-141. That dish got strapped down on top of a pallet loaded with equipment by an Air Force load master (named Murphy of Murphy’s Law fame). It arrived deformed having the shape of the equipment containers under it. Surprise - - that the antenna wouldn’t focus!! Only two of these hand crafted dishes existed at the time so we had a back-up. We got an emergency delivery of antenna number 2 a couple of days later pictured here. It was a memorable trip for me since our aircraft was contacted by CROWN (White House Communications Control) close to arrival by HF radio on the aircraft and was told not to land in Bonn. We had to go somewhere else because anti-US demonstrations were happening there. My pilot and I figured out where to land instead before we ran out of fuel! Ah - - the trials of a WHCA trip officer. Soon after we came up on the air at a very low look angle to the US, we discovered periodic interference on our frequency. Knowing spread spectrum transmission techniques (which appear like background noise) were used on 1980's commercial satellites, I contacted the National Security Agency (NSA) Watch Officer in the middle of his night shift for help identifying the source. In about an hour, a Deutsche Bundespost monitoring van (like what the FCC uses to track non licensed transmitters in the US) arrived at our hotel with a team of technicians and a senior Bundespost official. Shortly after that, the interference disappeared for the duration of the trip. We had no problems when we moved on to Madrid or Lisbon. In Lisbon, Portugal, we set up our antenna outside of the Coyote Comm Center Coach seen here in Figure 3 with the terminal equipment inside the Coyote.
Since 1985 when the President travels away from Washington, DC, Ku-Band has become a WHCA staple, along with military satellite, and commercial leased digital circuits for getting digital signals back to the White House.
WHCA has an approximately 13 meter Ku-Band Gateway Station antenna on the grounds of the Naval Support Facility Anacostia, DC, (Joint Base Anacostia/Bolling) which can be seen driving along I-295 or from Google Earth. Figure 4 is a picture of a similar gateway antenna. At distant end trip sites, WHCA uses small transportable Ku-Band terminals (about one meter in diameter) shown below in Figure 5 operated by our personnel. Nowadays, WHCA joins other Ku-Band systems on various rooftops around the world when deployed - - a long way from the naked roof tops of the 1980's! The current system is off-set fed and neatly packs into manageable transport cases. WHCA is replacing these portables in 2023 with smaller center fed terminals.
WHCA SUPPORT AT THE RANCH by Don Cammel/Marty Williams/Ken Barbi The White House Communications Agency (WHCA) established two key operational locations, one. in Santa Barbara and the other at the President's Ranch. Both sites operated 24/7 with rotating 12-hour shifts to manage communication centers, switchboards, and radio consoles. At the Ranch, WHCA set up two trailers on a hill, which also housed a hangar for HMX-1 (the Marine helicopter squadron), overlooking the communications center and the Secret Service command post.
Further down, closer to the ranch house, was the communications center handling secure traffic and the Secret Service command post. The command post also had facilities for the President’s weekly radio address and a small conference room for meetings. Road to the Ranch
Access to the Ranch was difficult, with over an hour’s drive on rough roads often affected by washouts and fog. Low water bridges and mountain terrain added to the challenge. Harry Davis, remembers that he was traveling with the press Corp. on one trip to the Ranch, when we arrived with the press plane the press was given vans to ride up to the ranch. It was raining hard, but I don't think anyone knew how it would affect the trip up that steep winding road that led to the Ranch. At one point water was flowing over the road and as we were driving through our van started to hydroplane. It certainly got everyone's attention. It was an interesting ride that's for sure the road was pretty dicey. We had to drive through flood water flowing over the road. It was really interesting, the van that I was in started skidding towards the edge and from my vantage point I think we would have starved to death before we hit the bottom lol. Richard LePere, remembers that on another trip, I was the nighttime Switchboard Lead for this Ranch visit, Paul Sensel was my backup on this trip. We were briefed early that the heavy rain was causing flash flooding on Refugio Road. The nighttime shift for Radio, Swbd, KU SatCom, and Commcenter climbed into a 5 Ton and grabbed a seat. Then, they hooked up 2 - USSS White Bronco's, the kind that OJ Simpson drove in the infamous video. We headed up Refugio Road with 1 USSS agent in the driver’s seat of each Bronco, the rest of the agents were sitting next to us on the troop seats. Our radios were chattering the whole time, with the USSS CP giving us updates as we headed up the hill. At one point the driver geared down, and increased the engine RPM! Why? Because the water level on Refugio Road had reached the floor of where our feet were resting, and both Ford Broncos were floating slowly downstream as we passed through a major flood area. Mind you this is a narrow road, with twists and turns. A hillside with culverts crossing the road, that weren't engineered to handle this much water. As the 5 Ton made it through the water, onto solid pavement, the 1st Bronco's front tires hit the pavement, and both the 5 Ton and 1st Bronco were pulling the 2nd Bronco out of the swift current! Both vehicles were in line, going straight up the hill, while the 2nd Bronco was at a 90 degree angle from us, being swept downstream. Its only lifeline was the tow strap connected to the lead USSS Bronco. Let me tell you, once we passed the worst sections of the flooding, we disconnected the USSS Bronco's, finished the drive up to the Ranch, and not until we were on the hill, with our feet firmly planted on solid ground, did we thank the Lord above. Oh, and the 2 USSS agents that were driving the 2 Ford Bronco's? Those boys, got out of the Bronco's shaking like a leaf! You see, the water level in the worst area, was so high, it was up to the driver's windows, as they started floating downstream. The only WHCA people that I remember from that night were Paul Sensel and Kim Beck from SatCom. There were also several incidents of brake failures on the 24-foot Hertz trucks descending the mountain because drivers were unfamiliar with using lower gears.
In Santa Barbara, WHCA installed another Dimension 400 PBX in the GTE Central Office, where the switchboard was located. Other WHCA assets were spread across the various hotels used by the White House staff. The senior staff stayed at the Biltmore Hotel, where the WHCA communications center used GriD laptop computers with encrypted chipsets and small, portable HP inkjet printers to process secure traffic. The rest of the staff and press were housed at the Sheraton, which had a press office and briefing room.
All the radio frequencies were operational with repeaters all over Santa Barbara and at the ranch. Radio coverage was designed to not only cover the Ranch but also blanket the Santa Barbara area with extended coverage to include a possible motorcade back to Pt Magu or even driving down US101 back to LA. Stories from the Reagan Ranch Ericson Cobra Phone by Don Cammel  The Ericson Cobra phone was Nancy's favoriteNancy Reagan always had a Metered Business (MB) line in her bedroom at all hotels, Camp David, and the Ranch. Her choice of instruments was an Ericson Phone, often nicknamed the Cobra Phone. I can’t remember for sure which color she preferred, but I can tell you for sure it was not “White”. The characteristics of this instrument are unlike any other phone anywhere in the industry. Similar problems like the old Princess phones where one pair was the POTS line, and the other pair went to a 12V power cube that powered the light on the dial. The Erickson phone was 3-wires. The hook switch was in the bottom of the phone, and this was available first with a Rotary Dial, and then upgraded to a touch-tone pad. Because of the constant USSS Technical Services Division doing their constant sweeps, the often disassembled this phone, and couldn’t figure it out. The microphone in the instrument was “hot” all the time and would allow anyone on the line to hear conversations in the room. The solution to this problem, was for both WHCA and TSD to work together and build an interface box with basically a physical relay disconnect when the phone went on the hook. We arrived for a Ranch visit, and the Cobra phone beside the bed was DEAD! This was a permanent line, and we didn’t carry spares on a standard trip load, in fact, I don’t think we had any spares anywhere. Being in Santa Barbara and AF-1 and Press Plane already in the air, we started scrambling to find a replacement phone. We called back to DC and they were going to purchase one and send it counter-to-counter on American Airlines. Meantime, we found a White Cobra phone on Wilshire Blvd in LA, so we had the team still in LA drive halfway up US101 to courier the replacement. We knew that “White” would not make her happy, but were going to explain we were waiting on her favorite color to arrive. We considered moving the electronics to the new phone, but they were constructed with poured epoxy in the curved handset. I finally had the correct phone after about 36 hours of continuous effort, plus USSS had to sweep the new phone, and we warned them not to blow out one of the components. All is good, and I am sent down from the top of the mountain to the Ranch house knowing that the President and First Lady are out horseback riding. I go into the bedroom, and the space between the bed and the wall might have been 15”. I laid down on the floor and up near the headboard was the connector block to the home brew relay box. They were changing out the pairs, and I had a standard butt set clipped across the pairs. I was on the floor for eternity, and had my molded earpiece in my ear listening to the movements. At one point, I had to change ears with the butt set and I pulled out my earpiece. I am getting frustrated, and entire body is about to go into muscle spasms from being confined to 15” of space for probably close to 45 minutes. Suddenly, I hear a noise and the bedroom door opens. Here comes the President in nothing but a towel. As I raised up from almost under the bed, it definitely got his attention. I apologized for not knowing he was back from horseback riding, and told him I would return at a later time. He put his hands on his waist, and I was hoping the towel would hold, and said, “No, if you are working on Mommy’s phone, we both should make sure we get that done”! He turned around and went to the shower. I completed the install and departed rapidly. Although the First Lady wasn’t happy that the phone wasn’t yellow the only thing, she wanted to know was a specific date that her phone would be installed. Chief of Staff Donald Regan by Scott Downey/Brad Colip/Richard LePere · Donald Regan was Ronald Reagans White House Chief of Staff in the Presidents second term in office. He was given a tour of the WHCA setup on top of the hill at the Ranch. Regan came into the room, never even acknowledged our presence, and just uttered “Oh this is that piece of shit that never works.” He promptly left and headed over to the radio/satcom trailer. I remember on a couple of trips to the ranch, he wasn't happy with his hotel room and moved to a premium suite. Of course that required a fast re-install of his phone. We had to send someone out to check cable pairs, isolate the pairs and work the tone back to the hotel frame, then swing the cross connects. If you kept detailed cross connect records, you could have it working in 15 to 20 minutes. He would constantly complain about his phone service. I think it was the First Lady that got him fired, because the switchboard had to keep 3 separate copies of the Presidential Call Log during his tenure as the Chief of Staff, whenever he visited the Ranch . One copy for the First Lady, one for whom the Chief of Staff was calling, and one one who was calling in to speak to the Chief of Staff. He must have committed some sort of sin that pi**ed off the First Lady, and its rumored she eventually had the President fire him. Eventually things heated up so badly he eventually resigned. Dr Henry Kissinger by Marty Williams During the early Reagan years, Dr Kissinger was appointed Super Envoy and served almost as a shadow Secretary of State. Most of us got use to talking to him at Signal. As the second term wore down, there was less daily involvement. And he seemed kind of “out to pasture”. One day, at the Ranch, I was working the board when a call came in from a guy claiming to be Dr Kissinger. His voice was as American as mine. I had so many calls from the real HK in the past, I knew his voice well. “Hallo vite house, dis is dr Kissinger, would you get me de president”. I asked the caller to repeat himself. Again in clear English he said he was Kissinger and wanted to talk to the president. I said “Dr. HENRY Kissinger?” Yes, he said and for me to get him the president. Sir, says I, it’s been my pleasure to talk with Dr. Kissinger on many occasions and I’m am comfortably sure you are not he. He got upset and hung up. After a few minutes I thought, maybe someone was calling for Dr K or something strange like that. So, I called his residence. His wife answered and I said it was the White House calling, explained the situation and asked had Dr. Kissinger been trying to contact the president. No, said she, but let me get him for you. Oh no, said I, no reason to disturb him. She told me that he was just sitting around bored and would love to chat with the White House. He came on the line with his distinctive tone and we chatted for about 15 minutes. Even the greats have the need for reaching out to familiar memories. I’m shipped by Marty Williams It was another easy day at the ranch. Rick Steiner and I were on the Ranch Switchboard. Nothing happening. Nothing on the schedule. A call came in for one of the agents on duty that day. Rick caught the call and called down to the command post to see if the agent was there. The agent on the desk told Rick that the agent he wanted was at the Tack Barn. Knowing the boss had been in the Tack room earlier, Rick asked where the president was at that moment. The agent said he was in the residence. So, Rick rang the secret service/staff line in the room adjacent to the tack room. It rang several times and then was answered with a “hello” (insert Reagan sounding voice here) Rick asked for the agent and got “no. Nobody here but me.” He said thank you and turned to me and said, man, I swear that sounded like the Boss. He’s better than you. (I used to do a pretty good Reagan impression),so we called down to the CP again to recheck on the location of the president. They confirmed that he was still in the residence. With this, Rick figured the guy who answered was doing a bit, so he called back down. “Hello.” “Hi there”, says Rick. “I do a pretty good Nixon impression”(which he did) “but I had to tell you that you do a GREAT Reagan!” A slight pause and “Well, Thank you very much. I’ve been doing it for 73 years,” the call ended, and Rick turned to me and said, “I’m shipped!” No such thing happened and apparently RWR thought it was kind of funny… I remember the Boss’s call to the Queen of England during this same trip and I was logging it into the call log. I found out that the queen’s official title was going to be longer than the allotted space on the log. There was no way we could shorten anything and have it still make sense. In the end it was decided to just use D.O.F. (Defender Of The Faith). I had the privilege of meeting Queen Elizabeth in February or March of 1983. She was in the United States for a visit to San Francisco and the President's ranch. I was on press plane duty which meant I was travelling with the White House Press corps. Like most trips there were always things that stood out. One of them was the fact that someone had lined the motorcade route with both United States and British flags. For an outsider the Union Jack is somewhat hard to tell when it is right side up but if course not so for a British citizen. Well, at random someone mistakenly placed a Union Jack upside down along the route and someone on the Queens detail must have noticed. Fast-forward to the Queens Royal Yacht sitting by a dock in the San Francisco harbor. President Reagan boards the Yacht and the British just for a moment raised the US Flag upside down then immediately lowered it and put the flag right side up. After a meeting on the Yacht and (it might have been the next day I don't recall anymore) we boarded Marine helicopters and flew down the coast to Point Mugu where due to bad weather we had to motorcade up to President Reagan's ranch. It had been raining HARD! So the road to the ranch was under water at stream crossing's. The press was in a 12 or 15 passenger van. Well, we start through the water (did I forget to mention that the water was flowing very hard?) The van started to get pushed towards the edge of a steep cliff. It caused a whole lot of pucker factor. After the event at the Ranch we then flew down to Los Angeles for some events down the there. Doctor Hutton by Marty Williams While Switchboard does get to talk to many celebrities, politicians and even occasional royals. A/V and Radio got to “see” a lot of cool things. Occasionally switchboard would get to see an event. At the Ranch, we sometimes got to do what to us, though sometimes boring, was always kind of cool just to do. Whenever the Boss would go for a ride or to do some brush clearing on his 688 acre Rancho Del Cielo, there was a WHCA car of sorts that followed behind the secret service follow up. Later in the years, the secret service follow up was a Hummer, but at the time of the story, both their “Halfback” and our WHCA Car were army Jeeps with canvas covers. Well, this particular day I was excited because I was going to get to ride along. In the WHCA Jeep there was a radio guy driving and the duty Trip Officer (TO) in the passenger seat. Crammed in the back was me and next to me was the very newly appointed presidential doctor. I was impressed. I’d read that he was a noted surgeon from Walter Reed. I was sure the Boss was in good hands. About an hour into the ride, he reached into his bag, pulled out a book and started to read. After a bit, I glanced over to see what this highly trusted physician to the president was reading. I immediately recognized it. It was a thin, hard cover, green book with a big Red Cross on it along with bold letters saying FIRST AID! I let out an uncontrolled hoot… he laughed, and he assured me that for the kind of stuff he’d most likely have to deal with on a trail ride was more likely in that book than everything in his Medical field… Rental Vehicles by Don Cammel On the topic of rental cars, my hero was always Larry Little. Most of the Hertz/Avis agents always took care of the Trip Officer when he was renting his fleet of Trip cars for a site. The AVIS relationship in San Clemente almost became part of the WHCA family. For years, there was always a high profile vehicle or two that would end up as part of the fleet. It just happened that someone showed up to pick up COL Schumann at a Trip location in a bright RED Cadillac.
Telephone Support for President Reagan by Kenneth W. Barbi KC3OYM kenbarbi@verizon.net (WHCA Trip Officer 1983 - 1986) SECURE VOICE The White House Communications Agency (WHCA) provided secure voice telephone support on the 18 Acre White House Grounds, and at all Trip Sites for President Reagan. Our secure switchboard was called Cartwheel - - a water tower (Figure 1) - - located in
By 1986, we were using the new STU-III phones (Figures 4 and 5). They came in two colors - white and black. WHCA personnel had them in their homes with a White House security key for their work. Both styles encoded voice into analog signals for transmission over copper wire on standard dial-up telephone lines. The STU-III was very easy to install anywhere where there was a standard telephone line.
CELLULAR PHONES The only cellular phones at WHCA in the 1980's were the Motorola "Get Smart shoe size" DynaTAC 8000X phones (Figure 6) used as part of the original cellular feasibility study. There was only service in
PAGING SYSTEM In town and on the road, WHCA had a Motorola Paging System located at the Old Executive Office Building (EOB) Switchboard and at the Trip Site Hotel Command Post. Both White House and WHCA Staff members were assigned a Motorola Pageboy II Pager (Figure 7). The system worked very well although women had difficulty wearing the devices, as their clothing styles generally had no belts to clip them on, and they often fell from where they were clipped.
NON-SECURE VOICE In the 1980's, our primary voice communications was non-secure analog voice over the same copper wire standard dial-up telephone lines we used for secure voice. At the White House, there were two switchboards. One was run by White House civilian staff operators for the public to call. The other was the WHCA "Signal Board" for official use and for foreign governments to use to get in touch with the principals. This latter facility (referred to as CROWN) was also the White House VHF, UHF, Nationwide, and the Motorola Paging System main control. Nationwide was a UHF CONUS full duplex Air/Ground radio connection to Air Force One operated by WHCA, and supported by AT&T ground radios throughout the
President Reagan never dialed a single number. If he picked up the phone to call someone, our operators always answered by saying "yes please" because he might have been on a different phone or it might have been someone else, so they always wanted to be polite. He might ask to speak to an old college buddy - John Smith - who he had never called before. Through some sort of magic, our operators would figure out who John Smith was, where he was, his phone number, and get him on the line! When wife, Nancy, called, it went right through. If any foreign leader or head of state called, it went right through, albeit, a bit slower, because those kind of calls got allot of senior staff attention. An interesting event occurred once when I was out of town. My wife called the Signal Board and asked to talk to me because our cat was stuck atop a tree in At Trip Sites, before the AT&T divestiture, things were easy because our AT&T representative would deal with all the individual companies. We had an AT&T Washington Headquarters representative travel with us on trips. Our central command post hub was a portable leased Dimension PBX (Figure 9) that was set up in a bedroom at the hotel where the White House Staff, Secret Service, WHCA, and the President stayed.
Setting up voice communications became trickier after the divestiture or if we were overseas. US Telephone Company (Telco) contacts were identified to us in In our hotel bedroom Command Post next to our The Dimension Trip Site Switchboard would have one local published number with multiple central office trunk lines, one non-published number for emergency use (which Trip Officers could connect remotely from any phone such as a public coin-operated or private phone by dialing our access code to get full telephone connectivity for the President), trunk tie lines to other Trip Sites if it was a regional swing, and numerous trunk tie lines back to Washington. To call a Trip Site Extension, you would dial the three digit number. To call a Washington Extension you would dial 45 - wait for a dial tone - then dial your number. To call the White House Signal Switchboard, you would dial 8. To call a local number, you would dial 9 - wait for a dial tone - then dial. For long distance or the Trip Site Switchboard, you would dial 0. Beyond that, Telephone Companies had their hands full. We ordered dedicated analog dry-pair circuits from the Dimension Trip Site Switchboard to every phone we wanted in town. Most trips had over 100 lines. The Dimension provided the battery and ground to operate these instruments. There were many phone lines to the airport for Air Force One's arrival, emergency medical facilities where the President might have to be taken, event sites, holding rooms, under bleacher seats at sports venues, Marine One landing locations, White House Staff/Secret Service Agent/WHCA Personnel hotel rooms, event halls, and McDonald's Restaurants (if the President planned to eat a Big Mac). Western Electric 500 Series phones (Figure 10) were installed. It was a large grid of copper connected spoke and hub, which usually took a week or more to set up. Every line had to tested, and have a phone plugged into it. After the trip, we had to go out and reclaim every one of the phones. Woe to someone who absconded with a WHCA phone.
Occasionally, we would have to commandeer a public coin-operated or private phone to establish a connection to the Dimension Trip Site Switchboard for the President should he stop somewhere unexpectedly. We placed this label (Figure 11) on the phone to protect it from getting hung up, and left it off-hook lying there ready for use.
We carried roles of labels (Figure 12) to affix to phones.
We had what many called a Bluff Label (shown in a role at the bottom right of the above stack) (Figure 13) to discourage theft which did reduce our losses!
AIR FORCE ONE TELEPHONE SERVICE Air Force One is operated by the 89th Airlift Wing of the United States Air Force at Joint Base Andrews. Whenever Air Force One landed, the plane - then a VC-137C Boeing 707-353B tail number 27000 - was met by a WHCA Trip Officer. The Trip Officer would plug two land lines (always Extension 201 and 202 connected to the Dimension Trip Site Switchboard) into a small compartment under the cockpit in front of the wheel well of the plane. This was a job I did many times as depicted in Figure 14. The President's pilot, USAF Col Robert Ruddick, never wanted a "follow me" truck to meet him at airports. He was pre-briefed and knew exactly where to taxi to his precise parking spot. That's where a Trip Officer would stand (the target perhaps) with the plane coming straight at them ready to plug it into the Dimension Trip Site Switchboard. No one ever got run over!
CONCLUSION The telephone element of a Trip Site puzzle was a small piece of the action. Our gear load filled a C-141 aircraft and took 50 or more WHCA troops to implement. It still does today and is a marvel to see. I hope more WHCA personnel will write about their experiences in future postings. Ken Barbi is an Electrical Engineer and radio amateur KC3OYM who graduated from the
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 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.
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.
In May of 2023 my son (Robert) and I flew to Los Angeles to tour the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, even though I was no longer a member of WHCA, much of the communications used in 1980 had not changed since I left the Agency in 1973. There was a working teleprompter that I checked out, a Camp David exhibit, and Reagan Ranch (Rancho del Cielo) exhibit. It was a real pleasure to tour the museum and the Air Force 1 Pavilion, Where I could once again, see the oval Office, Air Force One (27000), Marine One, and the Presidential Limo. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, is a prominent and well-regarded institution dedicated to the life and legacy of the 40th President of the United States. The Reagan Presidential Library is a must-visit for anyone interested in American politics and history. It offers a comprehensive look at Ronald Reagan's life, presidency, and the significant events that occurred during his time in office. THE REAGAN MUSEUM
The Ronald Reagan Museum houses a vast collection of artifacts, documents, and interactive exhibits that provide insights into Ronald Reagan's personal and political life. from his early years to his Hollywood career, his time as Governor of California, and his two terms as President We were able to explore various aspects of his presidency, from his economic policies to his stance on foreign affairs. There are 18 galleries that pay tribute to America’s 40th president and his accomplishments by capturing his patriotic spirit, his respect for individual liberty, his belief in global democracy and his support of economic opportunity.
 Teleprompter, Camp David & Rancho del Cielo Exhibits
Ronald Reagan always loved the outdoors and made sure to make time for nature during his presidency. Camp David and Rancho del Cielo, his two retreats while in office, allowed for the president to relax and ride his beloved horses. Rancho del Cielo, also known as the Western White House, was the private residence of President and Mrs. Reagan located in the Santa Ynez Mountains of California.
Camp David is a presidential retreat, its facilities maintained today by the US Navy Seabee’s. Camp David was built during the Roosevelt administration and allowed for seclusion while still having quick access to the White House in Washington. The President could also host heads of state and other guests in a secluded and peaceful environment. I was assigned to WHCA at Camp David for five years as a microwave radio technician installing and maintaining the M/W, FM radio and telephone systems necessary for daily operations at the facility, as well as supporting the President and USSS when visiting the site. The Oval Office The Reagan Library offers a full-scale replica of the Oval Office during the Reagan presidency. Featuring Ronald Reagan's Oval Office desk, this exhibit allowed us to step into the Oval Office and get a sense of what it was like for the President during the time he occupied the office.
One of the most popular exhibits at the Reagan Library is the Air Force One Pavilion. Opening in 2005, the Air Force One Pavilion features multiple historic Presidential transportation exhibits and the Annenberg Discovery Learning Center, and it is the highlight of the Library. The Air Force One Pavilion at the Reagan Library is one of Southern California’s “must-see” destinations! The upper floor of this three-floor exhibit starts with the Mezzanine Gallery. The Museum highlights President Reagan’s face-to-face diplomacy with world leaders on economic relations, strategic relations, and arms control as he travels on Air Force One. The Secret Service and their role in protecting the President while he travels displays on a gallery wall on this level.
President Richard Nixon first used the plane in 1972, and famously traveled to his San Clemente, California home following his resignation in 1974. President Ronald Reagan sent predecessor President Jimmy Carter to West Germany to greet the 52 American hostages freed from Iran in 1981. Reagan used Air Force One more than any other president, registering over 660,000 miles aboard the plane. President George H.W. Bush was the last to use the SAM 27000 model as a primary means of transportation, and President George W. Bush was the last to use it as Air Force one when he and First Lady Laura Bush flew to TSTC Waco Airport in 2001. SAM 27000 was retired to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in 2001. See it through the years in today’s gallery.
There is a small access door in the nose of 27000 where we would plug in the two telephone lines for the aircraft and the ramp phone, a four prong plug, upon all arrivals and unplug at departures. The second floor of the Pavilion focuses on the history of Air Force One, Explore a 120’ mural which represents all 22 aircraft that has ever flown a U.S. president. It also showcases the Stan Stokes’ mural, History of the Flying White House, featuring aircraft from FDR’s Dixie Clipper to the current Boeing 747.
The Air Force One Pavilion, allowed us to step aboard the actual Air Force One aircraft a Boeing 707 that was used by President Reagan during his time in office.
The tour gave me a chance to see the Radio Room again, where I had spent so many hours on the ground communicating with 26000 and 27000 from various trip sites around the world, while I was with WHCA It's a unique and immersive experience that gives you a sense of what it was like to travel as the President of the United States and see the many places where he spent time working, meeting with advisors, and relaxing with his family.
This Flying White House, tail number 27000, served seven U.S Presidents from 1973 to 2001, including Presidents Nixon, Carter, Ford, Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush. For Ronald Reagan, this was the plane in which he hand-wrote many of his speeches, signed important legislation and even officially started the Daytona Beach, Florida NASCAR race via phone. But the Air Force One Pavilion is about more than just his plane. The lower floor of the Pavilion also has the Marine One Gallery, which showcases President Lyndon Johnson’s Marine One helicopter.
We were able to tour the actual Marine One helicopter that flew President Johnson.
On the Lower Floor It has a presidential motorcade featuring President Reagan’s 1984 parade limousine, and a secret service suburban as part of an exhibit on presidential motorcades, which rounds out the Presidential transportation exhibits. The presidential limousine is always preceded by the lead car, LAPD used a normal police vehicle, a standard equipped 1982 Chevrolet Impala converted for this purpose. LAPD has also been using two lead Kawasaki motorcycles to provide additional protection for presidential motorcades since 1976.
The Secret Service motorcade follow-up vehicle, also known as the "Halfback", is a specially outfitted Chevrolet Suburban that follows the President's limousine in the motorcade. It is staffed by Secret Service agents who are responsible for providing additional security to the President and their family. President Reagan’s parade limousine also known as Stagecoach, was a modified 1984 Cadillac Brougham d'Elegance that is heavily armored, and has a 76 millimeter higher roof, a telephone system, rear bumper platforms and grab bars for security agents as well two special headlights, which were only intended to illuminate the flags waving on the front fender standard holders.
 We were able to walk around the Limo and could see the vehicle up close, but not close enough to see if the FM radios were installed. The USSS used these radios for the security measures in place for the President's transportation. The limousine did have the phones installed in the rear seat.
The Ronald Reagan Ballyporeen, Irish Pub The Ronald Reagan Pub is located at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California. It is a popular spot for visitors to the library, and is known for its casual atmosphere and pub fare. Experience the actual Irish pub from Ballyporeen, Ireland when he visited on a diplomatic trip in 1984 which now sits within the Pavilion and serves as the Library’s snack shop. The entire interior was dismantled (bar and all!) and shipped to California to become the Ronald Reagan Pub which sits under the wings of Reagan's retired Air Force One. Visitors can also enjoy refreshments in the “Ronald Reagan Pub” - an actual Irish pub which was donated to the Library from Reagan’s ancestral Irish village of Ballyporeen, Ireland.
 The Ronald Reagan Pub is a great place to relax and have a drink or a meal after visiting the library. The food is good, the drinks are cold, and the service is friendly.
BERLIN WALL This exhibit showcases a section of the Berlin Wall, a powerful symbol of the Cold War era. Visitors can learn about Reagan's role in bringing about the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
 The Iron Curtain took shape following World War II as a fortified border between the nations of Eastern and Western Europe. But as an idea, the Iron Curtain stood for the profound division between communism and democracy, oppression, and freedom. The Soviet Union dominated life on the eastern side of the border and enforced its brand of communism in its satellite states. Ronald Reagan took on the enormous challenge of bringing down the Iron Curtain. Since receiving the Wall, President Reagan’s wish has come true many have visited the Wall at the Reagan Library and learned its lesson of freedom and democracy for all. Reagan's Memorial:
Ronald Wilson Reagan passed away on June 5, 2004, at the age of 93. His death induced an outpouring of respect, grief, and honor. Mourners around the world left flowers and trinkets at makeshift memorial sites. The former President laid in repose here at his Presidential Library on June 7-8, 2004. His casket then laid in state in the U.S. Capitol from June 9-11, 2004. Over 200,000 mourners made the journey to say their final goodbye to the former president. Dignitaries from 165 nations attended the public funeral held at the Washington National Cathedral. President Reagan was laid to rest during a private funeral service at sunset on June 11, 2004, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.  The Memorial Site is on the western portion of the Library Campus and is adjacent to the Library’s piece of the Berlin Wall and the replica of the White House South Lawn. The Memorial Site looks out toward the Pacific Ocean. Since I visited the grave site in 2012, Nancy Reagan was laid to rest beside President Reagan.
Overall, the Reagan Presidential Library and Museum is a must-see for anyone interested in American history and politics. The museum's exhibits are informative, engaging, and well-presented. Visitors of all ages can learn something new about Reagan and his time in office. Ronald Reagan's trip to ancestral home in Ballyporeen, Ireland in 1984 by Marty Williams Ballyporeen 12 This didn’t happen on St Paddy’s Day, but it is my favorite Irish memory of my favorite Irish President. At the Economic Summit, in London, in June of 84, I was working the switchboard the morning after President Reagan arrived from Ireland. At just the time that the Trip Officer (TO) was bringing the White House Communications Agency (WHCA) Commander (CDR) through the Switchboard area, the Boss’s line rang in to my console. (For non-operators, when the Boss’s line went off you heard a loud, annoying, stress inducing, modulating tone), the pencil comes up and you start taking notes. With the Reagans two things could happen. One, Mrs. Reagan, could be calling. if she was, the conversation was going to be short, the information would be given quickly, and there would be no opportunity to have it repeated. The call might go something like this: “Crestview 5-4724” (click) and we’re done. You had better have gotten it all. (yes, that’s how folks did phone numbers in the old days). Now if it were the Boss, it would most likely be a long conversation that could take a meandering route to what he wanted. Anything said along the way could be the call information and would need to be written on the Presidential Call Log for the archives. Obviously, I had the full attention of the CDR and T.O. The call went something like this: “Hello, Signal (the designator for the WHCA Switchboard). I have an unusual request for you, I probably shouldn’t bother you with it, I mean I asked my staff to take care of it yesterday, but I guess it didn’t happen. Well anyway, yesterday, when I was in Ballyporeen, Ireland, I was there because my grandfather came from there, so it was a kind of homecoming, well, there was this young woman I met there, she was a nurse who took care of war wounded in Baghdad. She was there for a homecoming too. I told my staff I wanted to talk some more to her, but I guess they didn’t come through. Her last name was (ok, here comes some help) Clancy.(some help) that would make her name (ok, here we go) Nurse Clancy. (Ahh) I shouldn’t bother you with this, its just too hard.” “Not a problem sir” “Well ok, give it a try” So i went into action. The CDR and TO were giving me “the look”. I figured I needed information in another country. So I got on to the international operator. They got me to an Ireland information operator. And she got me to the Ballyporeen Switchboard operator. Yes, I said switchboard. The town still had an operator. I asked how many Clancy’s there were in town. She had about 30 listings for Clancy. But the most popular one was the Clancy Pub. I figured if anyone might know, a small-town pub might be a good place to start.
I had her put me through. In a full brogue the proprietor answered. I explained that it was the White House calling and that President Reagan had met a Nurse Clancy the day before and wanted to talk to her again. I asked if he might know a Clancy who was a Nurse for war wounded in Baghdad who was home for a visit. “Sure and I do! It’s my daughter Margaret. MARGARET! Get your arse down here, the President of the United States wants to speak to you!” Margaret got on the phone, and I gave her a quick briefing. Then I called the president back. “Hello” “Mr. President, about your call to Nurse Clancy” “Oh, I know, that was too hard. Don’t worry about it. Thanks for trying” “Mr. President, do you still want to talk to her?” “Well yes” “Well sir, her name is Margaret and she’s on the line. Go ahead please”. Total time request to connect, less than six minutes. As he chatted with her, I realized I didn’t have a number for the log. So I retraced the call and got the Ballyporeen operator again. She gave me the number. Ballyporeen 12. The TO and CDR were duly impressed. A few minutes later the call came down and the boss called in again. “That was amazing, how did you do that?” “Magic Sir”. And though it may not qualify as “saving the day” it was an Oh Yeah! moment… Was privileged to have many of those over the years, but this is one of my favorites. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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