The White House Communications Agency, A Look at It's Past and Present

The White House Communications Agency (WHCA)
Type Of Activity	Communications support for the White House
Location
Location	Washington DC
Date of Activity	Nov 1965 to Dec 1973
Coordinates	38°53′52″N 77°02′11″W

Travels with the White House and WHCA                                                              

In December 1964, as my Army service was nearing its end, I chose to re-enlist in order to attend Microwave Radio Repair School at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. After completing the course, I was interviewed by representatives of the White House Communications Agency (WHCA), underwent a polygraph examination, and passed an extensive background investigation. In November 1965, I was selected for assignment and transferred to WHCA in Washington, D.C. 

My first assignment was at Camp David in Thurmont, Maryland, where I served as a microwave repairman at a site known as Cactus. I also worked at another nearby microwave relay site called Cannonball. In March 1967, I was permanently transferred to Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, where I became the Noncommissioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC) of Cannonball. In that role, I was responsible for maintaining all communications equipment at the site, as well as overseeing the day-to-day operation and upkeep of the facility.

During my time at Camp David and Cannonball, I traveled extensively—both domestically and overseas—in support of the White House and the United States Secret Service. The year 1968 proved to be one of the most demanding periods for WHCA. It began with the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the resulting civil unrest across the country. Later that year, Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated while campaigning for the Democrat presidential nomination. In response, the Secret Service expanded protection to all presidential and vice-presidential candidates, and WHCA was tasked with providing communications support for those protection details.

That same year also saw the violent protests surrounding the Democrat National Convention in Chicago, followed by the presidential election. WHCA supported communications for all three presidential candidates and three vice-presidential candidates. Richard Nixon was elected, and preparations began for the transition to a new administration.

When Cannonball was closed in 1970, I was reassigned to the Western White House in San Clemente, California. There, the Communications Contingency Team (CCT) was formed, drawing personnel from several recently closed microwave sites. The CCT was designed as a rapid-response unit capable of deploying communications support for the White House anywhere in the world. We established a maintenance facility on the tarmac at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, with all equipment palletized for immediate transport. The team remained on constant standby, carrying pagers to ensure rapid response. From San Clemente, we supported the President at official events throughout the Los Angeles area and frequently provided communications support for the Vice President during visits to Palm Springs and other locations across the western United States

In 1972, my final assignment with WHCA took me to the Florida White House in Key Biscayne, where I served as NCOIC of the Key Biscayne Compound. I was responsible for overseeing permanently installed FM communications sites throughout southern Florida.

Our detachment also maintained a UHF radio network that supported voice and data communications between the

Key Biscayne compound and the Walker’s Cay Club in the Bahamas. This system was used primarily by the President and the Secret Service during visits to Grand Cay Island. We also installed FM radio service for the protective detail while on the island. Walker’s Cay housed the WHCA switchboard and communications center, which supported White House staff and the press corps during presidential visits as there were no other communications on the island. 

While I was in the process of relocating my family to Florida, the Watergate break-in occurred—an event that would ultimately lead to President Nixon’s resignation. Shortly after settling in, I was tasked with supporting the 1972 Republican National Convention in Miami, which had been relocated from southern California due to concerns over anti-war protests. President Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew were re-elected in a landslide, but the Watergate investigation soon eroded public confidence in the administration. Congressional hearings followed, resulting in President Nixon’s resignation. Vice President Agnew had already resigned over unrelated matters, leading to the appointment of Gerald R. Ford as Vice President and later President. I was discharged from service six months before the end of the Nixon presidency; President Ford would later pardon Nixon of all charges.

During my nine years with the White House Communications Agency, I traveled extensively throughout the United States and overseas in support of two Presidents, two Vice Presidents, the Secret Service and senior members of the White House staff. I provided communications support for the Secret Service during the 1968 and 1972 presidential elections and participated in training, maintenance, and operational deployments at Camp David, Cannonball, San Clemente, and Key Biscayne. I also took part in four major overseas trips, including President Nixon’s historic visit to China.

Throughout my service, I witnessed many defining moments in American history: the Vietnam War and the anti-war movement, the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, civil unrest at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, the establishment of the Western White House, the Florida White House in Key Biscayne, the end of the Vietnam War and the return of POW/MIAs, the Watergate scandal, and the resignation of both a Vice President and the 37th President of the United States.

Although many details have faded with time, there remains much left to document this is the main reason I started this blog. I am proud to have served with the White House Communications Agency for more than nine years and to have played a role in supporting the Presidency during some of the most significant events of the twentieth century.