Detachment 3 “Cadre/Creed” by Don Cammel

 

Detachment 3 “Cadre/Creed”
Main entrance to Site R and access road to Creed Tower
Elevation	1,516 feet (462.08m)
Location
Location	Adams County, Pa
Established	1962
Coordinates	+39° 44' 2.40", -77° 25' 8.40"

Site 6-Detachment 3 “Cadre/Creed”

By Don Cammel

DCSU one of the three operating elements of the White House Communications Agency was headquartered at nearby Camp David, and had 4 detachments, one at Camp David (Cactus), one at FEMA Special Facility near Berryville, VA (Crystal), one located at the Reno Reservoir (Cartwheel) just off Wisconsin Ave, in the DC area, and Site R (Raven Rock) (Cadre).

All of these locations were manned 24/7 from the late 1950’s to serve as Emergency relocation sites for the President and White House Staff. They remained operational until about April 1970, and then were reduced to “mothball” status over the next several decades.

Don Cammel was assigned to Detachment 3, DCSU located within Site R and the remote microwave silo at nearby Creed Tower. The total Detachment was about 20 people, and from its inception until closing, the total number of people assigned to this unit was probably less than 40 people. It was often a boring assignment, but living in the small rural community near Blue Ridge Summit and Gettysburg had a lot of benefits.

WHCA personnel from Detachment 3 also maintained the communications installed at the Eisenhower farm in Gettysburg Pa. All of Detachment 3 also participated in worldwide travel in support of all WHCA deployments for the President and others as directed.

The USSS CP at the Eisenhower farm in Gettysburg PA

Creed Tower (Site R, Blue Ridge Summit, PA.)

CREED Tower was a part of the WHCA hardened microwave network locations providing connectivity for the President to Camp David, Corkscrew, Cannonball, Cowpuncher, and Crystal East/West towers in the event of a national emergency

Construction of Creed tower and the C adre facility within Site R  was completed during the mid-50 and early 60’s.  Creed tower had eight floors plus two levels of Plexiglas which covered the microwave dishes and other antennas. 

Cross Section view of Creed Tower

Site of Creed Tower near the main entrance to Site R

The tower only had the two top levels above ground. Creed Tower was a separate facility near Site R which housed all of the WHCA microwave equipment as well as the HF and FM radio equipment, and had a separate entrance into the tower through its own blast door and tunnel at the base of the tower.

Site 6 Cadre (Site R, Blue Ridge Summit, PA.)

The site that was codenamed Cadre was built as part of the Site R underground complex.  The Cadre facility consisted of the WHCA switchboard and the communications center. 

The West Portal A and B entrances to Site R

 Site R was the designated relocation site for the Pentagon, and was under the control of 7th Signal Command, located at Fort Ritchie, MD. The WHCA DCSU Det 3, was a tenant activity located inside the Operations area of Site R.

Inside Site R, WHCA maintained the Presidential Office Suite and Quarters for relocation of the President.  WHCA also had an admin area for use as the detachments office, a switchboard room, Commcenter and Crypto area, plus a small dining room with private cooking facilities for the White House Mess to cook meals for the relocated Presidential party.  This area was a very sterile looking underground office environment, black asbestos tile floors, dropped faded white ceiling tiles, and often very noticeable air handlers moving fresh air about the facility.      

The makeup of the detachment consisted of about 3 or 4 switchboard operators, 3 TTY Commcenter operators, 2 COMSEC repairmen, and our OIC, an Army CWO and NCOIC for inside Site R.   We had a supply person, and about 10 people at CREED with various radio skills in both FM base stations, HF radio, and microwave.

The switchboard at Site R was one of the very first ESS Digital switchboards, and the most obvious distinction was very noticeable immediately….NO CORDS!   The Operator would see an LED read out of the party calling, answer the call, and then push an extension button or trunk line and make the connection.  Once the call was connected, the operator was now completely OUT of the call.  The users could “flash” back to operator, but in order to reconnect to someone different, it was often easier to hang up and restart a new call.   Since this switchboard was going to be used for the President in time of crisis, and only a few people trained, the section was often not able to travel because of manpower requirements to always keep two trained people off travel status. CWO Frank Sisco, started an aggressive cross-training program, and all the Commcenter, COMSEC, and people working inside the complex became very efficient at operating this system.   We had Position 17 and 18 of the ANMCC Fort Ritchie switchboard, and our positions were remoted to our own facility, we never interfaced with the other 16 positions.   There were so many “gee-whiz features” we discovered new applications every day.  You could place a call, receive a busy signal, and initiate a “Camp On Busy” feature where both parties would be connected when the call was finished.  This always added confusion, and early versions of Call Forwarding, and very robust in creating group conference calls, but difficult to release individuals from such conferences.   We had to put in a retro-system to transfer all the ESS 4W circuits with relays, to traditional 2W circuits and have a 19in rack of relays that would allow an umbilical cable to be connected to the WHCA analog mini-board. This was a Giant step backward, but the Stromberg-Carlson system would take 10-15 minutes to reboot during scheduled and unscheduled outages. In my opinion, this was one of the most challenging systems ever used by WHCA and only a few of us were ever involved.

Cadre and and Creed locations at Site R

 Presidential Office Suite and Quarters

WHCA’s designated Office space was located in Bldg. C, and the Presidential Offices and Quarters just down the hallway in Bldg. D.  There were 5 buildings designated from A-E which coincided with the 5 rings of the Pentagon.  Each of the building was 3 stories tall and there was a freight elevator near the cafeteria, and a small private controlled elevator for the Presidential Suite. 

The President’s office had a balcony, overlooking the ANMCC War Room, which was located down the hall in the 'D' corridor. The living quarters were across the hallway from the office space. Every Friday, we had a cleaning schedule to vacuum and dust the POTUS Suite and Office. I remember there being one of the first King Size beds I had ever seen.

The original furniture was chosen based on Jackie Kennedy's preferences. One piece that stood out was a wicker rocking chair, which seemed somewhat out of place amidst the otherwise bland surroundings. (It was one of those standard LBJ high-back chairs with the Presidential Emblem in the working area.)"

One afternoon, we were informed of an upcoming dignitary tour and instructed to remove the rocking chair from the suite. We managed to stash it in a mop closet, and the following week our CO at the time sought guidance on what to do with it

The order was to 'get rid of it.' The challenge lay in removing 'property' from Site R, considering we had to pass through a double blast door or our special vehicle access point. We cleverly packaged the chair in brown paper, labeled it as a package for 'Armed Forces Courier' service, and used our 'Courier Card' to successfully transport it out of the facility.

I'm certain that someone enjoyed the chair for years afterward, and no questions were ever asked. We encountered a similar situation when we needed to transport two cases of LBJ wine urgently to Camp David. It became something of a game to figure out how to circum-navigate the Military Police enforcing the rules." 

It is rumored that the Presidential quarters was nicknamed the 'Lucy and Desi' suite, their television series was actually better decorated than the bare walls of the quarters. However, after the events of 9/11, WHCA underwent significant upgrades in communications, including substantial changes in internet usage. This might explain why that particular nickname could have been fitting for someone in 2000. It's possible that modernization efforts extended to the POTUS quarters as well.

In all of these shelters, the office supplies seemed to be stuck in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Carbon manifold sets, rock-hard bottles of White Out, new Remington 550 manual typewriters, and plenty of steno pads were abundant. Typewriter ribbons were in ample supply, though well past their expiration date by 1970. We had many 2 ½ lead pencils with hardened erasers, rusted paperclips in the box, and serious doubts about how stenographers and secretaries could function properly.

The most modern equipment during that time was the introduction of the IBM Selectric typewriter, of which we had two. They utilized a special 'type ball' for all-capital lettering, possibly for use in a teleprompter. Dignitaries assigned to deploy to Site R often came for orientation tours, primarily from the USSS, WH Staff, and Military Aides.

DSCU Detachment 3 personnel were all Active Duty Military, but never wore uniforms.  There were up to 2500-3000 people at times working inside Site R, and most were Active Duty sent on a rotating basis from the Pentagon for 14 days at a time. 

Access to the Presidential Suite was VERY controlled and only WHCA personnel, visiting USSS, and occasional WH Staff on orientation would occasionally gain access for a tour or briefing inside the suite.

We manned our office space 24/7 like “Firemen in the Firehouse”. Once the day crew departed around 4:30 pm, you would basically clean up the dining room (Pinochle Game Daily), and then we would use the kitchen to cook whatever food we brought for our 24 hour shift.   On duty personnel were allowed to sleep at night once the check list had been completed. Television with local DC and Baltimore. stations was available, and there was a hide-a-bed that we were allowed to use.

One night Don was all comfortable in the scratchy US Army issue wool blanket about 1:30am, and our doorbell rings. “I put on my pants and shirt, combed my hair without a mirror, and go look outside through the peep hole. All I can see is the chest of a USAF uniform and a guy pacing back and forth with a couple of strap hangers. 

I opened the door, and while doing so, a USAF BG attempted to push the door open as I pulled it shut behind me.   I asked him if I could help him, and he announced, “I am here for my tour of the Presidential Suite”.   

At this point he had no clue that I was a US Army Active Duty SSG (E-6), and I told him, I didn’t get word on your visit, the area is controlled by the White House Military Office, you can “Dial “O” on the phone here by the door and reach the Camp David  Operator that can connect you to the WHMO stand-by Officer. 

He then started out…..this is “B.S”, I am a ONE STAR GENERAL, and the ranking person inside Site R for this week.   You will regret not granting me access, this is wasting my time.  Sorry, General, but I have my rules.  Who is your boss?   Chief Warrant Officer Frank Sisco….was my reply.   And what is your title?   I told him I was an Army SSG.  He then went wild and told me that I would regret not allowing him access.   He made the call to the Camp David Operator who connected him first to the WHCA Duty Officer, and then the Situation Room, and was told to call back during core hours the next day!   He was totally steamed when he departed.

The next day, I received a call at home from Frank Sisco and he was laughing about the events of my shift.  He had been on multiple calls from WHMO and DCSU Headquarters during the day, and they were proud of my actions and laughing about it. 

This guy never did get his tour and after his rotation back to the Pentagon, they arranged for a tour of the next person on the roster and made sure he told the other General we honored the request.   I am sure he was steamed again! Just another day inside the mountain. “

It's worth noting that there were no windows due to being 768 feet underground, and the same black asbestos tile floor was present, which we stripped and buffed on a monthly basis. Upon entering, the lack of occupancy and poor air circulation always seemed to produce a musty odor. Other operational areas weren't as bad, but the humidity remained quite high, resulting in oxidation on door hinges and 19" equipment racks.

In 1970 the WHCA microwave network and the PEF locations were deemed obsolete and WHCA’s presence was no longer needed. Detachment 3 personnel were re-assigned to form the new CCT’s at Fort Ritchie, Camp David, San Clemente, and Key Biscayne and to other WHCA units. “During the early 1970s to the mid-1980s, Fort Ritchie Detachment/CCT had Site R responsibilities. The CCT frequently conducted short-notice deployments into the Site, periodically checking RF and phones. There was not anything remarkable about the quarters or decorating colors. The surroundings were quite drab, but things may have changed after the CCT closed Fort Ritchie and relocated to Luke AFB, AZ.