By DAVID SEIFMAN, MURRAY WEISS and JEREMY OLSHAN
April 27, 2009
Photo gallery:
http://www.nypost.com/photos/galleries/news/regionalnews/pp_20090428_plane/photo01.htm
Story:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/04272009/news/regionalnews/obama_plane_photo_op_startles_new_yorker_166470.htm
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From the Wall Street Journal, April 30, 2009...
"I don't know what their rationale was for wanting a photo op," Mr. Morrell said. "This originated in the White House Military Office, so I am assuming it was at the behest of the White House and it was their idea of something they wanted to take place."
The three-hour round-trip flight from Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C.'s Maryland suburbs cost more than $300,000, according to an Air Force estimate. Mr. Gibbs said the president didn't believe it was an appropriate use of money at a time of austerity and asked a deputy chief of staff, Jim Messina, to head the review.
"The president was furious upon learning of this decision," Mr. Gibbs said.
The 747-200B aircraft, one of two used as Air Force One, was accompanied by two F-16 fighters from the D.C. Air National Guard, which operates out of Andrews.
"We've never been asked to do this before," said Capt. Byron Coward, a spokesman for the guard unit.
While the F-16s were flown by guard pilots, the photographs were taken by Master Sgt. Andrew N. Dunaway, a specially trained Air Force photographer based with a combat camera squadron at Charleston Air Force Base, S.C.
Only one of the F-16s was involved in the photo shoot; the other peeled off once the 747 reached New York, but both accompanied the plane back to Andrews. According to Vicki Stein, an Air Force spokeswoman, the cost for the fighters, both of which flew nearly two hours, was $28,000.
Despite the cost of an Air Force One flight, both White House and Air Force officials said the flyover also served as a routine training mission, allowing the 747's pilots to log sufficient flight hours.
"The crew on these aircraft have to maintain their proficiency," said Gary Strasburg, an Air Force spokesman.
A White House spokesman said, "They took that opportunity to marry up the two missions to take the photo," adding, "The president thinks there is nothing wrong with the previous official photo of Air Force One."
"I think it's symptomatic of being new," one former Bush administration official said of the flap over the Manhattan flight.
A former Bush White House aide said he didn't recall any Air Force One trips specifically for publicity. A handful of documentaries about Air Force One were produced during President George W. Bush's tenure, and the production team flew along on a few presidential trips to shoot footage.
A production crew also flew along on some Air Force One trips with President Bill Clinton for one of the documentaries, which straddled the two presidencies.
Mr. Caldera occupies a position overseeing various military units that provide services to the president such as transportation, communications and medical personnel. The White House declined to make Mr. Caldera available for an interview.
Asked if the judgment error might lead to Mr. Caldera's dismissal, Mr. Gibbs said the decision would wait until Mr. Messina's review is complete. Following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Bush administration effectively converted the job of head of the Military Office from a political appointment to a Defense Department post. It was filled by a series of active-duty admirals under Mr. Bush.
The aim was to maintain high readiness levels in light of the new terrorism threat. But it was also a recognition of the overall importance of White House military personnel: There are several thousand whose jobs bring them in close proximity to the presidency, from the squad that carries the nuclear-weapons "football" to Marines who tend the West Wing's front door. The head of the Military Office coordinates all of it.
The Obama administration decided to switch the post back to a political job, despite some concerns that Bush administration officials conveyed during the transition planning.
Former Pentagon officials who worked with Mr. Caldera when he was Army secretary said the East Los Angeles native came to the job with a "bullet-proof resume," having graduated from West Point and earning law and business degrees from Harvard University.