See The Exorbitant Amount American President Spend On Foreign Trips & Security Details

Document: Major resources needed for Obama Africa trip.

Carol D. Leonnig, David Nakamura
Thursday, Jun 13, 2013

When President Obama makes his first extended trip to sub-Saharan Africa this month, the federal agencies charged with keeping him safe won’t be taking any chances.

Read the exciting and revealing excerpt after the cut...



Hundreds of U.S. Secret Service agents will be dispatched to secure facilities in Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania. A Navy aircraft carrier or amphibious ship, with a fully staffed medical trauma center, will be stationed offshore in case of an emergency.

Military cargo planes will airlift in 56 support vehicles, including 14 limousines and three trucks loaded with sheets of bullet-proof glass to cover the windows of the hotels where the first family will stay. Fighter jets will fly in shifts, giving 24-hour coverage over the president’s airspace, so they can intervene quickly if an errant plane gets too close.

The elaborate security provisions — which will cost the government tens of millions of dollars — are outlined in a confidential internal planning document obtained by The Washington Post. While the preparations appear to be in line with similar travels in the past, the document offers an unusual glimpse into the colossal efforts to protect the U.S. commander in chief on trips abroad.

Any journey by the president, such as one scheduled next week for Northern Ireland and Germany, is an immense and costly logistical challenge. But the trip to Africa is complicated by a confluence of factors that could make it one of the most expensive of Obama’s tenure, according to people familiar with the planning.

The first family is making back-to-back stops from June 26 to July 3 in three countries where U.S. officials are providing nearly all the resources, rather than depending heavily on local police forces, military authorities or hospitals for assistance.

The president and first lady had also planned to take a Tanzanian safari as part of the trip, which would have required the president’s special counterassault team to carry sniper rifles with high-caliber rounds that could neutralize cheetahs, lions or other animals if they became a threat, according to the planning document.

But officials said Thursday that the safari had been canceled in favor of a trip to Robben Island off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa, where Nelson Mandela was held as a political prisoner.

When The Post first asked White House officials about the safari last week, they said no final decision had been made. A White House official said Thursday that the cancellation was not related to The Post’s inquiries.

“We do not have a limitless supply of assets to support presidential missions, and we prioritized a visit to Robben Island over a two-hour safari in Tanzania,” said spokesman Josh Earnest. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t do both.”

Internal administration documents circulated in April show that the Obama family was scheduled to go to both Robben Island and the safari park, according to a person familiar with the plans.

Former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush also made trips to multiple African nations involving similarly laborious preparations. Bush went in 2003 and 2008, bringing his wife on both occasions. Bush’s two daughters went along on the first trip, which included a safari at a game preserve on the Botswana-South Africa border.

“Even in the most developed places of Western Europe, the level of support you need for mass movements by the president is really extraordinary,” said Steve Atkiss, who coordinated travel as special assistant for operations to Bush. “As you go farther afield, to less-developed places, certainly it’s more of a logistical challenge.”

White House and Secret Service officials declined to discuss the details of the security operations, and administration aides cautioned that the president’s itinerary is not finalized.

Obama’s overseas travels come as government agencies, including the Secret Service, are wrestling with mandatory, across-the-board spending cuts. The service has had to slice $84 million from its budget this year, and this spring the agency canceled public White House tours to save $74,000 a week in overtime costs.

Many details about foreign presidential trips are classified for national security reasons, and there is little public information about overall costs. A report from the Government Accountability Office found that Clinton’s 1998 trip to six African nations costthe U.S. government at least $42.7 million. Most of that was incurred by the military, which made 98 airlift missions to transport personnel and vehicles, and set up temporary medical evacuation units in five countries.

That figure did not include costs borne by the Secret Service, which were considered classified.

Obama’s overseas travels come as government agencies, including the Secret Service, are wrestling with mandatory, across-the-board spending cuts. The service has had to slice $84 million from its budget this year, and this spring the agency canceled public White House tours to save $74,000 a week in overtime costs.


Obama will hold bilateral meetings with each country’s leader and seek to forge stronger economic ties at a time when China is investing heavily in Africa. He also will highlight global health programs, including HIV/AIDS prevention.

The first lady, who toured South Africa and Botswana without the president in 2011, will headline some events on her own during the week. The stops will add to the logistical challenges, because she will require her own security detail and vehicles, the planning document shows.

Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan declined to discuss details of the journey. “We always provide the appropriate level of protection to create a secure environment,” he said.

According to the Secret Service document, Obama will spend a night in Dakar, Senegal, two nights in Johannesburg, a night in Cape Town and one night in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Among the 56 vehicles for the trip are parade limousines for the president and first lady, a specialized communications vehicle for secure telephone and video connections, a truck that jams radio frequencies around the presidential motorcade, a fully loaded ambulance that can handle biological or chemical contaminants and a truck for X-ray equipment.

The Secret Service transports such vehicles, along with bulletproof glass, on most trips, including those inside the United States, White House officials said. But with quick stops in three countries, the agency will need three sets of each, because there is not enough time to transfer the equipment, according to the planning document.

One hundred agents are needed as “post-standers” — to man security checkpoints and borders around the president — in each of the first three cities he visits. Sixty-five are needed to meet up with Obama in Dar es Salaam. Before the safari in Mikumi National Park was canceled this week, an additional 35 post-standers had been slated to protect the Obamas and their two daughters there, according to the document.

In addition, 80 to 100 additional agents will be flown in to work rotating shifts, with round-the-clock coverage, for Obama’s and his family’s security details, counterassault teams and logistics coordinators.

The planning document does not provide a total number of how many individual agents will be involved in the trip; some will work in more than one location.

Officials said the Secret Service does not want the president traveling anywhere without a top-rated trauma center nearby. The White House medical unit makes decisions about which foreign hospitals meet its standards when it makes advance visits to the locations for planned trips, officials said.

In much of the developing world, the U.S. Navy provides a “floating hospital” on an aircraft carrier or amphibious ship nearby, officials said.

“This is what you need to support the American presidency,” Atkiss said of the requirements, “regardless of who the president is.”

Alice Crites contributed to this report.

Courtesy of: WashingtonPost


Lets take a look at the security details of the America's Presidential Limo, a.k.a "The Beast"

Cadillac One, a.k.a 'The Beast'

The current official car of the President of The United States is a Cadillac. It is the first presidential limousine not to have a specific model name (The previous presidential limousine, used by George W. Bush, was a modified Cadillac D.T.S). It has the call sign, Cadillac One (The presidential plane has the call sign Air-Force One and the presidential helicopter is known as Marine One). It looks so imposing that it has been nicknamed “The Beast” by the Secret Service. It first came into service on January 20th 2009. Like any presidential limousine, the security features are a closely guarded secret, but you can trust us, we’ve been able to unearth them for you.

 The New (Obama) Cadillac One (in front) with George Bush’s Presidential Limousines (Behind) on inauguration day.

SECURITY FEATURES

Cadillac One has eight inches thick armour plated doors that are the weight of the cabin door on a Boeing 757. The door handles incorporate a special system, which can only be opened by trained personnel (secret service). The driver’s window can withstand armour piercing bullets. It is the only window that opens, by just 3 inches, so that the driver can pay tolls or talk with secret service agents. The chauffer is trained by the CIA to cope with the most demanding of circumstances. The driver’s compartment contains a standard steering wheel, but the dash board contains a communications centre and GPS tracking system.

The petrol tank in the beast is armour plated and filled with a specially designed foam that prevents it from exploding if hit. Its bodywork consists of a combination of dual hardness steel, aluminium, titanium and even ceramic to break up possible projectiles. A reinforced five inch steel plate runs under the car for protection in the unlikely event of a bomb being placed underneath. The car is built on the platform of a GMC truck. The tyres are reinforced with Kevlar (the material used in bullet-proof vests) and are shred and puncture resistant, with steel rims underneath, enabling the car to escape at speed, even if the tyres are blasted away. The boot holds oxygen supply and a fire-fighting system. The limousine, like the Cadillac DTS, is equipped with night vision cameras, but the location of the cameras have been moved & are a secret. It is also armed with pump-action shotguns and tear gas cannons. Bottles of blood (the president’s blood type) are kept on board, in case he needs an emergency transfusion. The limousine is environmentally sealed against chemical and biological weapons.
 

 

FLAGS AND SEALS

When the president is in the limousine, the presidential seal is affixed to its side and it flies two flags; the U.S flag on the right fender and the presidential flag on the left fender, for domestic trips and the U.S flag on the right fender and the flag of the host country on the left fender for trips abroad. The flags are ventilated and illuminated by High Intensity Discharge (H.I.D) directional flood lights, mounted on the hood.

The limousine is maintained by the Secret Service, which, on delivery, took it apart and swept it for bugs. Two dedicated mechanics travel with the limousine wherever it goes.


TRAVELS

When the president travels out of Washington, Cadillac One is transported by U.S Air-Force C-17 Globemaster III or C-5 Galaxy transport planes to wherever the president is going to.

 The president never uses foreign “assets” overseas. He either uses Cadillac One, a Secret Service Chevrolet Suburban (Suburban One), or U.S embassy vehicles (indeed, Marine One, the presidential helicopter, is transported abroad by cargo planes anytime the president needs to use a helicopter overseas). This wasn’t always the case in the past. President Jimmy Carter rode in a Nigerian owned Land Rover when he visited Lagos in 1978.

 Jimmy Carter and Mohammadu Magoro at Apapa Port.

Another notable exception was when President Richard Nixon visited China for the first time in 1972. The U.S sought permission to fly in their presidential limousine, but Mao Zedong said that there was no need for that, because there were vehicles in China that were good enough to transport Nixon. Nixon agreed, because of the historic nature of the visit. He used Chinese made Red Flag limousines during his trip, though the limousine was taken apart by the U.S secret service and swept for bugs and other dangerous materials. Presidents Kennedy and Clinton used a white U.S embassy Rolls Royce, when they visited Northern Ireland. 

Chairman Mao Zedong’s Red Flag Limousine (Why do communists need a limousine? Aren’t they all meant to be equal?)


MOTORCADE

The length of the U.S. president’s motorcade varies, depending on the threat level and nature of his trip. It could vary from ten vehicles to forty vehicles (wonder what the POTUS’ carbon footprint is like). When the president is out of Washington, his motorcade usually consists of about thirty-five vehicles. Approximately the first half of the motorcade is known as the “secure package” and contains the presidential limousines, police cars and essential secret service vehicles. The “secure package” breaks away from the rest of the motorcade in the event of an attack. There are usually 2 or 3 identical limousines in the motorcade, one of these limousines carries the president, while the other acts as backup. The second limousine also serves as a decoy and it flies the two flags and carries the presidential seal, just like the limousine carrying the president. The two limousines usually switch positions several times during a journey.

 The two limousines, the radio jamming SUV (with antennas) and the war truck.

 The route the president takes is usually cleared of traffic by local police lining the route. About 6 – 10 local policemen on motorcycles ride ahead of the motorcade to ensure that no other cars are on the route (this is very dangerous work and some policemen have been killed in accidents, while performing this duty). A local police car also drives ahead of the convoy to do a bomb sweep (equally very dangerous work). The local police play a very important part in planning the route, because they know the area, control traffic lights and are better able to plan against traffic jams and assist the secret service in planning escape routes and alternative routes.

Some of the main vehicles that travel with the president are: -

(1) Chevrolet Suburban (The War Truck): - Several Chevrolet Suburbans are in the motorcade and some of them carry the Secret Service Counter Assault Team (C.A.T), whose members are mostly ex-marines. They are well trained and well armed. Under U.S law, the secret service can request for the latest training techniques and weapons from any branch of the military and the military must comply with such request.

There was a proposal that some of the SUVs (particularly the SUV behind the President's limo) should carry the Dillon Aero Mini Gun. It is not known if the proposal was accepted. Some secret service agents expressed concern over possible collateral damage. The Dillon Aero Minigun is a gatling gun that fires 3,000 rounds a minute (50 rounds a second). The SUV is known as “The War Truck”. Its roof opens up (much like a sunroof) and a secret service agent, wielding the gatling gun, pops up on a revolving gun turret. The agent is protected on his left and right flank by the doors of the “sunroof”. The Suburbans will surround Cadillac One if there is an attack on it.

The Dillon Aero Mini Gun in action

 

Secret Service Counter Assault Team (CAT)

 

2)Frequency Jamming Vehicles: - There is usually a vehicle (sometimes a suburban, sometimes a van) which sends out jamming signals across different frequencies. This is to prevent the detonation of road side bombs using mobile phones, remote controls, garage openers and other devices that emit radio waves. Sometimes, a helicopter, which flies over the motorcade, is used to jam frequencies.

 

3)Mobile Intensive Care Unit: - An ambulance (Mobile Intensive Care Unit) is always in the motorcade. It is equipped to handle surgeries and carries bottles of the president’s blood type in case an emergency transfusion is required. It is usually a big black armoured truck in the middle of the motorcade, though there are sometimes decoy white ambulances, which are usually full of secret service agents, at the rear of the motorcade.

 

 

HISTORY

President William McKinley was the first to ride in an automobile, but it wasn’t until the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt that the first government owned car was used.

The first car specially built for presidential use was the 1939 Lincoln V12 convertible, called the “Sunshine Special”, used by Franklin Roosevelt. The Ford Motor Company leased the car to the office of the President for $500 a year. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, the secret service became concerned about potential assassination attempts. The following day, 8th Dec 1941, a heavily armoured 1928 Cadillac 341A Town Sedan was used to transport the president to the Capitol for the famous “infamy” speech. Originally belonging to Al Capone, the car was confiscated by the treasury department following Capone’s arrest and stored in a government impound lot until its ironic final duty. Roosevelt used the car until his “Sunshine Special” was modified to be bullet-proof.

The Kennedy White House purchased a Lincoln Continental convertible, which was stretched into a limousine for the president by Hess and Eisenhart. It was the car President Kennedy was riding in when he was assassinated. It had a plexi-glass “bubble” top in case of inclement weather, but this was often removed (as was the case on the day Kennedy was assassinated) because the air-conditioner was not strong enough to deal with the heat in the vehicle.

 President Kennedy in the Lincoln Continental, minutes before his assassination.

George Bush’s modified Cadillac DTS (Deville Touring Sedan) once broke down in Rome, Italy, when the president was being driven back to the U.S embassy. Surprised Italians could be heard giggling as the driver tried in vain to restart the car. Bush’s embarrassment was compounded when his back up Suburban was too wide to pass through the embassy gates, so he had to walk into the compound.