The White House Communications Agency (WHCA), originally known as the White House Signal Corps (WHSC) and then the White House Signal Detachment (WHSD), was officially formed by the

United States Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, als ...

on March 25, 1942 under

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

. The organization was created to provide secure normal, secret, and emergency communications requirements supporting the president. The organization provided

mobile radio Mobile radio or mobiles refer to wireless communications systems and devices which are based on radio frequencies (using commonly UHF or VHF frequencies), and where the path of communications is movable on either end. There are a variety of vi ...

Teletype A teleprinter (teletypewriter, teletype or TTY) is an electromechanical device that can be used to send and receive typed messages through various communications channels, in both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint configurations. Init ...

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

telephone A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...

and

cryptographic Cryptography, or cryptology (from "hidden, secret"; and ''graphein'', "to write", or '' -logia'', "study", respectively), is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of adversarial behavior. More gen ...

aides in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

and at "Shangri-La" (now known as

Camp David Camp David is a country retreat for the president of the United States. It lies in the wooded hills of Catoctin Mountain Park, in Frederick County, Maryland, near the towns of Thurmont, Maryland, Thurmont and Emmitsburg, Maryland, Emmitsburg, a ...

). The organizational mission was to provide a premier communication system enabling the president to lead the nation effectively.

Reorganization

In 1954, during the Eisenhower administration, the WHSD was reorganized under the Office of the Chief Signal Officer, Army Signal Corps as a Class II unit and renamed the White House Army Signal Agency (WHASA). In 1962, WHASA was discontinued by order of the

United States secretary of defense The United States secretary of defense (acronym: SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), the United States federal executive departments, executive department of the United States Armed Forces, U.S. Armed Forces, a ...

under President John F. Kennedy. Its duties were transferred to the auspices of the Defense Communications Agency under the operational control of the

White House Military Office The White House Military Office (WHMO) is a department within the White House Office that provides military support for White House functions, including food service, presidential transportation, medical support, emergency medical services and hos ...

, and reestablished as the White House Communications Agency.

Role

WHCA has played an unremarked, but significant role in many historical events, including:

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

and

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

Operation Just Cause Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

, Operations Desert Shield and

Desert Storm , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

, and

Operation Restore Hope The Unified Task Force (UNITAF), also known as Operation Restore Hope, was a United States-led, United Nations-sanctioned multinational military force deployed to Somalia from 5 December 1992 to 4 May 1993. It was established to replace United ...

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

. WHCA was also a key player in documenting the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the attempted assassinations of presidents

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

and

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

awarded the agency the Presidential Unit Citation in recognition of their performance during his 1972 visit to China.

Organization

The White House Communications Agency is composed of Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps personnel. The agency evolved over the past 60 years from a small team of 32 personnel working out of the basement of the White House to a thousand-person self-supporting joint service command. The headquarters for WHCA is at Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling and consists of six staff elements and seven organizational units. WHCA also has supporting detachments in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and various locations throughout the United States. WHCA is organized into functional areas, each with its own mission in support of the total WHCA mission of presidential support.

Members

US White House Communications Agency-Army Element SSI

The White House Communications Agency is a joint military unit. It has members from each branch of service: United States Air Force (USAF), United States Army (USA), United States Coast Guard (USCG), United States Marine Corps (USMC), and the United States Navy (USN). They are stringently vetted before being admitted. After meritorious service of 365 days, typically, its uniformed service members are awarded the Presidential Service Badge. WHCA also maintains many civilian employees throughout the agency and satellite locations.

References

External links

disa.mil, Defense Information Systems Agency

whitehousecommsagency.mil, White House Communications Agency
{{Authority control White House Military Office Government agencies established in 1942 1942 establishments in the United States