. Military Space News .
MILPLEX
White House official quits over Air Force One flight

Gates cites concern about New York flyover oversight
Defense Secretary Robert Gates expressed concern in a letter released Friday about the oversight of a bungled New York flyover by a spare presidential plane. "I am concerned that this highly public and visible mission did not include an appropriate public affairs plan nor adequate review and approval by senior Air Force and DoD (Defense Department) officials," said Gates of the exercise which cost 357,000 dollars. In a May 5 letter to lawmakers, Gates also said that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office and other state and local agencies were notified of the plans three days before the April 27 flight. The flyover by one of President Barack Obama's official airplanes and two F-16 fighter jets sowed panic and outrage in New York and drew an angry salvo from Bloomberg, who said he was not informed of the sortie ahead of time. "The mission was coordinated with FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) liaisons, Systems Operations Security team members, and traffic managers; New York air traffic control representatives; and Newark and LaGuardia tower supervisors," Gates said in the letter. "On April 24, 2009 the FAA notified multiple agencies ofthe impending flight, including the US Park Police, NYC Mayor's Office, NYC Office of Emergency Management, NYC Police Department Operations, New Jersey State Police Regional Coordination Center, and several New Jersey area emergency operations centers," said Gates. The letter, Gates also says that the overall cost for the mission ran to between 300,658 dollars and 328,835 for the presidential airplane and 28,177 for the fighter escort. The US defense secretary said the mission was "a continuation training pilot currency sortie, and the crew flew a total of three hours, of which a portion was used to update the official photograph" of the presidential plane. The flying photo op backfired badly, with New Yorkers fearing a repeat of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in which two hijacked airliners smashed into the World Trade Center towers, killing almost 3,000 people. Obama himself was not on the aircraft, which is designated Air Force One when he is aboard.
by Staff Writers
 Washington (AFP) May 8, 2009
 Louis Caldera, chief of the White House military office, resigned Friday over a low-altitude flight over New York by a jet used as Air Force One that sparked panicked memories of the September 11 attacks.

The April 27 flyover by one of Obama's two official Boeing 747 airplanes and two F-16 fighter jets, sowed outrage in the city when it was learned the mission was intended as partly a photo-op and a training sortie.

Stunned office workers, who failed to spot the plane's presidential markings, feared a repeat of the 2001 attacks, in which two hijacked airliners smashed into the World Trade Center, killing almost 3,000 people.

"After much reflection, I believe it is incumbent on me to tender my resignation and step down as director of the White House military office," Caldera said in a letter to Obama.

With a political flap raging over the flight, Caldera said that he would be a distraction from Obama's hugely ambitious agenda if he continued to serve as director of the White House military office.

The White House released the letter, a report into the incident and a photo of the jet flying over the Statue of Liberty. When Obama is aboard the iconic blue-and-white jet, its call sign is Air Force One.

The White House apologized for the drama last week, and Obama, who was reportedly furious about the flight, demanded an explanation.

A livid New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he had not been warned about the flight, and called the lack of notice "ridiculous and poor judgment."

The report revealed that military and White House political officials began planning the flight back in early April.

It said a deputy told Caldera to inform White House press secretary Robert Gibbs and other officials about the impending flight, but that he ultimately failed to notify them about the flyover.

"When asked why he failed to do so, he did not offer a coherent explanation," the report said.

Caldera, it was noted, did not know that the flyover would be at very low altitide over lower Manhattan.

Earlier, Defense Secretary Robert Gates expressed concern in a letter about oversight for the flight, which cost as much as 357,000 dollars.

"I am concerned that this highly public and visible mission did not include an appropriate public affairs plan nor adequate review and approval by senior Air Force and DoD (Defense Department) officials," said Gates.

In a May 5 letter to lawmakers, Gates also said Bloomberg's office and other state and local agencies were notified of the plans three days before the April 27 flight.

In the letter to Senator John McCain, Gates also said the overall cost for the mission ran to between 300,658 dollars and 328,835 for the presidential airplane and 28,177 for the fighter escort.

Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
 The Military Industrial Complex at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com


Memory Foam Mattress Review
SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS
 Solar Energy Solutions
Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ...
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


MILPLEX
More Ammo For The Army Part Six
 Washington (UPI) May 8, 2009
There are three basic stages in the ammunition supply chain to provide the U.S. armed forces with the ordnance that is necessary to successfully conduct their military operations. The first of these is the production or acquisition of basic materials, mostly energetics -- propellants and explosives -- but also metal parts, detonators, fuses and other ordnance. There are many diff ... read more






The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement