Camp David is the country retreat of the
President of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
and his guests. It is located in low wooded hills about 60 mi (100 km) north-northwest of
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, on the property of
Catoctin Mountain ParkCatoctin Mountain Park, located in north-central Maryland, is part of the forested Catoctin Mountain ridge that forms the eastern rampart of the Appalachian Mountains...
in
unincorporatedIn law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
Frederick CountyFrederick County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland, bordering the southern border of Pennsylvania and the northeastern border of Virginia. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 233,385....
,
MarylandMaryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, near Thurmont, at an elevation of approximately 1,850 feet.
It is officially known as
Naval Support Facility Thurmont and technically a military installation; staffing is primarily provided by the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps.
First known as Hi-Catoctin, Camp David was originally built as a camp for federal government agents and their families, by the
WPAThe Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
, starting in 1935, opening in 1938. In 1942 it was converted to a presidential retreat by
Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
and renamed "
Shangri-La" (for the
fictional Himalayan paradiseShangri-La is a fictional place described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton. Hilton describes Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from a lamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountains...
). Camp David received its present name from
Dwight D. EisenhowerDwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
, in honor of his father and
grandsonDwight David Eisenhower II is an American author, public policy fellow, and eponym of the U.S. Presidential retreat, Camp David. He is the grandson of the 34th President of the United States, Dwight D...
, both named
DavidDavid was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
. Camp David is not open to the general public. Catoctin Mountain Park does not indicate the location of Camp David on its official park maps due to privacy and security concerns.
Presidential use
Every president since Franklin Roosevelt has made use of Camp David.
- Roosevelt hosted Sir Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
in May 1943.
- Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
rarely visited Camp David, because his wife BessBess Truman , was the wife of Harry S. Truman and First Lady of the United States from 1945 to 1953.-Early life:...
found it "dull".
- Dwight Eisenhower held the first cabinet meeting there.
- John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
and his family often enjoyed horseback riding and other recreational activities. Kennedy often allowed White HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
staff and cabinet members to use the retreat when he or his family were not there.
- Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
often met with important advisors at the retreat and hosted Australian Prime Minister Harold HoltHarold Edward Holt, CH was an Australian politician and the 17th Prime Minister of Australia.His term as Prime Minister was brought to an early and dramatic end in December 1967 when he disappeared while swimming at Cheviot Beach near Portsea, Victoria, and was presumed drowned.Holt spent 32 years...
.
- Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
was a frequent visitor and did much to add to and modernize the facilities.
- Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
often rode his snowmobile around Camp David and hosted Indonesian President Suharto.
- Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
brokered the Camp David AccordsThe Camp David Accords were signed by Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on September 17, 1978, following thirteen days of secret negotiations at Camp David. The two framework agreements were signed at the White House, and were witnessed by United States...
there in September 1978 between Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin' was a politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Before independence, he was the leader of the Zionist militant group Irgun, the Revisionist breakaway from the larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah. He proclaimed a revolt, on 1 February 1944,...
.
- Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
visited the retreat more than any other president. In 1984, Ronald Reagan hosted the then Prime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, Margaret ThatcherMargaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
.
- George H.W. Bush's daughter, Dorothy Bush Koch
Dorothy Walker Bush Koch, often called "Doro", , is the daughter of the 41st President of the United States George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush, and the youngest sibling of George W. Bush, the 43rd President...
, was married there in 1992, the first ever to do so.
- Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
used Camp David more as his tenure in office progressed, and hosted then Prime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, Tony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
, on several occasions in addition to numerous celebrities.
- George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
hosted dignitaries, including the then President of Russia, Vladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
in 2003 and hosted the then Prime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, Gordon BrownJames Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
, in 2007.
- Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
has used the camp to host celebrities and has made the camp's Evergreen Chapel his primary place of worship, as George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
had done before him.
Navy operations
Camp David is a
U.S. NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
installation, commanded by a
naval commanderIn the United States, commander is a military rank that is also sometimes used as a military title, depending on the branch of service. It is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Naval rank:In the United States...
. Sailors are mostly Seabees and most officers are in the civil engineering field. The Navy Seabee detachment performs maintenance and beautification. The sailors must undergo a "
Yankee WhiteYankee White is an administrative nickname for a background check given in the United States for Department of Defense personnel and contractor employees working with the President and Vice President. Obtaining such clearance requires, in part, a Single Scope Background Investigation which is...
" level background check, which involves passing the most rigorous background check conducted by the
Department of DefenseThe United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
(DOD). The sailors are hand-picked for their service at Camp David, and are among the best of the U.S. Navy. Some of the sailors include: grounds and maintenance personnel, electricians, carpenters, corpsmen, and the President's
cooksCulinary Specialist is a United States Navy occupational rating. It was formerly the Mess Management Specialist rating until 15 January 2004, and as Steward prior to 1975.-Duties:...
.
The camp is alleged to be one of the most secure facilities in the world, as reported by a Department of Defense journal in 1998. The facility is guarded by one of the
United States Marine Corps'The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
most elite units, Marine Corps Security Force Regiment (MSC-CD). Each Marine is hand-picked from the
infantryInfantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
field and sent through a battery of psychological and physical tests. Selected Marines must then undergo specialized security training at the Marine Corps Security Forces School in
Chesapeake, VirginiaAs of the census of 2000, there were 199,184 people, 69,900 households, and 54,172 families residing in the city. The population density was 584.6 people per square mile . There were 72,672 housing units at an average density of 213.3 per square mile...
. The candidates then report to the
Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C.Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C. is located at 8th and I Streets, Southeast in Washington, D.C. Established in 1801, it is a National Historic Landmark, the oldest post in the United States Marine Corps, the official residence of the Commandant of the Marine Corps since 1806, and main ceremonial...
, where they provide protection for the barracks, the
Commandant of the Marine CorpsThe Commandant of the Marine Corps is normally the highest ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff...
and the
Chief of Naval OperationsThe Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy...
. Assuming a Marine successfully completes his "pre-assignment" in Washington, he still must undergo the "
Yankee WhiteYankee White is an administrative nickname for a background check given in the United States for Department of Defense personnel and contractor employees working with the President and Vice President. Obtaining such clearance requires, in part, a Single Scope Background Investigation which is...
" background check. Only then is the candidate eligible for assignment to Camp David. Once at Camp David, Marines are rigorously trained in advanced security protocol, small unit tactics, close range weapons training and a variety of other topics. Marines receive private and semi-private courses with instructors from throughout the Marine Corps, the United States military, the special operations community, federal law enforcement, and other agencies. Camp David Marines also receive continuous marksmanship and advanced close-quarters-battle training at facilities on the campus as well as other sites in the region. After 12 months of service at Camp David, servicemen are awarded the
Presidential Service BadgeThe Presidential Service Badge is a badge of the United States military issued to service members who serve as full-time military staff to the President of the United States...
. Tours of duty at Camp David typically last for 18 to 24 months.
Security issues
On July 2, 2011, an F-15E intercepted a small two- seat passenger plane flying near Camp David, where
President ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
was in residence. The civilian aircraft, which was out of radio communication, was intercepted approximately six miles (10 kilometers) from the presidential retreat. The F-15E escorted the aircraft out of the area and it landed in nearby
Hagerstown, MarylandHagerstown is a city in northwestern Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Washington County, and, by many definitions, the largest city in a region known as Western Maryland. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2010 census was 39,662, and the population of the...
without incident. The civilian plane's occupants were flying between two Maryland towns and were released without charge.
On July 10, 2011, an F-15 Intercepted another small two-seat passenger plane flying near Camp David where President Obama was in residence, totalling the number of interceptions over the July 9 weekend at 3 planes.
See also
- White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, official residence of the President of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
- Blair House
Blair House is the official state guest house for the President of the United States. It is located at 1651-1653 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., opposite the Old Executive Office Building of the White House, off the corner of Lafayette Park....
, another official White House lodging for guests
- Site R
The Raven Rock Mountain Complex is a United States government facility on Raven Rock, a mountain in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located in Liberty Township, Adams County, about east of Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, and north-northeast of Camp David, Maryland. It is also called the Raven...
, nearby bunker and communications center
- Rapidan Camp
Rapidan Camp in Shenandoah National Park in Madison County, Virginia, was built by U.S. President Herbert Hoover and his wife Lou Henry Hoover, and served as their rustic retreat throughout Hoover's administration from 1929 to 1933...
, the predecessor of Camp David
- Camp Misty Mount Historic District
Camp Misty Mount is located in Catoctin Mountain Park near Thurmont, Maryland. The camp was built by the Works Progress Administration labor program in the development of what was then known as the Catoctin Mountain Recreational Development Area, and comprises 35 rustic log buildings including...
and Camp Greentop Historic DistrictCamp Greentop is located in Catoctin Mountain Park near Thurmont, Maryland. The camp was built by the Works Progress Administration labor program in the development of what was then known as the Catoctin Mountain Recreational Development Area, and comprises 22 rustic log buildings including...
, built at the same time in Catoctin Mountain Park as Camps 1 and 2.
- Chequers
Chequers, or Chequers Court, is a country house near Ellesborough, to the south of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England, at the foot of the Chiltern Hills...
, the country retreat of the Prime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
External links