Marine One is the call sign of any
United States Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States armed forces responsible for providing force projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
aircraft carrying the
President of the United StatesThe President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
. It usually denotes a
helicopterA helicopter is an aircraft that is lifted and propelled by one or more horizontal rotors, each rotor consisting of two or more rotor blades. Helicopters are classified as rotorcraft or rotary-wing aircraft to distinguish them from fixed-wing aircraft because the helicopter achieves lift with the...
operated by the
HMX-1 "Nighthawks"Marine Helicopter Squadron One , "The Nighthawks" based at Marine Corps Air Facility Quantico, Virginia, is responsible for the helicopter transportation of the President of the United States, Vice President, Cabinet members and VIPs...
squadron, either the large VH-3D or the newer, smaller VH-60N "WhiteHawk". Both were due to be replaced by the VH-71 Kestrel, a derivative of the
AgustaWestland EH101The AgustaWestland AW101 is a medium-lift helicopter for military applications but also marketed for civil use. The helicopter was developed as a joint venture between Westland Helicopters in the UK and Agusta in Italy . The aircraft is manufactured at the AgustaWestland factories in Yeovil,...
but funding for the project was canceled in April 2009. A Marine Corps aircraft carrying the
Vice PresidentThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people through the Electoral College to a four-year term...
has the call sign
Marine Two. Marine Corps aircraft carrying the family of the President adds the designator F to have its callsign become Marine One Foxtrot. Those carrying the family of the Vice President use the callsign Marine Two Foxtrot.
History
The first use of helicopters for presidential transport was in 1957, when
Dwight D. EisenhowerDwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was a five-star general in the United States Army and the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. During the Second World War, he served as Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe, with responsibility for planning and supervising the...
traveled on an
H-13 SiouxThe H-13 Sioux was a two-bladed, single engine, light helicopter built by Bell Helicopter. Westland Aircraft manufactured the Sioux under license for the British military as the Sioux AH.1 and HT.2.-Development:...
. The president needed a quick way to reach his summer home in Rhode Island;
Air Force OneAir Force One is the official air traffic control call sign of any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States...
was too large for such short trips, while traffic would be disrupted by traveling in a motorcade. Eisenhower instructed his staff to look into alternative modes of transportation; a UH-34 Seahorse helicopter was commissioned. The early aircraft lacked the "creature comforts" found on its modern successors, such as air conditioning and toilets.
In 1958, the H-13 was replaced by the H-34, and in 1961 by the Sea King VH-3A. Not long after the mode of presidential transport was introduced, presidential aides asked the Marines to look into the White House South Lawn as a helicopter landing zone. Ample room was present, and the protocol was established.
Until 1976, the Marine Corps shared the responsibility of helicopter transportation for the president with the
United States ArmyThe United States Army is the branch of the United States Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military and is one of seven uniformed services...
. Army helicopters used the call sign
Army OneArmy One is the callsign of any United States Army aircraft carrying the President of the United States. From 1957 until 1976, this was usually an Army helicopter transporting the President. Prior to 1976, responsibility for helicopter transportation of the President was divided between the Army...
while the president was on board.
On July 16, 2009, Marine One flew with an all-female crew for the first time, as the final flight of the first female to fly the president:
MajorIn the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. It is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant commander in the other uniformed services.The pay grade for the rank of major...
Jennifer Grieves.
At a Presidential Inauguration, the Marines offer a flight to the outgoing president from the
CapitolThe United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the Federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall. Though not in the geographic center of the District of...
to
Andrews Air Force BaseJoint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility Washington, formerly Andrews Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force base in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, eight miles east of Washington, D.C.....
.
Marine One has never had any kind of anomalous accident or terrorist attack.
Current operations
Marine One is sometimes the preferred alternative to
motorcadeA motorcade is a procession of vehicles. The term motorcade is a neologism coined by Lyle Abbot , and is formed after cavalcade on the false notion that "-cade" was a suffix meaning "procession"...
s, which can be expensive and logistically difficult. The controlled environment of a helicopter adds greatly to the safety factor as well. It is also used to transport senior Cabinet staff and foreign dignitaries.
More than 800 Marines supervise the operation of the Marine One fleet, which is based in
Quantico, VirginiaQuantico, Virginia is a town in Prince William County, located in Washington Metropolitan Area. It is totally surrounded by Marine Corps Base Quantico on three sides and the Potomac River on the fourth. Quantico is located south of the mouth of Quantico Creek on the Potomac. As of the 2000 census,...
, but is more often seen in action on the
South LawnThe South Lawn at the White House in Washington, DC, is located directly south of the mansion, and is bordered on the east by East Executive Drive and the Treasury Building, and on the west by West Executive Drive and the Old Executive Office Building, and along its curved southern perimeter by...
of the
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., it was built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the late Georgian style and has been the residence of every...
or at
Andrews Air Force BaseJoint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility Washington, formerly Andrews Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force base in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, eight miles east of Washington, D.C.....
in
MarylandMaryland is a state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east. It is comparable in size to the European country of Belgium. According to the U.S...
. At Andrews, it is sometimes used to connect to
Air Force OneAir Force One is the official air traffic control call sign of any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States...
for longer journeys. Wherever Marine One flies, it is met on the ground by at least one Marine in full dress uniform (most often two with one acting as an armed guard). In his final days of office, while flying over and landing in a remote area near the
Grand CanyonThe Grand Canyon is a steep-sided gorge carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, one of the first national parks in the United States...
, President
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the third-youngest president; only Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy were younger when entering office...
found a Marine waiting on the rock ready to salute him. Marine aviators flying Marine One do not wear regular
flight suitA flight suit is a full body garment, worn while flying an aircraft such as military airplanes, gliders and helicopters. These suits are generally made to keep the wearer warm, as well as being practical , and durable . Its appearance is usually similar to a jumpsuit. A military flight suit may...
s during flights, but rather the Marine Blue Dress Charlie/Delta uniform.
As a security measure, Marine One always flies in groups with identical helicopters, sometimes as many as five. One helicopter carries the president, while the others serve as decoys for would-be assassins on the ground. Upon take-off these helicopters begin to shift in formation (sometimes referred to as a presidential
shell gameThe shell game is portrayed as a gambling game, but in reality, when a wager for money is made, it is a confidence trick used to perpetrate fraud...
) regularly to keep the location of the president secure. Television broadcasters are prohibited from airing live footage of Marine One while it is in the air over the White House. Also, Marine One reportedly is equipped with standard military anti-missile countermeasures such as
flaresA flare is an aerial infrared countermeasure to counter an infrared homing surface-to-air missile or air-to-air missile. Flares are commonly composed of a pyrotechnic composition based on magnesium or another hot-burning metal, with burning temperature equal to or hotter than engine exhaust...
to counter heat-seeking missiles and
chaffChaff, originally called Window by the British, and Düppel by the World War II era German Luftwaffe, is a radar countermeasure in which aircraft or other targets spread a cloud of small, thin pieces of aluminium, metallised glass fibre or plastic, which either appears as a cluster of secondary...
to counter radar-guided missiles. To add to the security of Marine One, every member of
HMX-1Marine Helicopter Squadron One , "The Nighthawks" based at Marine Corps Air Facility Quantico, Virginia, is responsible for the helicopter transportation of the President of the United States, Vice President, Cabinet members and VIPs...
is required to pass a
Yankee WhiteYankee White is an administrative nickname for a background check given in the United States for personnel working with the President. Obtaining such clearance requires, in part, a Single Scope Background Investigation by the Department of Defense...
background checkA background check or background investigation is the process of looking up and compiling criminal records, commercial records and financial records of an individual....
before touching any of the helicopters used for presidential travel.
Marine One is always transported (as is the president's limousine) wherever the president travels, within the U.S. as well as overseas.
VH-3/VH-60 replacement
In 2002, it was proposed to replace the current helicopters. This program was canceled in 2009 in favor of upgrading the current fleet.
The current helicopters have aging airframes, having entered service with
HMX-1Marine Helicopter Squadron One , "The Nighthawks" based at Marine Corps Air Facility Quantico, Virginia, is responsible for the helicopter transportation of the President of the United States, Vice President, Cabinet members and VIPs...
in 1962. The VH-3D replaced some VH-3As in 1978, and the remaining VH-3As were replaced by the VH-60N beginning in 1989.
The British-Italian AgustaWestland AW101 had been selected as a replacement. It was to be produced by Lockheed Martin under license as the US101, with the military designation VH-71 Kestrel, but the program was canceled in April 2009 after cost overruns.
The replacement cost of the fleet was estimated at $6.1 billion when contracts were signed in 2005. However, as of March 2008 the cost of the new 28 helicopter fleet is projected to be $11.2 billion, or roughly $400 million per helicopter. That is greater than the inflation adjusted amount paid for the Boeing 747s that serve as
Air Force OneAir Force One is the official air traffic control call sign of any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States...
. Political controversy erupted in February 2009 amid calls for fiscal restraint, and, as a result, President Barack Obama announced that he had instructed Defense Secretary
Robert GatesRobert Michael Gates is currently serving as the 22nd United States Secretary of Defense. He took office on December 18, 2006. Prior to this, Gates served for 26 years in the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council, and under President George H. W. Bush as Director of...
to review the helicopter situation. On April 6 Gates announced the ending of VH-71 funding.
A study by the
Congressional Research ServiceThe Congressional Research Service , known as "Congress's think tank", is the public policy research arm of the United States Congress. As a legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress, CRS works exclusively and directly for Members of Congress, their Committees and staff on a...
has estimated that the cost of shutting down production, refitting the existing fleet, and eventually implementing the Obama administration's proposed program could cost up to $20 billion.
Citizens Against Government WasteCitizens Against Government Waste is 501 non-profit organization in the United States. It functions as a think-tank, 'government watchdog', and advocacy group for fiscally conservative causes...
, a prominent advocacy group for fiscal conservatives, has publicly expressed support for the continuation of the VH-71 plan based on the group's belief that "starting over" would burden the taxpayer twice over.
See also
- HMX-1
Marine Helicopter Squadron One , "The Nighthawks" based at Marine Corps Air Facility Quantico, Virginia, is responsible for the helicopter transportation of the President of the United States, Vice President, Cabinet members and VIPs...
- Organization of the United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is administered by the Department of the Navy, which is led by the Secretary of the Navy . The most senior Marine officer is the Commandant of the Marine Corps, responsible for organizing, recruiting, training, and equipping the Marine Corps so that it is ready for...
External links