The President's Incredible Travel System

Explore the intricate logistics and high-stakes security measures behind presidential travel, from Air Force One to "The Beast," and discover how every journey ensures the safety of the world's most powerful leader.

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[johnharris]

If you are ever in Southern California, you have to go to the Reagan Library. It is not that political but there is an entire wing created just for Presidential Transport including a full size Air Force one when they used the 707. You can walk through it and take a picture getting off like you were the President. They also have Marine One, Limo one and other various means of moving a President. The cool thing is that the museum is run by retired members of the Secret Service, some who traveled with Presidents and have some cool stories to tell.

[catatonicbug]

Its all about logistics. That logistical capability is the strongest asset that the US has at its disposal on the world stage.

[apoccalyptis]

Growing up in Virginia and living very close to the air port here. I’ve had the honor of watching Air Force 1 pilots doing training exercises and touch and goes. It is beyond impressive seeing what those guys maneuver those massive planes the way they do.

[samuelogden]

The Ferdinand Magellan was the last official presidential railcar and was used by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Dwight Eisenhower. This armored railcar is at the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Florida. It was last used by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.

[stevoplex]

Also, manhole covers on the route of a presidential motorcade are welded shut temporarily. Then opened afterwards.

[lahusahah]

I love the beast but whenever I think about it I can't stop thinking about that one time it got stuck in Dublin on live TV trying to leave the US embassy, because the exit ramp was too steep and made it get stuck on the road.

[davidlium]

Finally someone got it right! Air Force One is a call sign not an aircraft!

[WardenWolf]

You forgot something else the Secret Service does with the retired Beasts: they use them for driver training to practice evasive maneuvers and motorcade formations. They won't actually destroy them until they're no longer needed in this role. The unspoken reason why they chose to repurpose a commercial 747 instead of one newly built: one that's newly built could have hidden bugging or sabotage that's nearly impossible to detect once assembled, but taking one from commercial service means there is never any opportunity for that. Also, a proven low-mileage aircraft is less likely to run into problems than a brand new one. Those older Sea Kings they use honestly look the best of all the presidential helicopters. They're just so photogenic, which is probably the primary reason why they keep them around.

[kubrickenigma]

Abraham Lincoln's cross country journey From Springfield Illinois to DC was something else.

I recommend "The Eloquent President" and "Lincoln's Spys" if you are curious to read up on that journey.

That America's passenger & freight rails aren't as robustly kept up to date as they coukd be creates gaps in logistical redundancies.

[MrDdaland]

Years ago, I had a customer needing work on a 62 Cadillac. Went to pick it up on my 9000 lb capacity lift, could only pick it up about 6".
Odd, I looked the car over trying to figure out why it wouldn't come up- then I realized the windows didn't roll down- looking closer I realized they were about 2" thick. Went and talked to the customer - he said "yeah, I should have mentioned this was a secret service car"
Had Kennedy been in it, who knows how long he would have

[jeremyheminger]

I think "Rail Force One" has a better ring to it.

[stevemaricar]

Incredible how complex and meticulous the planning and mechanisms for presidential travel are. It really emphasises the importance of the safety of the leader of the Free World.

[LisaSamaritan]

As I recall, from an interview with one of the presidents pilots. The reason for keeping the older helicopter, is that newer bigger ones, would destroy the garden when landing on the lawn.

[hilaryhenderson]

I wish you had covered the bicycle, that's what I was waiting for.

[NavyDood]

Used to work on Andrews AFB where the 747s are kept. It somehow feels even bigger than a regular 747 when you watch it go by on the taxiway. That, and its hardened bunker/hangar its kept in is pretty impressive in its own right.

[Nathan-vtjz]

This is why presidents often delay or avoid visiting sites of natural disasters . It just adds a major logistical hurdle for an already struggling area, the state’s governor is the person to quickly show up on site.

[bobfk]

I still remember seeing President Harry Truman give a speech from the back of his railroad car during his whistle stop tour in 1948.
That was a big day. They let us out of school so we could go to the train station.

[steveanderson]

We had a motorcade visit. Despite the fact that we were already a secured federal facility, the advance team inspected every manhole along the route and welded down every cover.

[bazzer]

I flew home on emergency leave from Japan on Navy military standby, ie, if there was an empty seat on the aircraft I got it. I was instructed to check into the tower at every connection to schedule another flight. When I got to Hawaii I headed to the tower and, voila! AF1, in full livery, was on the tarmac next to the tower. I didn't recognize it at first but immediately knew my mistake when I enter the tower and was confronted by a half dozen secret service agents who politely directed me to where I needed to be. And I found out it was actually AF2 as VP Bush was using the aircraft. The CPO who helped me get my next flight was rather PO'd at my encounter, as the secret service had called him about my transgression. Didn't get in trouble, but the Chief was pissed! Cheers....

[robertdavidtingstrom]

When I was serving in the USAF as a fire fighter in the mid 1980’s through the mid 1990’s, President H.W. Bush came to California, and Air Force One was parked on our tarmac.
The Secret Service used our vehicle stalls to park The Beast and the other vehicles in the Motorcade.
They gave us a tour of The Beast, including all of the weapons that were in the trunk of the car! It was impressive, to say the least!
You don’t want to mess with this vehicle or the Secret Service!