Crash Highlights Role of Military

August 19, 1996

THE DAILY FED

Crash Highlights Role of Military

Guards at Camp David. National Security Council advisers. Musicians in the Marine Band. The crash this weekend of an Air Force cargo plane carrying supplies for the president highlights the wide role of military personnel in serving and protecting their Commander in Chief.

The president relies on the military for services ranging from transportation around the country to cooking in the White House kitchen. The 89th Airlift Wing at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland provides Air Force One and other aircraft for the President and top administration officals. The Navy provides cooks for the President, his family and their guests.

The White House and the Pentagon do not disclose figures on the level of military support for the President. But hundreds of military men and women directly serve the President, including guards at presidential retreats like Camp David, drivers in the White House motor pool and communications specialists who field sensitive phone calls in the White House Communication Agency.

The cargo plane that crashed Saturday night near Jackson, Wyo., was carrying vehicles and supplies from the Grand Tetons, where the President had been vacationing, to New York, where he celebrated his birthday. Nine people were killed. Investigators have not yet determined the cause of the crash.