Louis Caldera

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During his tenure as director of the White House Military Office, Caldera approved a mission, conducted on April 27, 2009, where a Boeing VC-25 (a Boeing 747 military variant that is denominated Air Force One when the president of the United States is aboard), followed by an F-16 military fighter jet, performed low-altitude fly-overs of New York City and New Jersey. [13] The mission "was set up to create an iconic shot of Air Force One, similar to one that was taken in recent years over the Grand Canyon." [13]

While the FAA and select local authorities were given some degree of notification in advance, many other officials and the general public were not. The fly-over of the lower Manhattan financial district created a panic. Many feared it was another terrorist attack like the one that destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, or an aborted attack attempt, because of the F-16 following the presidential plane. This led scores of people to leave their desks and large office buildings to be evacuated in a speedy but impromptu fashion.

New York City police stated that "federal authorities" told them not to disclose information about the fly-over to the public in advance. President Obama was also not informed beforehand. Like New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, President Obama only learned of the incident after the disturbance it caused was already being reported by journalists, bloggers, websites and news outlets.

The incident brought intense scrutiny and numerous highly critical comments directed at Caldera. [14] White House officials said President Obama was fuming mad and did not see the need for a new Air Force One publicity photo anyway. [15] Mayor Bloomberg condemned the low flyover and the failure to provide public notice, saying he himself had not been adequately notified, that he was "furious", and that it showed "poor judgment". [16] Senator John McCain stated the flyover photo op was "a fundamentally unsound exercise in military judgment and may have constituted an inappropriate use of Department of Defense resources." The cost of setting up the flyover photo was reportedly $328,835. Observers noted that an expense like this would have been incurred whether or not the photo shoot had been carried out. VC-25 flying time requirements dictate the need for regular training flights. Had the flyover not been ordered, a similar expense would have been incurred in the normal course of VC-25 flight training.

Caldera, after meeting with White House officials, issued a public apology for the incident, stating, "Last week, I approved a mission over New York. I take responsibility for that decision. While federal authorities took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey, it's clear that the mission created confusion and disruption. I apologize and take responsibility for any distress that flight caused." [15]

Following an investigation into how the decision to conduct the flight had been reached, directed by Deputy White House Chief of Staff Jim Messina, Caldera announced his resignation on May 8, 2009, effective May 22, 2009. [17] [18] Notable in the investigation is Caldera's explanation of why he did not read an email from his Deputy Director, George Mulligan: "During our interview, the Director (Caldera) also offered another explanation for his failure to read the email. When he returned from Mexico, he was suffering from severe muscle spasms in his back. Doctors prescribed pain medications, he had difficulty walking around the office, and he went home early a couple days." [19]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Biographical and Financial Information Requested of Nominees". Hearings before the Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate. Vol. 4. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1999. p. 305. ISBN   9780160582790 . Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  2. ↑ "President-elect Barack Obama names Louis Caldera Director of White House Military Office" (Press release). Office of the President-Elect. December 2, 2008. Archived from the original on December 11, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Caldera Nominated New Army Secretary". DefenseLink. U.S. Department of Defense. June 1, 1998. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
  4. ↑ "Secretary of the Army Oath of Office Ceremony" (Press release). U.S. Department of Defense. July 1, 1998.
  5. ↑ "Your UNM President: Louis Caldera".
  6. ↑ Fonseca, Felicia (January 25, 2006). "Caldera to resign August 1 as UNM president". Daily Lobo. Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 3, 2009.
  7. ↑ "Professor Louis E. Caldera". University of New Mexico School of Law.
  8. ↑ "IndyMac Announces the Retirement of Frederick J. Napolitano; Louis Caldera Joins IndyMac and IndyMac Bank Boards; Lydia Kennard Joins IndyMac Bank Board". Business Wire. May 13, 2002.
  9. ↑ Ricks, Ron; Southwest Airlines Co. (2009-04-17). "Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders Wednesday, May 20, 2009" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-05-09.[ permanent dead link ]
  10. ↑ "Louis Caldera to Join Jack Kent Cooke Foundation". 2010-06-08. Archived from the original on 2011-08-07. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  11. ↑ "Louis Caldera LinkedIn profile". 2010-06-01. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
  12. ↑ "Faculty". American University Washington College of Law. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
  13. 1 2 "White House Apologizes for Air Force Flyover" The New York Times, April 27, 2009
  14. ↑ "'Furious' Obama orders review of NY plane flyover" CNN, April 28, 2009
  15. 1 2 "White House Will Probe Presidential Plane PR Stunt". Associated Press/Google. 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
  16. ↑ Sulzberger, A. G.; Wald, Matthew L. (2009-04-27). "White House Apologizes for Air Force Flyover". The New York Times . Retrieved 2009-04-27.
  17. ↑ "White House aide Louis Caldera loses job over Manhattan flyover fiasco involving Air Force One". Daily News Washington Bureau. 2009-05-08. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
  18. ↑ "Caldera's Resignation Letter" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-05-09.
  19. ↑ "MEMORANDUM FOR THE WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF" (PDF). The White House. 2009-05-09. Archived from the original on 2016-06-27. Retrieved 2009-05-09.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
Louis Caldera
CalderaLouis.jpg
Director of the White House Military Office
In office
January 20, 2009 –May 22, 2009
Political offices
Preceded by Member of the California Assembly
from the 46th district
1992–1997		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by United States Secretary of the Army
1998–2001		Succeeded by
Preceded by Director of the White House Military Office
2009		Succeeded by
Academic offices
Preceded by
Chris Garcia
 President of the University of New Mexico
2003–2006		Succeeded by
David Harris
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