View source for White House Communications Agency

{{Distinguish|White House Communications Director}}
{{Infobox government agency
|agency_name     = White House Communications Agency
|logo            =
|logo_width      =
|logo_caption    =
|seal            = Seal of the White House Communications Agency.png
|seal_width      =
|seal_caption    = WHCA seal
|formed          = March 25, 1942
|preceding1      = White House Signal Corps (WHSC)
|preceding2      = White House Signal Detachment (WHSD)
|preceding3      = White House Army Signal Agency (WHASA)
|preceding4      = [[Defense Communications Agency]]
|dissolved       =
|superseding     =
|jurisdiction    = [[United States]], [[Defense Information Systems Agency]]
|headquarters    = [[Naval Support Facility Anacostia]], [[Washington, D.C.]]
|employees       = 501–1,000
|budget          =
|chief1_name     =
|chief1_position = COL Brian Jorgenson, U.S. Army
|chief2_name     =
|chief2_position =
|parent_agency   = [[Defense Information Systems Agency]]
|child1_agency   =
|child2_agency   =
|name=|chief3_name=|chief3_position=|chief4_name=|chief4_position=|chief5_name=|chief5_position=|chief6_name=|chief6_position=|chief7_name=|chief7_position=|chief8_name=|chief8_position=|chief9_name=|chief9_position=|parent_department=|website=}}
[[File:White House telegraph room.jpg|thumb|Telegraph room, White House, 1923]]
The '''White House Communications Agency''' ('''WHCA'''), originally known as the '''White House Signal Corps''' ('''WHSC''') and then the '''White House Signal Detachment''' ('''WHSD'''), was officially formed by the [[United States Department of War]] on March 25, 1942 under [[President of the United States|President]] [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]. The organization was created to provide secure normal, secret, and emergency communications requirements supporting the president. The organization provided [[mobile radio]], [[Teletype Corporation|Teletype]], [[telegraph]], [[telephone]] and [[cryptographic]] aides in the [[White House]] and at "Shangri-La" (now known as [[Camp David]]). The organizational mission was to provide a premier communication system enabling the president to lead the nation effectively.

==Reorganization==
In 1954, during the [[Eisenhower administration]], the WHSD was reorganized under the [[Office of the Chief Signal Officer]], [[Army Signal Corps]] as a Class II unit and renamed the '''White House Army Signal Agency''' ('''WHASA'''). In 1962, WHASA was discontinued by order of the [[United States Secretary of Defense|United States secretary of defense]] under President [[John F. Kennedy]]. Its duties were transferred to the auspices of the [[Defense Communications Agency]] under the operational control of the [[White House Military Office]], and reestablished as the White House Communications Agency.<ref>[http://www.disa.mil/careers/whca/about Defense Information Systems Agency, about the WHCA]</ref>

==Role==
WHCA has played an unremarked, but significant role in many historical events, including: [[World War II]], the Korean War, the Vietnam War, [[Panama]] and [[Guatemala]], [[Operation Just Cause]], [[Operations Desert Shield]] and [[Desert Storm]], and [[Operation Restore Hope]] in [[Somalia]]. WHCA was also a key player in documenting the [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|assassination of President John F. Kennedy]] and the attempted assassinations of presidents [[Gerald Ford]] and [[Ronald Reagan]]. [[Richard Nixon]] awarded the agency the [[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Presidential Unit Citation]] in recognition of their performance during his [[1972 Nixon visit to China|1972 visit to China]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fas.org/sgp/advisory/arrb98/part01.htm|title=Final Report of the Assassination Records Review Board, September, 1998|website=fas.org|access-date=12 June 2018}}</ref><ref>Praise from a Future Generation: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy, page 555, By John Kelin</ref><ref>Dallas '63: The First Deep State Revolt Against the White House,
By Peter D Scott</ref><ref>Hunting the President: Threats, Plots and Assassination Attempts, By Mel Ayton</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speeches/12-archives/audiovisual/10537-whca8586|title=Reagan Library, WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY: NEWS SUMMARY VIDEOTAPE COLLECTION, 1985-86|website=reaganlibrary.gov|access-date=12 June 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/forresearchers/find/av/audio/white_house/index.php|title=White House Communications Agency Sound Recordings Collection|website=www.nixonlibrary.gov|access-date=12 June 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.koreanwar-educator.org/topics/branch_accounts/army/p_signal_bat_304.htm|title=Korean War Educator: Branch Accounts - Army|first=Lynnita Jean Brown of Tuscola|last=Illinois|website=www.koreanwar-educator.org|access-date=12 June 2018}}</ref>

==Organization==
The White House Communications Agency is composed of Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps personnel. The agency evolved over the past 60 years from a small team of 32 personnel working out of the basement of the White House to a thousand-person self-supporting joint service command. The headquarters for WHCA is at [[Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling]] and consists of six staff elements and seven organizational units. WHCA also has supporting detachments in [[Washington, D.C.]], and various locations throughout the United States. WHCA is organized into functional areas, each with its own mission in support of the total WHCA mission of presidential support.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.linkedin.com/company/white-house-communications-agency|title=linkedin.com, White House Communications Agency|website=linkedin.com|access-date=12 June 2018}}</ref>

==Members==
[[File:US White House Communications Agency-Army Element SSI.png|thumb|125px|White House Communications Agency-Army Element [[Shoulder sleeve insignia (United States Army)|Shoulder Sleeve Insignia]]]]
{{Stack|[[File:Seals of the United States Armed Forces.png|thumb|Seals of the branches of the United States Armed Forces]]
}}
The White House Communications Agency is a joint military unit. It has members from each branch of service: [[United States Air Force|United States Air Force (USAF)]], [[United States Army|United States Army (USA)]], [[United States Coast Guard|United States Coast Guard (USCG)]], [[United States Marine Corps|United States Marine Corps (USMC)]], and the [[United States Navy|United States Navy (USN)]]. They are stringently vetted before being admitted. After meritorious service of 365 days, typically, its uniformed service members are awarded the [[Presidential Service Badge]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.disa.mil/careers/whca|title=White House Communications Agency|website=www.disa.mil|language=en|access-date=2017-02-27}}</ref>

WHCA also maintains many civilian employees throughout the agency and satellite locations.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.disa.mil disa.mil, Defense Information Systems Agency]
* [https://www.whitehousecommsagency.mil whitehousecommsagency.mil, White House Communications Agency]

{{White House Military Office}}
{{EOP agencies}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:White House Military Office]]
[[Category:Government agencies established in 1942]]
[[Category:1942 establishments in the United States]]