Assignments around the world in a military career. Including a commander of camp david he has worked in private industries, the chief executive officer of the technology company. Headquarters of pittsburgh. He published his first book, inside camp david. It travels often speaking about the book. He has been on npr, cspan and many other radiotelevision elements. After a conversation my will be taking questions from our live audience. Please use the the chat, well get to as many as possible in the program. Thank you colleen, wonderful to be here. I appreciate the time you talk. But we start from the beginning. Tell us how you were selected and with this thought process was. Well, it is actually a navy command nearby. I was operated and maintained by president roosevelt. Civil engineer officer so 1998. Possible officers being considered with the white house and interviewed with the executive director. Interviewed by the camp, by the staff. Amazing. First a little bit about your own personal history. I visited it once in the early nineties. I want to visit that day, talking about the next assignment. Its really a difficult place to work. They say put it away and go on fracture tours. It was shortlisted and selected towards the end. Near the end of president clinton how long were you there . Just over two years. The last year and a half, again very fortunate on timing to work with 2 president s that support the family and events that occurred there. Lets talk a little bit about the history of camp david. If the history begins with franklin roosevelt, why did fdr select that site . What did he like to do . I was uncalled camp david at that point in time. Very good, very good, thank you. Back to 1942, roosevelt loved going out on president ial yachts. On the right, its one example in oakland california. He loved going to get away from the white house. Curious hobbies and interests. It is 41, 42 mostly netted states. Yeah he said finding a place where i can go and get away. They had to find some place drivable nearby. Because of a new deal bring in the later progressive administration. It puts money back into industry. It was a recreational demonstration, also known as camp number three. We want to haul three, this is my shangrila. The roosevelt named it shangrila. A utopian experience in the mountain. That was its name. So, eisenhower remade. And thats how we know it today. When a describe camp david for a lot of our viewers and listeners. They havent visited him probably will not visit. Can you paint a picture of what the camp is like . Sure, i will try. Imagine a National Park maintained by the National Park service about 1800 feet elevation and the spring and summer months in a rush canopy. A perfectly manicured yard a road on the camp and all the cabins with the certain shade of green paint and a very rustic and fresh area but at night i find it particularly surreal and deathly quiet. No lights except street lights known noises from below it is eerily quiet and this is the cabin my family and i lived in and it is called cedar. It is right around the corner from aspen. How many cabins, or you cant say but how big is the site . Eisenhower, when he renamed it the tree with eisenhower in colorado about 20 total and that includes the ash and the barracks for a single one etc. Lets talk about the staff at camp david, you are the commander. What types of jobs to they perform . Over 200 sailors and marines and five officers with maintenance. You have one officer to marine officers and security company. We put all the sailors together. Well have a white house communication staff there in charge of communication. Did you tell us a little bit about how camp david changed over the years . It was very rustic when fdr first came to camp david. But then some notable additions like that one. At camp david. Tell us a little bit about the building, the activities and how that complex change overtime . Go back to fdr again, he took the sailors off the uss potomac. And cook them with him to camp david. He also brought the marines on. Fdr went there during the non winter months. He had the trees pushed back. And during eisenhowers time it was winterized. They still maintain that. But over the years, the use president nixon during his time, put a lot into the camp. Expanding the lodge, i hadnt floral. And a number of other scenes. They modernize the times. They expanded them, thats been going on for five years. They maintain the rustic nature from the outside, the amenities on the inside. Its not meant to be a four star resort. Its rustic, comfortable, a place to get away. A place to recreate on your own. Or meet with people. Perhaps the most unique thing, is the Evergreen Chapel donated with private money, gifted to the president at camp david, in 1991, during president george h. W. Bush. How do president s fit at camp david . You talk about fdr. But they dont ride to camp david anymore, is that correct . In the talk marine one. They prefer to bring them in by air force one. They started, and weather permitting, they would fly in on marine one. This could be by motorcade. Camp david is a president ial retreat, yet we know that president s often find themselves working at camp david. Tell us a little bit about how it functions as a white house in the maryland mountains. Thank you. I think most people recognize, no matter who is the president , you are always going to get critiques. About what you do when you are offduty or how you do your job, but you need time off, we all need time off. In addition to a second home that some president s hat, some do not, camp david provides that peaceful getaway for family, friends and if needed for staff and leaders. Its been a great balance of history, president s go there to get away, the reagans went there most of the time as a couple, to recreate but also to bring guest. Every president uses it a little bit different. As an outsider, i think its a good personal respite for family and friends, and to bring World Leaders as well, to talk privately. There is no press unless you invite the press in. No lights, protesters, traffic, planes flying overhead. Its a quiet and peaceful place. How do people get around camp david . Are their cars or golf carts . How do people get around . Its especially golf carts. Everyone is assigned a golf cart. Golf cart one. Golf carts assigned to all the guests, and we do have Cross Country trails through the woods. Snowmobiling, but principally golf carts to get around, or walk. A reminder, we will be taking questions at the end of our conversation, so if you do have questions for mike about camp david and its history, please put it on the chat and we will get through it. Lets talk a little bit about the history of camp david and the Historic Events that have taken place for camp david. Can you talk about some of these episodes, and why president s might choose camp david for the setting of historic occurrences . I will mention four of them and then focus on the fifth. You see focus on fdr, going through the mountains, fishing near streams, smoking cigars. But the poignant moments that the bottom left here, back here are talking about roosevelt on the top left, theres a wagon wheel chandelier you cant see, above the roosevelt table still there. President truman only went ten times, preferred key west. But president s come in, and president carter made the camp david accord in 1978. During my time, and the Prime Minister of israel, that camped, tried to replicate a similar thing. 2012, president obama hosted a conference at camp david. The single time that the most World Leaders had been a camp david in any given time. I want to go back to 1961, april 1961, president kennedy inaugurated in january, succeeding President Biden power. Passed off to the administration. You see it on the top right. It became a pulitzer prizewinning photo called serious steps. Whats interesting about this i think from a human and political point is that president kennedy inherited the operation. It was launched and it did not go well. Hence the name bay of pigs fiasco. He reaches across the political and personal aisle and invites president eisenhower to come to camp david. A place he knew much better to help them understand how to get through this. What do i do . Its a very poignant and significant moment i think, you have the new upstart democrat inviting the old guard, five star retired general for the republican president there to talk about what to do. I think its a very humble and possibly desperate measure. To recognize what a president typically passes on between administrations and talk about what is best for the country. You mentioned this already but some president s, you talk about this in your book. Some president s and first families visit camp david more frequently than others. Can you talk a little bit about the differences in how president s and first ladies use camp david and explain why you think that is . One, i think it depends on children. One of the ages of the president s children . I think that dictates if they will leave the leagues back in d. C. , are most of their friends there . I think that is a factor that his parents we waited all experience. To, some president s have second homes and preferred to go there, some can do both, three, some like the quiet nature, president clinton rarely went to camp david his first term, but the second term, he was there more. Some prefer to go somewhere else, i have seen a mix over 80 something years of how they did. Can you share with us one of your favorite memories from your time at camp david . There are some that people will recognize because of news, working at the state department, welcoming president clinton, watching from the sidelines as president clinton spends almost two weeks trying to forge a middle east peace treaty agreement. Watching president bush early in his presidency go through the blares to camp david on a weekend, just two couples getting to know each other much like you would do with your neighbors, as they move into the neighborhood. A poignant thing to watch from the sidelines. Even though we get to serve there and see things, you are in their world and you get to know some personal things about the families but you are not of their world. You have to understand and to maintain at the core. But i will tell two stories that are more personal in nature because i think it helps to relate to families and parents. The first is the final clinton weekend, four days, nonstop. Hundreds of guests coming through. Dinners, musicians performing at the chapel. A wonderful event. Weve got an opportunity to say goodbye to the Clinton Family and as i am working to the helicopter turn oclock on sunday night, snow on the ground, thank you for leading our country, chelsea clinton, 20yearold student at stanford turns to me and hands me two stuffed animals and she says, commander, i have had these in my bedroom for eight years at aspen, please give them to your daughter brianna, and thank your wife michelle for everything she has done. Its a touching, unexpected approach, a human approach, and the two girls keep them as keepsakes. And here is the scene, the final time i see the clintons and 2001. The second one is a humorous story. About goldfish. That juxtaposition you are in as a commander of the camp, and the fact that you are responsible for security, yet you are the family that lives inside the gate. You have to lift the gate every time you want to run errands and touch. Michel had taken a girls down, to their fair one city fair. A common thing to do, here at camp david in the summer. She is coming back to the gate with the two girls in the backseat, each had won a goldfish. Each holding one in a plastic bag. We had a strict policy at that time, no animals, no pets. The marine corps garden knows us, everyones doing their job. He says, maam, you cant bring pets into the camp. And she looks at him with a bit of an incredulous look. The girls are hearing this and the tears start to come down their eyes, and she is looking at them and hes looking at her, hes looking back at him, hes doing his job, the mom doing her job. Michelle leans into the window and says, they are for dinner. He says, yes man, please proceed. Its the funny moments like that, we are still people there, we have poignant moments at times. We all live with rules and regulations but some time you see the human side. Thats my favorite story because moms and dads the final chapter in your book is called the true meaning of camp david. Can you tell us what the true meaning is and is it different for every president , first family who spends time there . Definitely different as i described, the bushes had crawford, but he loved going to camp david like his dad, they spent every christmas there. For some, its a time for family to come together for special holidays. During my time, the Clinton Family loved camp david, thanksgiving, they went to camp david. Every president has done it differently, president reagan, nancy reagan loved going there, but he did all of his radio addresses on saturdays from the rural cabin and elsewhere. They all view it differently. The meeting comes from, and it has this theme of a camp david place. The spirit of camp david. It was about a place where you could come together with trust in nature, no press unless you wanted it there. The ability to sit down as people, break bread, share a story, got to know each other. To me that is the true meaning of camp david. A place for our president s to get away and relax, a place to entertain family and guests, and probably one of the most unique places in the world, all within regional distance of the white house. We have some really Great Questions from our live audience. Nancy from facebook asks, i know that president reagan and nancy reagan rode horses when they were at camp david. Is there a stable layer and what other activities are available besides swimming . [inaudible] the only time we had a stable there, a coral, the pony macaroni was kept there for the kennedys. Otherwise, horseback, i had one, chelsea wanted to go horseback riding, we used the back gate into the wilderness. The secret service on horseback as well, to go by the nearby woods. Horseback riding impossible. But there is no corral today. There is heat shooting, driving course, Cross Country skiing, golf range, president want to go golfing they go to the nearby golf course. Nearby fishing holes on private lands that [inaudible] a bowling alley, a Movie Theater, a game room, a library, a bar lounge, recreation shop et cetera. David asks have hikers ever from the mountains accidentally approached the perimeter of camp david . It happens and there are some warning signs subtly put around the camp, and you can drive by the road to camp but most people know not to go down it. We have particles if we do happen to approach the fence, there are things we deal with to check you out and help you get back to your path. Its a nofly zone, so typically no aircraft. Im sure it happens and continues to have been. Didnt fdr make a wrong turn when he was driving once, and didnt he come across a neighbor that was not too happy to see him . It has happened. When we didnt drive around as much as we did, of course they were always surrounded by agents, there has been those humorous events. He knocked on the door, the lady yelled at him, who are you, the poignant moments between every day life around humans. Dennis asks, what is the longest a president has stayed there . During the middle east peace talks . Yes, there was a time carter was over a week, during almost two weeks for the peace talks, clinton was there although he went to the g8 summit. But president carter also went there during the 1979. And he came back and he gave that malays, thats what its been called, they talk about the condition of the country, what was going on, the hostages taken, all of this was going on. He secluded himself for almost two weeks working here, during that difficult time in his presidency. Typically, president s go for a weekend. Up friday, back sunday night. Jeff asks a good question, how did eisenhower get naming rights to name camp david camp david . Why is there an executive order, was it legislation or did he have someone go out with lumber and paint and redo the signs . I like the second explanation vest, but i dont know, i imagine there must have been something signed to change the name from shangrila moniker to camp david. Karen asks, when a president chooses not to visit camp david very often, how does that change staffing and operations . Stuffing operations dont change because you are always ready, your mission is always to be ready to receive. Some president s actually let camp david be used by guests. President carter visited with his whole family during clintons term, some president s have allowed staff to use it. But if no one is there, you are maintaining the place and taking care of it. That can be a moral issue, if no one visits, i had a gap of five months with no visits from president clinton. That is a lot of time not to do your job, per se, so you have to practice at times. Some weekends, some president s you are always on and it becomes an uptempo operation. [laughs] that is the question, what happens at camp david when the president is away . We have more time to do training, physical fitness programs, contests, if time allows it. More time to send our sailors and marines to school if necessary, you always need to be ready. But you are really sitting, waiting, taking care of the place, planting the flowers, growing the grass, training, firefighting, its constant. Certainly because you are always ready, you are ready to execute when the president does visit, and thats what we look forward to, those visits. Jeff asks, has hollywood or the news media for a documentary for example, ever filmed on site for camp david . Harry reason hour with abc news interviewed president ford inside the camp. I think that is the only time there was over something done in camp david. Certainly world events like the middle east peace summit, the press was. There principles coming in and then they were exported, escorted out on the bus. They have been guests over the years, musical guest, sports guests, but no real filming, documentaries done on camp david other than from a distance and from the archives. And any president ial films from their libraries. Peter asks, what is the reason for the no pets rule at camp david . It was self grown, and today, you have people that live there, allowed to have a pet, it depends whats happening. Reading a book about the incident with nixons french poodle, and the Camp Commanders dog. Its a humorous time, probably why that dictated some changes at times but today we are a little bit more reasonable i would say. Kathy asks, you mentioned the library, what kind of books are in the library . Does it depend on the administration . Did the books change depending on the president or first family . We keep them archives in an open Public Library near the game room. So thats where all the White House Christmas cards, holiday cards are kept, we frame those and put them in the Movie Theater and the library. In the cabin of holly, which is where carter chose to meet with sadat and bag in, i like that room copies of president ial papers that are published. Other historical novels about the military services, so thats what i mean when i refer to the two libraries, one more for recreational use, and one for the history of camp david. Missy asks, do you have any stories about the johnson years in camp david . Lbj . Chuck howl, page 95, chuck and his family where there from kennedy to johnson new years. In the book it talks about johnson being particularly personality about absolutely scalding hot water in the shower. And how the staff had made it, tried to make it harder than impossible. And air conditioning. Chuck howl talked about that transition. Reacting to the assassination, the change of administration, bringing president johnson and his family in. Grant asks, as President Biden visited camp david . Do you know . He has been there eight times so far. Pretty good. He leaves most weekends, if you had read the paper lately, he has been to tell a, where camp david eight times since january. And he was there as Vice President. Tiffany asks has camp david ever been damaged by bad weather . There were microburst on the hill, the use of wind that would sometimes knock down trees, in the state park or that National Park but fortunately, nothing serious has hit the area where camp david is, the 200 acres. Marianne asks a good question, has i ever been a wedding at camp david . One, evergreen travel. Sault from facebook asks, what was the Biggest Surprise you ever had while working at camp david . The day the sprinklers went off when president clinton was tracking golf balls behind aspen. The sprinklers go off, i didnt witness it but secret service are watching nearby and he moved, and the sprinklers went off again, and he threw his clubs into the golf cart and went out to the driving range. The bag wasnt secure and all the clubs fell over the asphalt. Its humorous. But you can understand the frustration of someone dealing with that. I tried to make light of it that night when he left camp david, about finding the water hole, it was a poor attempt at humor and you learn the balance of going to be serious, not too serious, not too humorous, i learned not to be that humorous. No serious incidents during my time. There were tough things going on in the world, i left the month before 9 11 occurred and we spent a lot of time describing with that commander went throughout the time. Light moments during my time. Charlene asks, how much time do you get to know when the president is coming . Depends on the president. Change of command day, 10 am, my press 10 am ceremony that morning before the ceremony, we get word, the president is coming that night. So fascinating pucker factor to realize that you know nothing really about what goes on, you have had briefings but you are the new ceo, and you dont have time. I found it to be a very fortunate thing for me because it taught me to sit back, let people do their jobs, all i have to do is get dressed up, walk down there, introduce myself, shake hands, salute, and thats all i did that first day. But i learned a lot about my crew, and helped to set the humility about, let people do their job, train them, have their backs, support them, let them do their job. That was no notice. The bush administration, very scripted, we always knew well ahead of time. Again, it depends on the person. Jane asks a good question. Can the Vice President and his or her family go there as well . If the president allows him. It has happened, in history, not a lot, but occasionally, as i said earlier sometimes the president will let staff or others go away from leadership retreats. President obama did that a lot for his staff members. The commander at the time, welcoming people, they do what they were there to do, so its varied. Caroline asks, do you know how the pandemic has affected camp david or the new procedures in place . Very observant of the mass roles early on, of the vaccinations, again, this is telling of the trump administration, the beginning of the biden administration, everyone is very observant of following the rules, either by the white house, or by the navys health and protection commission. Very appropriate response. I dont think its held back, maybe its held back from a lot of outside guests coming, certainly no World Leaders have been there in five years. But i think that will open up with World Leaders attending more. Bill says i think i know the answer to this question but i will ask it anyways. s camp david ever opened to tours . Can the average american ever go to camp david . You are spot on, it is not open, and there is a fake white house website out there, to book a cabin. Thats not true. The only way to get to camp, crew members can have guests to visit, so either you know someone who works there if allowed, or you know the president and get invited as his or her guest. Jayne asks, whats the food like at camp david . For ourselves we run a galley operation, thats available to guests if they wanted. There is the lounge and bar, that has bar food available. For visits, we work with the first family, usually we worked with the first lady to work the menu. We have welltrained culinary specialists, who sometimes worked with the president s shot for the white houseness, to prepare the meals. For World Leaders, we sometimes work with especially for kosher meals. Kosher meals have been brought out from d. C. To provide meals for all the guests, so we accommodate the guests but day today we have a galley, that serves the crew that works there. Jackie whos watching on youtube asks, what is something that you think every american should know about camp david . To get the jeopardy question because its always on jeopardy, first of all shangrila, its a navy command, just Like Air Force one is a navy command, et cetera. And it was first established in 1942 by president roosevelt. Missy asks, what is the highest rank of someone from the rains or the navy at camp david . The Camp Commander is a commander, a u. S. Navy commander, sometimes that officer might be selected for cabin. The senior marine is a navy corps captain, the ceo of the marine security. And for the white house indication Agency Detail thats there, maybe a Lieutenant Colonel typically in the u. S. Army. Our last question this evening, several viewers have asked this. Why did you decide to write the book on camp david . And what was one or two things that were just fascinating that you learned while you are research to write the book . Thank you. A wonderful final question. On the day of change of command, there is a photo of my wife and two daughters, ages seven and four, and she hands me this journal, and the first page of the journal is a scrawled note of the two girls saying, here daddy, please write stories about the president s journal someday. It was humorous. I never thought of. It after a visit weekend or event, i would sit down and write what happened. So i did that through the clinton administration, for the inauguration of bush and then through the first eight months and i put that away in my little talk task and never opened it since. Never thought i could write a book. There was a reunion weekend during one of the previous commanders, a lot of the former Commanding Officers with chiefs and spouses where there, they were all meeting each other, some meeting for the first time, some known each other for years. Many were talking about trying to capture some of the history there. I learned later that many had written their own story. I first realized that i could write the book, as long as i had a security review done so it was possible. I knew i wouldnt write anything that was unattractive to any president and i knew that i could weed in 15 stories of other Commanding Officers and get the history from kennedy forward. I thought, now we can bring the whole community, the history of the camp, a lot of the count together. Other ceos can tell their story and you will see their stories and their names, you will see their photos. And use it that white really become a historical narrative for some of the personal insights. I think it was well received. Some people want to direct, stories, that wasnt the purpose, it was to show respect and show a little bit about the inside workings and how the military supports the presidency around the world 24 7. Thank you so much for joining us on white house history live, this has been a really comprehensive conversation about camp david. Thank you to all of our viewers were watching this. Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us. Im marcia eli from the brooklyn Public Library center for brooklyn history and the arts and culture team. This year, brooklyn Public Library celebrates its 125th
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