One of these doomsday plans made an unexpected stop in D.C. yesterday and I was wondering how alarming is this. Is Trump preparing for a big war with Iran? Would they be capable of attacking him with a bomb blast so he needs this for protection? Is it just for show and intimidation by him? Or just a billionaire playing with one of this toys?
It sounded like serious stuff but then near the end It says “President George W. Bush’s secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, used the E-4B as his primary mode of transportation”. I never heard that before and it seems surprising for a secretary of defense to use this plane as their primary mode of transportation for several years. But if Rummy thought that was needed, I can see why Trump, Vance, Hegseth or others may think it is needed now.
“The E-4B serves as an airborne command center for the president, secretary of defense, and the chairs of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to ensure continued critical command, control and communication in case of emergencies…
They are capable of withstanding nuclear blasts, cyberattacks and electromagnetic effects, and are equipped to fire retaliatory missiles…
The aircraft also has thermal and nuclear shielding and can communicate with anyone anywhere in the world, thanks to the 67 satellite dishes and antennas contained in its ray dome. They are designed to remain airborne for an entire week without needing to land and can refuel in midair”.
The E4-Bs were moved to Offutt specifically because it’s inland, and on 9/11 Bush was whisked to Omaha to closer to the E4-B, as opposed to the other way round.
There’s plenty of mundane reasons to consider. I wouldn’t rule out any of your speculation that this is just saber rattling or men-children playing with their toys, but I personally I don’t think the move indicates a real security threat.
So many of these maneuvers are made not because of any imminent jeopardy, but as part of a larger risk management protocol. One possible chain of events of a war with Iran is an escalation to a global nuclear war. If that possibility becomes slightly more likely today, then the security posture moves slightly toward higher readiness.
I seem to recall that when Trump got COVID, there was a drastic tightening in the national security posture. It wasn’t likely that anyone would attack the US while Trump was sick, but the odds of it increased, and so the security posture tightened.
An Air Force plane was seen flying to an Air Force base near the headquarters of the Air Force, and the article presents no information showing this to be unusual, so my initial view would be that the New York Post is engaging in sensationalism again.
And Pete Hegseth has indeed used the plane at least once this year.
“Sensationalism” is the New York Post’s métier. But even in that article they note that, “The US fleet of four E-4Bs makes regular flights year-round to maintain military readiness.” Trump has done some passive-aggressive saber-rattling around the recent Iran-Israel conflict (which is verging on outright war) but despite his talk-talk he rarely seems to actually engage in any military conflict in a meaningful or protracted way, and it isn’t as if Iran poses a strategic threat toward the United States.
Yes Trump saying “No new wars” is like George H. W. Bush saying “no new taxes”.
Good comparison with Bush going to Offutt. I thought he went there because of Strageic Command, underground bunkers, and it seemed safer than White House at the time. I didn’t know it was to be closer to E-4B.
NY Post may be sensationalist but similar article was in Newsweek, India Times, UK daily mail, and other sources. Here is UK daily mail:
No, you’re right, it was for the underground bunker. Stratcom has a hardened command center there where they took him. The E4-B is an airborne equivalent but it’s an anachronism at this point.
I was just saying, moving the E4-B closer to the president is useful if the president is going to be flying further from Offutt and they want a mobile command center nearby. E.g., if he was talking about flying to Germany to be closer to the AOR for whatever reason.
But it’s never going to be anyone’s first option for safeguarding the president in case of an attack. That’s not really it’s purpose.