After Air Force One Flyover, Military Office Director Resigns

The White House The White House on Friday released the April 27 photo of the plane flying over New York City.

The director of the White House Military Office submitted his resignation on Friday, less than two weeks after he authorized an Air Force One flyover of the Statue of Liberty that terrified thousands of people in New York City.

Louis Caldera, who served as the secretary of the Army in the Clinton administration, apologized for the “distraction” that approving the flyover caused. He said in a brief letter to President Obama on Friday that it “has made it impossible for me to effectively lead the White House Military Office.”

On April 27, a plane that usually serves as Air Force One was flying low over the New York City skyline, trailed closely by two fighter jets. It was a photo opportunity – authorized by several government officials, including Mr. Caldera – that infuriated Mr. Obama.

Last week, Mr. Obama ordered a deputy chief of staff, Jim Messina, to review the incident. And on Friday afternoon, a seven-page review of the matter was released, along with the photograph.

Mr. Messina, in his memorandum to the president, said that “structural and organizational ambiguities” in the White House Military Office led to a series of miscommunications and senior aides to the president were not advised of the flyover that had been in the planning stages since March.

“The breakdown was the lack of public notification,” the memorandum states, adding that Mr. Caldera believed others had been notified about the flight.

“If he had been aware that the flight would cause so much trouble or any embarrassment to the president or to the White House,” the report said, “he never would have allowed it to go forward.”