Question 29e

National Special Security Event Day In DC

Whenever the bright orange helicopters fly, whenever there are extra DC cops idling in patrol cars on the street, whenever the zone around Capitol turns into a fortress, it can mean one of two things:  a classified homeland security exercise, or an NSSE — a National Special Security Event.  The State of the Union Address is by necessity given that formal designation by the Secretary of Homeland Security even in the absence of specific intelligence indicating a threat.

It makes sense: the line of presidential succession, the entire Congress, probably close to half of the Supreme Court, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the White House staff, all in one place. Terrific and awful novels have begun with that premise. 

The networks like to point out the designated cabinet member who is sent to an “undisclosed location,” as if that were the only thing the government does to prevent an all-out catastrophe.  

Well — that cabinet member actually becomes a shadow president for about six hours.  He or she will be briefed on the procedures needed to executive nuclear war plans and given a Top Secret intelligence briefing to make sure that the “surviving” president would be read in to the latest analysis of the world should the unthinkable happen.  

The security plan for the SOTUA is designed by the Secret Service, with the FBI playing the lead role in preventing and deterring terrorist attacks.  In practice, that means all hands on deck, and the use of Coast Guard, FBI and Department of Energy surveillance helicopters.  (At one recent NSSE, a Customs and Border Patrol UAV was used to patrol DC airspace.)   The DOE helicopters check for unusual radiation patterns. The FBI helicopters have other missions.

The Joint Forces Headquarters for the National Capital Region stands up a task force of responders, and its command center, Guardian, is on full alert, to respond a CBRNE attack.  The 1st Helicopter Squadron based at Andrews Air Force Base pre-deploys its helos to locations closer to the Capitol in order to more easily evacuate cabinet members and those in the line of succession. 

All that — for a speech.  

All that, and a lot more that we don’t know about, to keep continuity of government.