Heads Roll Over 'Scare Force One'

When President Obama learned that an Air Force One photo shoot had happened over the skittish skies of lower Manhattan on April 27th, he was reportedly furious and publicly vowed never to let it happen again.

Today, the President accepted the resignation of Louis Caldera, the director of the White House Military Office, which coordinated the photo shoot. Also, despite earlier indications from Robert Gibbs that no pictures from the event would be released, the White House today provided a photo from the shoot (above), as well as an internal report on the incident.

The report goes into great detail about who knew what – and when – about the shoot. Although Louis Caldera was not involved in the planning or execution of the fly-over, the report indicates he was aware of it.

An email on Friday April 24 from a deputy to Caldera describes "our conversation about... plans to fly over the Statue of Liberty" and suggests that Caldera notify the White House about the plans. The email also predicts that the flight "will probably receive local press, but WH shouldn't catch any questions about it."

In the report, Caldera says he did not read the email until the afternoon of Monday April 27, three days after it had been sent and hours after the flyover occurred.

The report explains that Caldera had been traveling with the President in Mexico while the flight was in the planning stages, returning in mid-April with back spasms that required prescription medication. Also, while he had two email accounts, Caldera regularly checked only one, and the email in question went to the other.

The report recommends changes to the communications process between the White House and the Military Office. It does not make personnel recommendations, but the end result is clear.