Nothing has been left to chance. For example, Fire Brigade sources say they have been briefed on what to do in the event of fire. Their instructions are, they say, to first rescue the President, then his personal bodyguard, and thirdly, Mrs Bush.
The Secret Service is only part of the Bush show. He also brings with him a press staff of about 20. And there is the White House doctor, in case of another fibrillation. Part of the entourage which you won’t see in the President’s motorcade are four “stewards”, who might be more accurately described as food-tasters.
And the man with the briefcase holding the nuclear codes? He’ll be there, never very far away, although in the words of one US official yesterday: “Things are different these days. We’re more interested in feeding ’em than fighting ’em.”
Preparations at the Qantas jet base for the arrival of the Presidential squadron were conducted with an air of great mystery yesterday afternoon. Three men in blue overalls walked cautiously on top of hangar 96, apparently checking for vantage points that could offer lines of sight for the arrival of the Presidential jumbos.
Minutes later they descended, apparently satisfied with their surveillance, and peeled off the dirty overalls to reveal the uniform dark trousers, white shirts and thin black ties.
US security check vantage points around the Qantas base at Mascot before the arrival of President Bush.Credit:Rick Stevens
Across the tarmac, a NSW Fire Brigade cherry-picker was being set up next to hangar 27. Two fire officers climbed into the bucket and were hoisted above the roof of the building. The sound of helicopter blades drew their gaze skywards as they prepared to step onto the roof.
The helicopter with “United States of America” emblazoned on its side was returning from a quick test flight over the city. It wheeled around the base and settled in the shadow of an impounded Compass jet.
Its arrival caused much scuttling on the tarmac. The three men in the thin ties and several similarly dressed companions walked briskly towards the machine as its crew stepped out to begin refuelling.
The black, armoured Chevrolet van drew alongside moments later. Two of its occupants soon joined the growing army of mysterious gents milling about the helicopter.
“This sort of thing has been going on all day” said a Qantas ground worker as he left the compound. “They’ve been running about picking up and putting down all sorts of funny-shaped boxes since early this morning. It’s been like something out of a comic book.”
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Just then, two of the thin-tie men approached the Herald crew and asked where we were from. “Oh, the newspaper,” said one.
Moments, and a brief mid-tarmac conference, later, the helicopter disappeared into a hangar, the armoured van sped off into the shadows and the mysterious men drove off in a fleet of white cars.
From the Archives, 1991: George and Barbara do Australia on $1m a day
Source: Philippines Alive
