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Louis Caldera (born April 1, 1956) is a former Director of the White House Military Office and served as United States Secretary of the Army from July 2, 1998–January 20, 2001, the 17th man to hold that office.

Family and education

Caldera, son of Mexican immigrants who apparently entered America legally, Soledad and Benjamin Caldera, was born on April 1, 1956 in El Paso, Texas. His family left Texas for California when he was four, living briefly in public housing in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles before moving to the suburb of Whittier. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1978 from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, then served on active duty from 1978 to 1983, mostly at Fort Dix, New Jersey. He went on to enroll at Harvard University and in 1987 earned both an MBA and a JD degree.

While studying at Harvard, he met his wife, Eva Orlebeke Caldera; together they have three daughters, Allegra Christine Caldera, Sophia Marie Caldera, and Camille Grace Caldera.

Law career

After graduating from Harvard, Caldera practiced law from 1987 to 1990 at the firm of O’Melveny & Myers,and then from 1990 to 1991 at the firm of Buchalter, Nemer, Fields and Younger. From 1991 to 1992, he was a Deputy Counsel for Los Angeles County.

California State Assembly

Caldera then served as a California State Assemblyman from 1992 to 1997, representing the nearly 400,000 residents of the 46th District, which is located in and around downtown Los Angeles. As an Assemblyman, he served as chairman of the Banking and Finance Committee, the Revenue and Taxation Committee, and the Budget Committee.

Clinton administration; Secretary of the Army

Before finishing his third term in the Assembly, Caldera left to begin serving as managing director and chief operating officer for President Bill Clinton's Corporation for National and Community Service (1997-1998), a domestic volunteer program.

On May 22, 1998, Clinton announced Caldera as his selection for Secretary of the Army. On July 2, Caldera was sworn in as the 17th Secretary of the Army by Secretary of Defense William Cohen.

Other positions

He went on to serve as Vice Chancellor for University Advancement in the California State University System, the largest four-year university system in the country. Caldera became the 18th president of the University of New Mexico in August 2003 and stepped down from that post in January 2006. Caldera's contract with the University granted him appointment as a tenured member of the University of New Mexico School of Law faculty.

Caldera served on the board of directors for IndyMac Bank from 2002 until its failure and subsequent seizure by the government in July 2008.

Caldera served on the board of directors for Southwest Airlines until he submitted his resignation, effective January 15, 2009, in connection with his selection to serve as Director of the White House Military Office.

Aircraft photo mission controversy

During his tenure as Director of the White House Military Office, Caldera approved a mission, conducted on April 27, 2009, where a Boeing VC-25 (a Boeing 747 military variant that is denominated Air Force One when the President of the United States is aboard), followed by an F-16 military fighter jet, performed low-altitude flyovers of New York City and New Jersey. The mission "was set up to create an iconic shot of Air Force One, similar to one that was taken in recent years over the Grand Canyon."

While the FAA and select local authorities were given some degree of notification in advance, many other officials and the general public were not. The flyover of the lower Manhattan financial district created a public panic. Many feared it was another terrorist attack like that which destroyed the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001; or an aborted attack attempt, because of the F-16 chasing the presidential plane. This led scores of people to leave their desks and large office buildings were quickly evacuated in impromptu fashion.

New York City police stated that "federal authorities" told them not to disclose information about the flyover to the public in advance. President Obama was also not informed beforehand of the flyover involving the official plane, and like New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, only learned of the incident after its disturbance was already being reported in the media.

The incident has brought intense scrutiny and numerous highly critical comments directed at Caldera. White House officials said President Obama was fuming mad and did not see the need for a new Air Force One publicity photo anyway. Mayor Bloomberg condemned the low flyover and the failure to provide public notice, saying he himself had not been adequately notified of what would take place, that he was "furious", and it showed "poor judgment". Senator John McCain stated the flyover photo op was "a fundamentally unsound exercise in military judgment and may have constituted an inappropriate use of Department of Defense resources." The cost of the flyover photo stunt itself was reportedly $328,835, though this expense would have been incurred whether or not the photo shoot had been authorized, due to requirements for VC-25 flying time.

Caldera, after meeting with White House officials, issued a public apology for the incident, stating, "Last week, I approved a mission over New York. I take responsibility for that decision. While federal authorities took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey, it’s clear that the mission created confusion and disruption. I apologize and take responsibility for any distress that flight caused."

Following an investigation directed by Jim Messina, White House deputy chief of staff, on how the decision to conduct the flight had been reached, Caldera tendered his resignation from his position on May 8, 2009.

References

1. ^ "Louis Caldera: 1956—: Educational Administrator Biography - Rose From Cadet To Army Secretary, Emphasized And Improved Education Opportunities In Army, Worked Toward Diversity In Army And Universities". Hispanic Biographies Vol 3. p. 3542. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
2. "President-elect Barack Obama names Louis Caldera Director of White House Military Office" (Press release). Office of the President-Elect. December 2, 2008.
3. "Louis Caldera: 1956—: Educational Administrator - Rose From Cadet To Army Secretary". Hispanic Biographies Vol 3. p. 3539. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
4. "Caldera Nominated New Army Secretary". DefenseLink. U.S. Department of Defense. June 1, 1998. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
5. "Secretary of the Army Oath of Office Ceremony" (Press release). U.S. Department of Defense. July 1, 1998. {{cite press release}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
6. Fonseca, Felicia (January 25, 2006). "Caldera to resign Aug. 1 as UNM president". Daily Lobo. Associated Press.
7. "Professor Louis E. Caldera". University of New Mexico School of Law.
8. "IndyMac Announces the Retirement of Frederick J. Napolitano; Louis Caldera Joins IndyMac and IndyMac Bank Boards; Lydia Kennard Joins IndyMac Bank Board". Business Wire. May 13, 2002.
9. Ricks, Ron (2009-04-17). "Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders Wednesday, May 20, 2009" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-05-09. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
10. "White House Apologizes for Air Force Flyover" The New York Times, April 27, 2009
11. "White House Apologizes for Air Force Flyover" The New York Times, April 27, 2009
12. "'Furious' Obama orders review of NY plane flyover" CNN, April 28, 2009
13. "White House Will Probe Presidential Plane PR Stunt". Associated Press/Google. 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
14. "White House Apologizes for Air Force Flyover". The New York Times. 2009-04-27. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
15. "White House Will Probe Presidential Plane PR Stunt". Associated Press/Google. 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
16. "White House aide Louis Caldera loses job over Manhattan flyover fiasco involving Air Force One". Daily News Washington Bureau. 2009-05-08. Retrieved 2009-05-08.

External links

• Caldera's Biography at the University of New Mexico
• Caldera's Biography at the University of New Mexico School of Law
• Nytimes.com, NYC / New Jersey Flyover Incident

v t e United States secretaries of war and the Army
Department of War (1789–1947)	Secretaries of war B. Lincoln Knox Pickering McHenry Dexter Dearborn Eustis Armstrong Monroe W. Crawford Calhoun Barbour P. Porter Eaton Cass Poinsett Bell Spencer J. Porter Wilkins Marcy G. Crawford Conrad J. Davis Floyd Holt S. Cameron Stanton Schofield Rawlins Belknap A. Taft J. Cameron McCrary Ramsey R. Lincoln Endicott Proctor Elkins Lamont Alger Root W. Taft Wright Dickinson Stimson Garrison Baker Weeks D. Davis Good Hurley Dern Woodring Stimson Patterson Royall Assistant secretaries of war Scott Watson Tucker Wolcott Dana Eckert Grant Doe Meiklejohn Sanger Oliver Breckinridge Ingraham Crowell Williams Wainwright D. Davis MacNider Robbins Hurley Payne Woodring L. Johnson Patterson McCloy Petersen Under secretaries of war Patterson Royall Draper
Department of the Army (1947–present)	Secretaries of the Army Royall Gray Pace Stevens Brucker Stahr Vance Ailes Resor Froehlke Callaway Hoffmann C. Alexander Marsh Stone West Caldera White Harvey Geren McHugh Fanning Esper McCarthy Wormuth Under secretaries of the Army Draper Gray Voorhees A. Alexander Bendetsen E. Johnson Slezak Finucane Milton Ailes Ignatius Resor McGiffert Beal BeLieu Staudt Augustine LaBerge Ambrose Stone Shannon Reeder Walker Rostker Dahlberg Brownlee Geren Ford Westphal Carson Murphy McCarthy McPherson Camarillo

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• Living people
• Deaths
• Members of the California State Assembly
• Mexican Americans
• Obama Administration personnel
• People from El Paso, Texas
• People from Los Angeles County, California
• Prominent JD/MBAs
• United States Army officers
• United States Military Academy alumni
• United States Secretaries of the Army
• University of New Mexico