You always hear about the ‘nuclear football ’ Here’s the behind-the-scenes story apnews com article nuclear-football-presidential-satchel-war-df3c1e65cfd21f137fd2fc7e7d62ffab DEL QUENTIN WILBER July 18 2023 1 of 10    A military aide carries the Presidential Emergency Satchel also known as the “nuclear football ” out of 10 Downing Street in London on Monday July 10 2023 after a meeting between Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and U S President Joe Biden The bulky briefcase contains atomic war plans and enables the president to transmit nuclear orders to the Pentagon The heavy case is carried by a military officer who is never far behind the president AP Photo David Cliff ASSOCIATED PRESS 1 14 2 of 10    FILE - President Dwight Eisenhower tries his hand at the controls of the USS Patrick Henry ballistic missile submarine during a tour at Newport R I on July 26 1960 William Burr a senior analyst at the nonprofit National Security Archive at George Washington University says during the late 1950s Eisenhower and his advisers worried about the U S ’s vulnerability to a nuclear surprise attack So the president could make quick decisions on the spot a military aide started carrying a satchel of documents that would help the president communicate with the Pentagon or other military headquarters AP Photo CPG File ASSOCIATED PRESS 2 14 3 of 10    In this photo obtained by the National Security Archive from the John F Kennedy Presidential Library White House military aide Gen Chester Clifton carries the Presidential Emergency Satchel with Kennedy and David Powers approaching the “cottage” at Hyannis Port Mass on May 10 1963 where Kennedy met with Canadian Prime Minister Lester Pearson John F Kennedy Presidential Library National Security Archive nsarchive gwu edu via AP ASSOCIATED PRESS 3 14 4 of 10    In this photo obtained by the National Security Archive from the Richard M Nixon Presidential Library Nixon speaks with senior Air Force officers with Presidential Emergency Satchel carrier Lt Commander T Stephen Todd in the immediate background at Homestead Air Force Base Fla on March 11 1974 Richard M Nixon Presidential Library National Security Archive - nsarchive gwu edu via AP ASSOCIATED PRESS 4 14 5 of 10    In this photo obtained by the National Security Archive from the Gerald R Ford Presidential Library Lt Commander T Stephen Todd carries the Presidential Emergency Satchel as he walks with Ford leaving the White House in Washington on May 5 1975 Gerald R Ford Presidential Library National Security Archive - nsarchive gwu edu via AP ASSOCIATED PRESS 5 14 6 14 6 of 10    In this photo obtained by the National Security Archive from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Presidential Emergency Satchel carrier Lt Commander William Lee Coast Guard aide walks with Reagan in Washington on Jan 10 1989 Pete Souza Ronald Reagan Presidential Library National Security Archive - nsarchive gwu edu via AP ASSOCIATED PRESS 7 of 10    In this photo obtained by the National Security Archive from the George H B Bush Presidential Library Maj Michelle D Johnson White House Air Force aide carries the Presidential Emergency Satchel behind President George H W Bush in Branson Mo on Aug 21 1992 George H B Bush Presidential Library National Security Archive nsarchive gwu edu via AP ASSOCIATED PRESS 7 14 8 of 10    In this photo obtained by the National Security Archive President George W Bush walks on the Delta Lodge grounds with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card and others as an unidentified military aide carries the Presidential Emergency Satchel during meetings of the G-8 Economic Summit in Kananaskis Canada on June 25 2002 Eric Draper White House National Security Archive - nsarchive gwu edu via AP ASSOCIATED PRESS 8 14 9 of 10    FILE - A U S military aide carries the Presidential Emergency Satchel across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington Sunday March 31 2019 as he returns with President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump to Washington from their Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida AP Photo Andrew Harnik File ASSOCIATED PRESS 9 14 10 of 10    A military aide carries the Presidential Emergency Satchel in his right hand as he walks up the stairs of Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base Md on Wednesday April 7 2010 as President Barack Obama prepared to depart for Prague AP Photo Cliff Owen File ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON AP — The most important — and mysterious — “football” in the world isn’t really a football at all Officially called the “ Presidential Emergency Satchel ” the “nuclear football” is a bulky briefcase that contains atomic war plans and enables the president to transmit nuclear orders to the Pentagon The heavy case is carried by a military officer who is never far behind the president whether the commander-in-chief is boarding a helicopter or exiting meetings with world leaders Beyond those basic facts however not much is known about the satchel which has come to symbolize the massive power of the presidency Let’s change that US soldier who fled to North Korea had served 2 months in South Korea prison on assault charge 10 14 William Burr a senior analyst at the nonprofit National Security Archive at George Washington University published a report Tuesday detailing his recent research into the presidential pigskin Among the tidbits Burr unearthed The football once contained presidential decrees that some in the U S government came to believe were likely illegal and unnecessary there would be nobody left alive to implement them in the event of a nuclear holocaust Burr who has spent three decades researching and writing about nuclear war planning and history sat down with The Associated Press recently to talk about his research and the nuclear football’s history The interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity WHAT IS THE ‘FOOTBALL’ WHEN DID IT FIRST GET DESCRIBED THAT WAY FILE - President Dwight Eisenhower tries his hand at the controls of the USS Patrick Henry ballistic missile submarine during a tour at Newport R I on July 26 1960 AP Photo CPG File In the beginning there was the president’s “emergency satchel” or “the black bag ” During the late 1950s President Dwight D Eisenhower and his advisers worried about the United States’ vulnerability to a nuclear surprise attack So the president could make quick 11 14 decisions on the spot a military aide started carrying a satchel of documents that would help the president communicate with the Pentagon or other military headquarters The satchel also included presidential proclamations — Presidential Emergency Action Documents or PEADS — declaring a national emergency and expanding executive power to deal with the crisis Initially the satchel and military aide followed the President only during travel outside of Washington D C Eisenhower passed the satchel on to his successor John F Kennedy and sometime in the early 1960s it also became known as the football perhaps because of the Kennedy family’s liking for touch football WHY SO MUCH INTEREST IN IT In this photo obtained by the National Security Archive from the Richard M Nixon Presidential Library Nixon speaks with senior Air Force officers with Presidential Emergency Satchel carrier Lt Commander T Stephen Todd in the immediate background Richard M Nixon Presidential Library National Security Archive - nsarchive gwu edu via AP The explanation is the secrecy and the problem of nuclear risk and danger The idea of a military aide following the president carrying a locked bag with secret nuclear information is a routine for the modern U S presidency that has intrigued journalists and historians and the 12 14 public The idea that the president needs to be able to make speedy decisions in a perilous moment conveyed the ultimate danger of nuclear weapons That the football system has lasted since the late 1950s adds to the mystery WHAT GOT YOU STARTED My research at the National Security Archive has partly focused on command-and-control arrangements for nuclear weapons On command and control some good information has been declassified over the years But there are so many aspects to the nuclear problem that I did not look into the history of the football as early as I should have Unfortunately but not too surprising only a smattering of information has been declassified Even the few relevant documents from the 1960s are heavily excised THE FOOTBALL CHANGED DURING THE CARTER ADMINISTRATION TELL US MORE The football included emergency proclamations that as the Carter administration found out had not been updated for years And there was concern about the legality of some of them Also White House officials recognized that the comprehensive devastation of nuclear war could make the proclamations irrelevant By the early 1980s the presidential directives had been revised but how they were changed has not been disclosed Whether there were still worries about their legality is also an open question AND THE VICE PRESIDENT SOMETIMES HAS ONE TOO Apparently when Richard Nixon was vice president he was assigned a black bag The next vice president Lyndon Johnson declined a black bag When Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas top military commanders worried that the new president did not know what was in the football so they made sure that a White House military aide gave him a briefing after he arrived in Washington If any of the vice presidents from Hubert Humphrey to Nelson Rockefeller had a military aide carrying a football it has not been disclosed so far as I know But President Jimmy Carter was aware of the vulnerability problem and made sure that his vice president Walter Mondale had a military aide carrying the football SEEMS LIKE THE FOOTBALL IS EVERYWHERE AND NOWHERE HOW DID YOU APPROACH UNEARTHING A SECRET THAT HIDES IN PLAIN SIGHT 13 14 FILE - A U S military aide carries the Presidential Emergency Satchel across the South Lawn of the White House in Washington Sunday March 31 2019 as he returns with President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump to Washington from their Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida AP Photo Andrew Harnik File You’ve put your finger right on the problem — everywhere and nowhere For example we can see the military aide carrying the bag behind Vice President Mike Pence during the Jan 6 2021 riots at the U S Capitol But its contents remain as inscrutable as they were 50 years ago The Archives’ new posting includes photos of the military aide carrying the football sometimes with the president in different situations From some of the photos you can see what looks like a little antenna projecting from the bag suggesting that it includes communication devices As far as the contents go some details have been leaked and some general information has been declassified — but very little in the way of specifics 14 14