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The Obamas have codenames now

Whats exactly the point of these codenames? If you publish them then way not use the real names instead.
 
Presumably the naming conventions reduce ambiguity in a tight situation. There are four Obamas in the White House.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Service_codenames

My favorites:
Bush Sr. - Timberwolf
Jesse Jackson - Thunder
Mondale - Dragon
Prince Charles - Unicorn
Al Gore - Sundance
Reagan - Rawhide
Nancy - Rainbow
Chelsea Clinton - Energy

I can't believe Barbara Bush's was Tranquility (also Snowbank). She should have had some variation of the c-word.
 
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Cain said:
Presumably the naming conventions reduce ambiguity in a tight situation. There are four Obamas in the White House.
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And none of them have the same first name.

I think these guys do it just because it sounds all cool and law-enforcement-like.

Sort of like saying "10-4" or "roger" rather than "OK" or "got it".

Or--to borrow from Pratchett--"proceeded" instead of "walked".
 
JoeTheJuggler said:
And none of them have the same first name.
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People in the White House can have overlapping first names, and besides, that's unprofessional. You do not call the President of the United States, the guy you're willing to take a bullet for, "Barack."

And so what if it's because codenames are awesome? That's reason enough, as far I'm concerned.
 
JoeTheJuggler said:
And none of them have the same first name.

I think these guys do it just because it sounds all cool and law-enforcement-like.

Sort of like saying "10-4" or "roger" rather than "OK" or "got it".

Or--to borrow from Pratchett--"proceeded" instead of "walked".
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There actually is a point to using unambiguous radio jargon for these situations. It makes commands and updates sound unlike background chatter and it makes it easier to perceive the meaning of the message through interference. If you hear "DanceCHHHHHceeding to egg baskCHHHHH" you know what that means when you know the lingo.

What bothers me is this:

"Renegade" (Barack), "Renaissance" (Michelle), "Radiance" (Malia) and "Rosebud" (Sasha).
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They all start with the same sound? I grew up in a house where were all had eta sounds at the beginning of our names, and no hard constants in our names anywhere, very much like this situation. If I could only just hear someone calling across the house, I couldn't tell who they were calling for.
 
ImaginalDisc said:
There actually is a point to using unambiguous radio jargon for these situations. It makes commands and updates sound unlike background chatter and it makes it easier to perceive the meaning of the message through interference. If you hear "DanceCHHHHHceeding to egg baskCHHHHH" you know what that means when you know the lingo.
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Seems to me the easier solution would be not to allow background chatter on important Secret Service channels and get better communication tech if they're having trouble with a lot of static.

But using names that sound more similar to one another than their actual names doesn't seem very helpful!

Cain said:
People in the White House can have overlapping first names, and besides, that's unprofessional. You do not call the President of the United States, the guy you're willing to take a bullet for, "Barack."
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"Renegade" is more respectful?

And so what if it's because codenames are awesome? That's reason enough, as far I'm concerned.
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Yup--that's fine by me. My point is there's not much of any other rationale for it. Which is why, I suppose, it makes no difference if you publicize the code names.
 
JoeTheJuggler said:
Seems to me the easier solution would be not to allow background chatter on important Secret Service channels and get better communication tech if they're having trouble with a lot of static.
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Redundancy prevents errors.

Redundancy prevents errors.

Specific jargon for telecommunication is SOP in all military branches, civilian aviation, and even ham radio operators. Sometimes, **** happens. That's why there's a phonetic alphabet, for example. Communication needs to be intelligible and unambiguous.

Redundancy prevents errors.

Ten Four.
 
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JoeTheJuggler said:
"Renegade" is more respectful?
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A dictionary said:
renegade
adj : having deserted a cause or principle; "some provinces had proved recreant"; "renegade supporters of the usurper" [syn: {recreant}]
n 1: someone who rebels and becomes an outlaw [syn: {turncoat}]
2: a disloyal person who forsakes his cause or religion or political party or friend etc. [syn: {deserter}, {apostate}, {recreant}]
v : break with established customs [syn: {rebel}]r
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You do have a point there.
 
JoeTheJuggler said:
Seems to me the easier solution would be not to allow background chatter on important Secret Service channels and get better communication tech if they're having trouble with a lot of static.
Click to expand...

What do you suggest, "magic" tech? Military radio communication is not nearly so unambiguous as movies would have us believe. Words which have multiple meanings in English are replaced by specific synonyms in specific circumstances to mean very specific things, so that there is not amgibuity.

It's the difference between "say again," and, "repeat" (a long-time movie favourite ;) ).

or...

ImaginalDisc said:
Redundancy prevents errors.

Redundancy prevents errors.

Specific jargon for telecommunication is SOP in all military branches, civilian aviation, and even ham radio operators. Sometimes, **** happens. That's why there's a phonetic alphabet, for example. Communication needs to be intelligible and unambiguous.

Redundancy prevents errors.

Ten Four.
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Redundancy and efficiency. The police used 10-codes because early radio resources were precious. It's not secret spy code, because many people have scanners.
 
creativecritter41 said:
I'm seeing more and more of that class from the left here. Yet the Republicans are the mean ones. :rolleyes:
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We are talking about Barbara Bush, right? Mother to the president, not his daughter? Yeah, she's a total bitch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmU1wzYbHlc

As for Obama, "Renegade" did give me pause as well. "Urban Justice" would be way, way cooler. My other top picks are "Hollywood," "Jordan" and "Smooth."
 
Cain said:
People in the White House can have overlapping first names, and besides, that's unprofessional. You do not call the President of the United States, the guy you're willing to take a bullet for, "Barack."

And so what if it's because codenames are awesome? That's reason enough, as far I'm concerned.
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You also wouldn't want to shout his real name out in a crisis situation, say while hustling him to an armored limo, thereby alerting the threat exactly where he is and which one isn't the decoy...

I have no real experience in personnel security, obviously. Closest I ever came was playing the President in a paintball game. In those situations, we always used the shorthand "Bubba" rather than "General," because shouting "Hey, General" results in getting lit up instantly by everyone on the field.
 
ImaginalDisc said:
Redundancy prevents errors.
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What does redundancy have to do with using code names?

"Ren-crackle-crackle just left the building, but Ren-crackle-crackle needs help right away."

R.Mackey said:
You also wouldn't want to shout his real name out in a crisis situation, say while hustling him to an armored limo, thereby alerting the threat exactly where he is and which one isn't the decoy...
Click to expand...

Ah. . . so the bad guys don't get the internet?
 
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Jimbo07 said:
What do you suggest, "magic" tech? Military radio communication is not nearly so unambiguous as movies would have us believe. Words which have multiple meanings in English are replaced by specific synonyms in specific circumstances to mean very specific things, so that there is not amgibuity.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry--but how does saying "Renegade" for Barack (or "the President") and "Renaissance" for Michelle (or "the first lady") help things? Is it easier to be clear and redundant with those names rather than their regular names or titles?

I think it's mostly just cool cop stuff of very dubious utility.
 
This is so nobody will get confused and run around saying Osama's in the White House by mistake and, well...
 
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