| Orange One | |
|---|---|
| NearThurmont, Maryland, in United States | |
| Location | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 39°38′50″N77°27′45″W / 39.6472°N 77.4625°W /39.6472; -77.4625 |
Orange One is aU.S. Navy–operated facility located in theAppalachian Mountains, extending underneathCamp David, theU.S. President's country retreat. Described in one account as a "fortress", it was designed for use by the president as a military headquarters during an emergency.
According to the diary of British Prime MinisterHarold Macmillan, who toured the facility in 1959, Orange One can house a staff of 200 persons in two separate wings and is a "fortress ... hewn out of the rock".[1]Bill Gulley has said Orange One can be reached by an elevator from Aspen Lodge, the president's quarters at Camp David, and that part of Orange One extends underneath the Aspen Lodge swimming pool.[2] Gulley noted that, as of the mid 1970s, Orange One was no longer considered a primary command and control facility as its communications systems had not, at that time, been improved and it had not been updated to withstand attack by certain categories of weapons.[2]
Orange One was first visited by a sitting president in the 1950s whenDwight D. Eisenhower inspected the facility while leading the exercise Operation Alert.[3] In April 1961, then-former president Eisenhower returned to Camp David for consultations withJohn F. Kennedy on the failedBay of Pigs invasion.[4] According to formerAssociated Press reporter Dale Nelson, Kennedy inspected Orange One following Eisenhower's departure before helicoptering to his private estate, Glen Ora, inMiddleburg, Virginia.[3]
The existence of Orange One came to public light in the 1970s, during theWatergate scandal, after it was revealed thatRichard Nixon's choice of location for an outdoor swimming pool at Aspen Lodge sat over a portion of the subterranean Orange One. This necessitated the construction of an above-ground pool, landscaped to appear in-ground.[5][2]